Nietzsche’s critique of morality as a critique of Christian morality. Anonymous College

Jenseits von Gut and Böse not only calls into question the nature of the contemporary system of morality and the value that mankind places on actions, but indeed the necessity of morality when this serves to hinder human development and survival. Crucially, and perhaps inevitably - when one takes into account his existence in the primarily, and strongly, Christian society of Germany in the late 19th Century – Nietzsche is very aware of the stance of the church and thus makes evident his strong distaste for Christian morality, or perhaps more accurately for the tranquilizing and restricting influence it has had upon human progression since its popularization, as he sees it. The aim of this essay, therefore, is to examine to what extent Jenseits von Gut und Böse is principally a denunciation of Christian moral doctrine, or whether its enterprise lies elsewhere. Hence, I will investigate the attitudes of Nietzsche towards not only Christian doctrine, but the doctrines of ideologies wherever they may be found, and towards the possibility of a mindset free from set morality or conventional thought.

It would be difficult to contest the observation that Nietzsche’s views towards Christian morality and indeed Christianity in general...