Individuals have a moral obligation to assist people in need.

Neg Case Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche writes, "We are deprived of strength where we feel pity. That loss of strength which suffering as such inflicts on life is still further increased and multiplied by pity. Pity makes suffering contagious; it may engender a total loss of life and vitality out of all proportion to the magnitude of the cause pity persuades men to nothingness!" Because I agree with the above quotation, I negate the resolution. Resolved: Individuals have a moral obligation to assist people in need. I do not have a core value because of the fallacy of the values many philosophers have you believe in. Therefore, I uphold the will to power. Philosopher Nietzsche maintains that the main goal of humanity is to become strong, what he calls "overmen". Therefore, all suffering should be embraced in order to become stronger, with the hope of becoming an "overman." Because of this, my criterion is Nietzsche. Contention 1: To assist people is to deny them of the suffering that will make them stronger. According to Philip Kain, Professor of Philosophy at Santa Clara University, Physical suffering is reduced by treating it as a test, which brings one greater power. Pain and suffering are turned into empowerment. It is possible to love such suffering as a sign of increased power. One craves pain and the more suffering one can bear, the stronger one becomes. To take pity on the sufferer either would demonstrate an ignorance of the process the sufferer is engaged in, what the sufferer is attempting to accomplish through suffering, or would show a lack of respect for the sufferer's suffering. To pity the sufferer, would demean the sufferer and the whole process of attempting to gain greater strength through such suffering. Assisting those in need would deny them their right to suffer. Only through suffering can one become stronger, therefore we should not help them to allow them to become stronger. Contention 2: The only way to overcome suffering is by embracing it. Philip J. Kain Professor of Philosophy at Santa Clara University wrote, For years Nietzsche was ill, suffering intense migraines, nausea, and vomiting. [N]othing is so unworthy of man than to suffer violence. . . . [W]hoever suffers this cravenly throws his humanity away. What was he to do about his suffering? He decided to submit to it voluntarily. He decided to accept it fully. He decided that he would not change one single detail of his life, not one moment of pain. He decided to love his fate. He could not change his life anyway. But this way he broke the psychological stranglehold it had over him. He ended his subjugation. He turned all "it was" into a "thus I willed it." Everything that was going to happen in his life, he accepted, he chose, he willed. He became sovereign over his life. There was no way to overcome his illness except by embracing it. If we assist those in need then they will not be able to embrace their suffering. Nietzsche states that we must learn to love life, even if it consists of suffering. Suffering is the only thing that allows the human race to evolve into stronger beings, therefore if we deny those in need the will to power, we deny part of the human race the opportunity to become "overmen". www.paulbui.net/wiki/images/f/f0/Assistance_TopicAnalysis1.doc