Nietzsche Second Essay: “Guilt” “Bad Conscience” and the Like 

He seeks to provide a true-to-life explanation of “bad conscience” that accounts for these features of “morality” as products of an instinct for cruelty. Beginning with noting the two central features of “morality” are its central reliance on guilt as an emotion of self-assessment and, of course it’s, “moralization” of guilt. Firstly, human suffering being necessarily justifiable in terms of the legitimate punishment of guilty agents. Secondly, the identification of “morality” with un-egoistic motivations. Nietzsche proves the psychological connection between causing pain and the happiness felt by the abuser through historical, biological, and sociological perspectives.

Nietzsche first explores the historical connection between 'guilt' and 'debt.' Explaining, guilt had nothing to do with accountability. Punishment was inflicted on the basis of revenge and retribution rather than a guilty act itself. It was the idea that the threat of punishment would place a higher importance on the idea of one’s promise to another.

Nietzsche believes this is integral to society because of the connection between joy created and inflicting harm on others.

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He uses more historical examples to show this pattern. According to Nietzsche this all circles back to, “the contractual relationship between creditor and debtor, which is as ancient as the idea of 'someone subject to law' and which, in itself, refers back to the basic forms of buying, selling, bartering, trading, and exchanging goods” (Nietzsche 63). Laws of ancient Egypt and Rome were based off these exact ideals. During these times social hierarchy was the most important thing and could in certain times be the difference between life and death.

The idea of receiving pleasure by discharging power over someone powerless pulls exactly from that.

The lower below your station the more joy taken from it. It feeds the ego and increases one’s feeling of power. Lastly, he relates to human’s own biology, “Watching suffering makes people feel good, making someone suffer makes them feel even better—that is a harsh principle, but an old, powerful, and human, all-too-human major principle, which, by the way, even the apes might agree with. For people say that, in thinking up bizarre cruelties, the apes already anticipate a great many human actions and, as it were, act them out” (Nietzsche 65). By connecting it to apes, scientifically have been proven to be our biological ancestors, it further cements this idea that causing suffering, and joy are connecting whether people want to admit they feel it or not.

I agree with Nietzsche analyzation and argument for the connection of inflicting suffering and feeling of joy due to demonstration of superior power. All people strive to be the best at what they do. The need to be the best is a representation of the reward you receive for your work put into it. No one aims to get second or third in competitions. The historical connection to ancient laws and apes further proves that this isn’t something new, it has been around since the beginning of time. The only difference being changes in society morality over time. Today we obviously don’t go by Hammurabi’s “eye for an eye” in our justice system but the psychological aspect is still there in every human. Whether you be an MMA fighter who does inflicts harm for a living or even a child or everyday joe. Everyone likes to feel powerful and while some would personally disagree I believe that is due to the morality changes in society rather than their natural instinct.