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Friedrich Nietzsche was a German
philosopher known for his outspoken nature and opinions that greatly differed
from those of other well-known philosophers. Among these opinions are his
controversial views on good and evil. According to Nietzsche, morality is
man-made. People developed definitions of right and wrong to benefit
themselves, and to define those that they consider to be "inferior"
to them as bad people. Based upon this
conclusion, Nietzsche believed
that what is good and what is evil is all based upon perspective.
Frida Kahlo's painting, commonly
known as "A few Small Nips," depicts a man who has stabbed his wife
in a fit of rage. At first look, it is easy to say that what the man has done
is evil. After all, he has just brutally murdered his wife. But according to
Nietzsche, what is good and evil depends on perspective.
Frida Kahlo painted this work after
reading a story about a man who had killed his wife after she cheated on him.
To the man, what his wife has done is evil. He killed her out of revenge,
thereby making his deed not evil, but good. In his mind, he has not done
something wrong. His wife was the one who had committed an evil act. In his
mind, his deed is justified. In his mind, killing his wife was the right thing
to do. He does not see his act as evil. Most people, however, would see his act
as evil. They see a woman who appears defenseless, and has been stabbed
multiple times. Most of us would think that the taking of a life is an evil
thing to do. That is our perspective, though. The killer sees the act as good,
rather than evil.
According to Nietzsche's philosophy,
good and bad are not opposites. Instead, he says they are just different.
Definitions of good and evil vary. What one person believes is evil, another
might see as good. Morality was created by humans, who could form it to mean
whatever they wish. This then leads us to question whether the murder was
actually evil, or simply the man’s definition of good.
