Master and slave philosophy

"**Master and slave**" is a theme in philosophy that can be used in different ways. It is explained by the German philosophers Georg W. F. Hegel and Friedrich Nietzsche but with different meanings. In philosophy, the words "" and "" are not always meant literally. The theme refers to a hierarchy of certain things or people being put  others.

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## Hegel's explanation 
Georg W. F. Hegel wrote about a certain kind of recognition that people need. According to Hegel, people have a need to be recognised as individuals by other individuals. People fill this need by being recognised by others who aren't put  them. Part of this happens when people  against each other, even to death. People will risk their lives just to struggle for this kind of recognition. However, the outcome of this struggle creates a problem for filling this need. The person who loses the struggle will either die or become beneath the other person. This is taking the part of "slave". When someone puts someone else beneath themself, they take the part of "master". The person who loses the struggle can no longer give or receive the recognition that is needed. Therefore, when someone is put beneath others it damages how they think of themself. But also, when someone puts themselves  others, they cannot get the recognition they need from those people anymore. The American researcher David Duquette says the more correct name in English for this philosophy is "lordship and bondage", rather than "master and slave".

## Nietzsche's explanation 
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote many warnings about the dangers of morality. Morality is dangerous when it harms the best people and  the people beneath them, says Nietzsche. He explains master and slave as two different approaches to values and morals. The first approach values noble things like honour, courage, self-worth, and . These people value things based on what they see rather than what they are told. The second approach is what Nietzsche calls a weakness. It values things like sameness and pity. He also calls these "priestly values" because they are often  to people by priestly religions. He says the ancient Hebrews were an example of priestly culture, and the ancient Romans were an example of a noble culture.

The "slave revolt in morals" is when the weaker people force their weaker values onto others. This happens when they get  about being beneath the stronger people. When these values spread, they favour the weak and priestly people at the cost of the better and nobler people. Nietzsche also says they are life-denying values, meaning they have a negative and unhealthy attitude towards living. They are what make morality dangerous.

## Related philosophies 
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A slightly different theme of master and slave is also used by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It is a main part of his philosophy even though it often stays hidden. Plato says that enslavement is when a person cannot master themselves. When this happens they become a slave to their . The opposite of this he calls "self-mastery". He also says that people become mastered by others when they cannot master themselves. For example, people have leaders when they cannot lead themselves. For Plato, the slave and master relation is when something natural and  is put beneath something divine and . For example, Plato says the soul is master of the body. He also says that the world is naturally disorderly, but is turned orderly and scientific only by divine things. Nietzsche's explanation of the master and slave theme is instead based on power, rather than orderliness.

## References