Niche

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorCollege, Undergraduate February 2008

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Ascetic Ideals in America Man is a complicated creature, we all have our own desires and own ideas, and yet at the same time, we seem to be more alike then we would like to admit. Nietzsche analyzes a lot of man's drives and desires and explains them quite well. Nietzsche talks about the "Ascetic Ideal" as a product of Christianity, and talks about its effects on society, and how it can be to path to Nihilism. In America, the ascetic ideal can be a force of unity and preservation that keeps the country and its people happy.

The ascetic ideal is a rather simple thing to explain to any person that is acquainted with Christian dogma. It is simple, God created us and thus we were created to serve him. But he is perfect, and we are all naturally sinners. The Ten Commandments spell out the "sins" that we commit.

In order to please God and be good Christians, we should seek to live the life of the monk. A life that would keep up as free from sin as possible, and thus good in God's eyes, and worthy to enter the gates of Heaven. So through these teachings, we learn that denying our natural impulses, and doing only what is pure and free from sin is a good thing.

The ascetic ideal is in fact a will to nothingness. As Nietzsche states in his third essay, man would rather will nothingness then not will at all. Life is all about the will to power. Nietzsche makes it clear that mans' entire existence is based on this will to power. Humans as a species have instincts and Nietzsche would say that the most basic of them is not what some would say, self-preservation, but the will to...