Normativity and Nietzsche

Here was my idea for the paper. As you will see in the provided prompt (uploaded files), the paper can be on any of the texts listed in the syllabus. The paper needs to ask a research question related to one of the texts/writers from the syllabus and then secondary sources can be used to either support or critique your argument. I am not sure how experienced you are with any of these texts. If you are familiar with any and would like to write about them, then please do so. Here is an example that I had for the paper, if you feel confident you cold write the essay with my topic, then this would be preferred, but if you think you could write a better essay on another topic from the syllabus then you can do so. I was going to answer the question of “Can there be normativity with Nietzsche” I was going to use the Genealogy of Morality (his writing Twilight of the Idols also explores this) to discuss how for Nietzsche, morals are of human origin, and not a concrete ideal that cannot be changed. Nietzsche suggests morals are created by humans and are used for human purposes. After exploring this, I would then ask, “Well then who gets to decide what morals should be, if they are not unchanging ideals that exist beyond our thoughts and preferences?” (this is where normativity comes in) I was then going to maybe discuss how Nietzsche makes normative judgments in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. (you don’t have to do this if you think it would be clunky) to suggest maybe it is impossible to exist without normativity. The finally I would explore Simone de Beauvoir’s “Ethic of Ambiguity” to discuss how even though morality is a human construct and therefore subject to perversion and manipulation, and knowing that we should all equal in our stake in defining what it is, how can we make ethical and normative judgments. de Beauvior then goes on to explain her answer in the text and I would explore its alignment with Nietzsche. (Again if you don’t want to do this topic, and you are confident in another area, then please do. Also if you would like to write about Nietzsche and normativity but you think my outlines is flawed, then please do what you think is correct. Thank you so so much.)

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