Most people live only to pave the way for the few geniuses

(translated from my Chinese blog)

This is my new project, “Nietzschean Philology”. In each installment, I’ll read a passage from Nietzsche’s original writings. By practicing text analysis, we can enhance our ability to understand the world.

The reading on "We Philologists" continues. Section 9 serves as a summary of the previous sections. Nietzsche identifies the human ability to plan for the future, a capability that stems from Christian concepts of salvation. However, the vast majority of people lack this ability. They can only provide partial support for the grand plans of those individuals who possess this ability. A society or nation never lacks ordinary people who follow the rules. But without those geniuses who can initiate change, the society or nation cannot live with an eye to the future. Thus, society has a hidden hierarchical structure. It’s unequal, but it’s fair in a way.

Most men show clearly enough that they do not regard themselves as individuals: their lives indicate this. The Christian command that everyone shall steadfastly keep his eyes fixed upon his salvation, and his alone, has as its counterpart the general life of mankind, where every man lives merely as a point among other points--living not only as the result of earlier generations, but living also only with an eye to the future. There are only three forms of existence in which a man remains an individual as a philosopher, as a Saviour, and as an artist. But just let us consider how a scientific man bungles his life: what has the teaching of Greek particles to do with the sense of life?--Thus we can also observe how innumerable men merely live, as it were, a preparation for a man, the philologist, for example, as a preparation for the philosopher, who in his turn knows how to utilise his ant-like work to pronounce some opinion upon the value of life. When such ant-like work is not carried out under any special direction the greater part of it is simply nonsense, and quite superfluous.

"We Philologists" 9, Friedrich Nietzsche, translated by J. M. Kennedy 

Section 9 confirms my guess regarding the last sentence of the previous section: philologists themselves are not the goal of philology, rather, the goal should be the philosopher. Philologists and all “scientific men” exist merely as means to an end. To exist as a means means to exist as part of the faceless masses. In contrast, to exist as an end in oneself, rather than as a means for someone else, one must demonstrate individuality that sets oneself apart from the masses. When Nietzsche said that “only three forms of existence in which a man remains an individual,” he meant that only these three types of people can exist as ends in themselves, and only their lives have intrinsic meaning.

Nietzsche’s remarks about Christianity require some additional explanation. For Nietzsche, all metaphysics stem from human natural experience, and humans are, after all, merely animals. Therefore, he tried to reduce religious phenomena back to human’s primitive experiences of existence. In this context, he interpreted the concept of salvation in Christianity as a reflection of human efforts to plan for the future. Ancient humans possessed this remarkable ability to plan for the future, and they created myths around this concept, giving rise to the idea of salvation. The concept of salvation represents the mythic expression of individuality in Christianity: to focus solely on one’s own salvation, each person responsible only for their own salvation. Nietzsche implied that concepts like judgment day and heaven/hell were essentially ancient ways of judging an individual’s life after it ended, with heaven representing praise and hell representing condemnation. The judgment either by the self or by the society shows to what extent a person isn’t “living not only as the result of earlier generations,” that is, someone who simply lives in accordance with social norms. Instead, such a person is capable of “living also only with an eye to the future,” of envisioning new ways of living for the society they belong to. This is expressed through philosophy (truth), faith (goodness), and art (beauty).

The premise of planning is having sufficient information: the historical context in which a society or nation exists, as well as an individual’s role within that society or nation. The masses pave the way for geniuses, so that those geniuses can create something for their own sake. (Of course, Nietzsche’s concept of a genius doesn’t involve “going into the masses.”) The contemporary philologists pave the way for the future philosopher by providing him/her with sufficient information. They engage in “ant-like work” among ancient texts, sorting through them to understand how ancient people lived and what values they held. This enables future philosophers to propose new ideas about values.

This naturally reminds us of the valuation issues discussed in the previous section. In fact, Section 9 serves as a summary of the earlier sections. To use the investment analogy again, we know that the growth of wealth in human society ultimately comes from innovation—whether it’s technological innovation, product innovation, or the creation of new markets and channels. But innovation requires knowing what’s already available in the market. Therefore, it’s necessary to have people who can conduct market research. You also need accountants, supply chain management, and production facilities. Only then can you identify and create a “niche” for your business, based on consumers’ needs and your own strengths. In this process, the entrepreneur is the creator, but he needs many people to help with the preparatory work. To do this, he must make use of the illusion of “equality for all” that characterizes our time (Section 6), while also avoiding being blinded by the opinions of those around him.

This vision can only arise from the entrepreneur’s own life experiences. It’s neither possible to simply revert to outdated methods nor to create unrealistic plans that ignore the lessons of those who came before (Section 7). Just as philologists face the antinomy of philology, of reconciling ancient and modern understandings, entrepreneurs also face the antinomy of innovation. The solution is also similar: entrepreneurs need to find a narrow focus point. The more comprehensive the vision, the harder it is to bring it to reality.

In this process of creation, it’s the entrepreneur himself who actually does the valuation. He/she alone bears the risks of success or failure of his/her life. Those around him are merely taking the money and doing the job. Philologists are like consulting firms: they analyze historical data, but they don’t plan for the future. That’s the entrepreneur’s role, and it’s also he who must take the risk. Nietzsche said, “Valuing is the most difficult of all” (Section 8). This is because valuation requires taking risks personally, stepping into the unknown and exploring areas that no one has ever explored before. Once you step into that realm, you’ll face criticism from all sides. It might seem unpleasant, but remember: “The sublime is the cloak of the ugly” (Section 5). You can’t achieve the sublime without getting your hands dirty first. Standing on the sidelines may keep you clean and decent, but you’ll never achieve greatness that way.

Nietzsche said that most people live only to pave the way for the few geniuses. This might sound harsh, but considering that most people lack the courage to explore the unknown, take risks, and create something new, it’s actually quite fair. How many people actually dare to take risks with their lives, to pursue their dreams, even in this business-driven world, in order to just be rich? If you don’t have the courage, or if you do have the courage but not the skills, why not willingly submit and serve those who truly possess both courage and skill? Programmers, designers, financial professionals… these white-collar jobs essentially involve working within clerical systems created by earlier generations. They’re merely living “as the result of earlier generations,” lacking true creativity. Of course, you might make some micro-innovations in your field, but these are nothing compared to the truly creative individuals that Nietzsche had in mind: philosophers, saviors, artists. Philologists also need to come up with many innovations in order to address the language-related problems of a particular era. But their goal is always clear: to understand what a particular word meant during that era. This goal itself serves merely as a means to achieve a higher goal. Philosophers take the results of philologists’ work and use them to develop new systems of values for the new era. It’s similar to how entrepreneurs use the analysis provided by consultants to decide what new products to bring to the market. This is what Nietzsche meant by “valuing”.