VOLUME VI, ISSUE I & II, SPRING & FALL 2013
Abstract
Since Nietzsche’s death technology expanded and spread in many areas of social life and communication that today it is impossible to find any public (or even perhaps private) place where one or another form of recent mass/social media is absent in the technologically advanced societies. Although none of these forms (radio, TV, internet, and social media) was present in Nietzsche’s own life time, his ideas on how individuals are influenced or shaped in a given culture, whether they are made into blind followers with herd mentality or inspired to become great individuals, are still relevant today. There are two areas of reflection in Nietzsche that can shed light on this issue: one is the question of breeding, formation, and education and the other one is the problem of spectacle and spectacular relations. In this paper, I will present Nietzsche’s ideas on both of these issues and bring them together within the context of contemporary mass/social media.
The recent emerging technologies, specifically those that effect formation of the self directly like the internet and social media, have posed many problems for thinkers and they will keep doing so, as they become integrated into public life at the global level more and more in the coming years. To a large extent, they have already permeated technologically advanced societies. Today many of us are already integrated into these mediums and rely heavily on them for our communication and interactions. How can we approach this question of technology based on Nietzsche’s critique of culture of the 19th century Europe? This will be the focus of my reflection in this paper. I will approach this problem from two areas that are crucial in Nietzsche’s thought: first, spectacle (Schauspiel), second, formation/education (Bildung), as well as the kinds of types and affects that are produced in and through them. It is important to keep in mind that these two distinct but overlapping domains of culture are directly connected to Nietzsche’s philosophy of value.
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