니체의 자유 개념 이해

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to find a consistent understanding of Nietzsche’s ambivalent remarks on freedom. Nietzsche criticizes traditional understanding of free will because it is based on a superficial view of humans. In particular, the ego and consciousness have played the most important roles in the history of philosophy in comprehending humans as agents. However, Nietzsche asserts that the ego is an illusion caused by grammar and that conscious thought is a superficial part of our mental activities. Therefore, Nietzsche thinks that previous understanding about the actions of humans should be replaced with a naturalistic approach. By stressing drives and the body, Nietzsche provides a naturalistic explanation of the self. Nietzsche’s revisionary concept of self should be distinguished from the ego. Drives are the key explainer in Nietzsche’s account of the self; the hierarchical structure of drives constitutes one’s being. Such drives have a significant influence on human perception and behavior in the sense that their activities allow people to take certain emotional attitudes toward events. Therefore, Nietzsche’s naturalistic approach provides little wiggle room for human freedom; he therefore attempts to redefine free will and freedom as pleasures of the commanding drives. According to Nietzsche’s revisionary concept of free will and freedom, self-creation is not a matter of an individual’s conscious decision. Even though an individual possesses the possibility of self-creation, Nietzsche stresses the cultural and social conditions that encourage individual self-creation. Thus, Nietzsche’s critique of culture is regarded as an attempt to form the cultural and social conditions necessary for self-creation.