Ressentiment and Rationality :: Philosophy Philosophical papers

Ressentiment and Rationality ABSTRACT: This paper is an investigation of the condition of ressentiment. It reviews the two most prominent philosophic accounts of ressentiment: Nietzsche's genealogy of ressentiment as the moral perversion resulting from the ancient Roman/Palestinian cultural conflict and giving birth to the ascetic ideal; and Scheler's phenomenology of ressentiment as a complex affective unit generative of its own affects and values. A single sketch of the typical elements of ressentiment is drawn from the review of these two accounts. One element in particular, the exigency of rationality, is highlighted. The rationality of ressentiment is found to be essential to the phenomenon as a whole and to its constitutive parts. Curiously, while their accounts imply and suggest the role of rationality, neither Nietzsche or Scheler make the centrality of rationality to ressentiment implicit. Ressentiment is a state of repressed feeling and desire which becomes generative of values. The condition of ressentiment is complex both in its internal structure and in its relations to various dimensions of human existence. While it infects the heart of the individual, it is rooted in our relatedness with others. On the one hand, ressentiment is a dark, personal secret, which most of us would never reveal to others even if we could acknowledge it ourselves. On the other hand, ressentiment has an undeniably public face. It can be creative of social practices, mores, and fashions; of scholarly attitudes, academic policies, educational initiatives; of political ideologies, institutions, and revolutions; of forms of religiosity and ascetic practices. The concept of ressentiment was first developed systematically by Nietzsche in his account of the historical emergence of what he terms 'slave morality' and in his critique of the ascetic ideal. While references to this condition can be found throughout his works, the chief sections in which he develops this notion are in his early work The Genealogy of Morals. Max Scheler provides an eidetic account of this complex affective phenomenon in his book entitled Ressentiment. The picture of ressentiment that emerges from these two thinkers is in part a function of their methodological approaches and their abiding philosophic interests. Nietzsche's historical approach to the development and the corruption of morality is empiricist and deterministic, but it does not have the marks of the narrow positivism that emerged later. His historical method is informed by his philological training in ancient Hellenic texts and by Enlightenment ideals. So, although Nietzsche writes of cultural conflict s in the ancient world as historical fact, he actually uses them as models with universal anthropological significance.

Notes of a Native Son Essay

Notes of a Native Son Summary James Baldwin uses a lot of ethos in his essay to show his position as a black man encountering the hardships during his era. Despite being a generation of now free men, Baldwin tells his everyday situation and responses he received that show that he was not close at all to being free in the society. It is with this story we get to see his idea of fighting the injustice begin to bloom, and led him to become a well-known writer exploring the social issues in the mid-20th American era. Baldwin made it clear that before he developed a certain hatred towards the whites, he never felt that there was a difference between his white friends and his black friends and everyone was treated the same. This is still a situation we see today where children would play with other children regardless of their background but as they grew up, society puts the stereotypes in their heads and saw the world differently, in which Baldwin would grow up to see the world different as well. If there is a revolvi ng theme around this story, it is the theme of birth. In the beginning, there was a physical birth of James Baldwin’s sibling, moments after his father died. This could metaphorically translate as his father’s legacy being carried down through another child. James Baldwin Notes of a Native Son Analysis The ending was a birth of an idea, of how his father’s death and all the experiences Baldwin had encountered translated into an idea of fighting the injustice he was receiving. One word that stood out to me in the passage was perdition. Baldwin’s father claims that Baldwin’s naà ¯ve perspective of the whites was going to send him to perdition. Perdition has an extremely strong meaning, and in the Christian context, it is used to describe people who chose to turn away from God and thus cannot be saved nor forgiven, in a way being sent to the eternal pits of hell. Baldwin’s father is sending out a warning of what is yet to come for Baldwin, who would see how his view about the world will be changed forever by his life in New Jersey and that one American Diner situation. Baldwin would see the world the same way his father had seen, with the same bitterness his father carried till his death. Baldwin said that he had contracted a blind fever, which I believe t hat the blind fever was a metaphorical way of describing the emotional build-up of the treatment he received as a black man. Works Cited Hochstetler, J. M. Native Son. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 2005. â€Å"Native Son.† Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Son. Wright, Richard. Native Son. New York, Harper &Amp; Bros., 1940.

Leadership Styles, Preferences, And Traits - 1339 Words

My time attending Southwestern College has provided me an abundance of knowledge on leadership styles, preferences, and traits. The knowledge I have gained has served to make me a better leader in my organization. My definition of leadership has changed as well. My definition of a leader is one who maintains a positive outlook and possesses great skills at inspiring people to action even when the outcome may seem unachievable. Leaders need to have the ability to adapt to ever changing situations. Gone are the days of the one size fits all leadership. Leaders need to understand the situation and adapt accordingly to ensure impacts to the team are minimized. One function of a quality manager is leading projects. My first artifact is from my Project Management course. The Project Management course put in perspective the qualities needed to be an effective leader. 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