Friedrich Nietzsche's 1887 polemical essay — tracing the historical origins of moral concepts (good/evil, guilt, bad conscience, ascetic ideals) and arguing that conventional morality is a slave revolt against aristocratic values — his most systematic philosophical work.
Creates the genealogical method for analyzing morality — Nietzsche's Genealogy shows that moral concepts ('good,' 'evil,' 'guilt') have historical origins in power relations and psychological dynamics rather than rational foundations; this genealogical approach (exposing hidden psychological and social genealogies of apparently eternal moral truths) influenced Foucault and Deleuze decisively.
No recorded contemporaries.
Discussing
Ask anything about On the Genealogy of Morality — their ideas, influences, contradictions, legacy.
Sign in to start a conversation.