The Compassion of Zarathustra: Nietzsche on Sympathy and Strength
The Review of Politics 68 (1):49-78 (2006)
Abstract
Contemporary theorists critical of the current vogue for compassion might like to turn to Friedrich Nietzsche as an obvious ally in their opposition to the sentiment. Yet this essay argues that Nietzsche’s critique of compassion is not entirely critical, and that the endorsement of one’s sympathetic feelings is actually a natural outgrowth of Nietzsche’s immoralist ethics. Nietzsche understands the tendency to share in the suffering of their inferiors as a distinctive vulnerability of the spiritually strong and healthy. Their compassion, however, is an essential element of the imaginative creativity that Nietzsche holds to be the goal of human existence. Although shared suffering may prove debilitating for some, great individuals must come to affirm their compassion as necessary in achieving accurate knowledge of the human condition.Author's Profile
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Citations of this work
No‐self and compassion: Nietzsche and Buddhism.Christopher Janaway - forthcoming - European Journal of Philosophy.
Non-expert views of compassion: consensual qualitative research using focus groups.Jana Koróniová, Júlia Halamová & Martina Baránková - 2019 - Human Affairs 29 (1):6-19.
A human cry Nietzsche on affirming others' pain.Anna Ezekiel - 2014 - Philosophy and Social Criticism 40 (9):913-930.