IB Philosophy 10.5.1 the Genealogical Method Key Definitions

Nietzsche's term for the condition that arises when human beings' natural aggressive instincts, blocked from outward expression by the demands of social life, are turned inward against the self, producing a painful inner world of self-punishment, guilt, and moral self-scrutiny. Nietzsche regards bad conscience as a psychological illness but also as the origin of human creativity, imagination, and depth of soul.

in Nietzsche's usage, a method of philosophical inquiry that traces the historical and psychological origins of moral concepts, revealing that values presented as eternal or natural are in fact products of specific human needs, power relations, and cultural conditions. Genealogy asks not 'what is good?' but 'under what conditions did human beings devise these value judgments?', exposing the hidden interests and drives behind moral systems.

Moral values: standards or principles concerning what is right, wrong, good, or bad that carry a sense of obligation or authority; meta-ethics asks whether moral values are natural or cultural, universal or relative, subjective or objective.

Nietzsche's perspectivism holds that all knowledge and value judgments arise from a particular perspective, shaped by the interests, drives, and circumstances of the knower, with no neutral 'view from nowhere' from which to evaluate claims absolutely. This does not collapse into relativism, since Nietzsche still distinguishes between life-affirming and life-denying perspectives.

a French term Nietzsche uses to describe a specific psychological condition of suppressed resentment, envy, and hostility toward those perceived as stronger or more powerful. In his genealogy, ressentiment is the emotional origin of slave morality: the weak invert the values of the strong, redefining their own weakness as virtue and the strength of others as evil.

Nietzsche's concept of the fundamental drive underlying all human behavior and valuation, not merely a desire for political domination, but a striving to express, expand, and impose one's form upon the world. In the context of the genealogical method, the will to power explains why moral systems are created and enforced: every moral code reflects the drive of a particular group to have its values recognized as authoritative and universal.