Nietzsche's Most Dangerous Idea | The Übermensch

Concept Canvas: #04 Painting Philosophy’s Masterpieces

The Übermensch

I want to teach men the sense of their existence, which is the Übermensch—the lightning out of the dark cloud. The Übermensch is the domain of philosophers, revolutionaries, and edgy teenagers. This has got to be one of Nietzsche’s most famous ideas, but perhaps also his most misunderstood one. The Übermensch is often characterized as just a very strong guy, or a kind of “alpha” type who sits at the top of our current societal hierarchy. But, as we will see, these descriptions are at best incomplete and at worst deeply misleading.