Moral values, although affected by society, are also greatly individualistic. I believe wholly that morals should not equate with religion. By that I mean that morals should be followed for the greater society and individual feelings about said actions, rather than what is told is wrong or right by a book or written code. Spirituality is an individual path, not dictated to society as a whole. Ethics should be understood in religion, but not something that restrains and individual from freedom of expression, and the ability to question these rules. At our core we reject morals when survival is threatened. In our most vulnerable moments, when our lives and the lives of those we love are at risk, we will murder even if it is not morally correct in any other circumstance. At a basal level we are all animals, with instincts similar or the same to many 'less civilized' creatures we see. Civilization is an illusion, because what separates us from animals is reasoning and morals. Morals are abandoned when we are at risk and peril of losing our lives, because we still act off of emotions and instincts one way or another. Therefor, morals are nothing but false beliefs, no matter how true and individual lives by them. For example if you or your child's life was threatened, you would kill. If food was scarce, you would lie, cheat, and harm others to insure the survival of ones own self and offspring.
Many of my beliefs I realize are very similar to Nietzsche. With the reaction of religion as a Master/slave mentality where the Master will always be good and the slave always be trying to repay for their own wrongness. I reject organized religion, as Nietzsche has written it off as being ignorant. I also see how Nietzsche values self expression and rejection of morals to further oneself. I also believe that by questioning rules, you find self fulfillment. Wether Nietzsche seems selfish, he is right when he states that we hold no true responsibility to care for others but ourselves first, because in truth there is no karma or divine intervention. These things are only beliefs, and as an individual we have the right to believe whatever we feel is right to us.
I found your blog post incredibly interesting to read, especially since I ended up writing about very similar themes in my post, only on the completely opposite side of thought. I feel very much the opposite of Nietzsche, I believe that the ultimate responsibility a person holds is to care for another, and that there is an ultimate, divine truth. I do agree that questioning the rules is extremely important, and that society cannot dictate religion or morals. I really appreciated seeing such a different point of view, thanks for sharing!
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