Nietzsche’s Stages of Freedom — Or How to be Free
“It is at the same time a malady that can destroy a man, this first outbreak of strength and will for self-destination…this will for free will.”
When given the option to be free or enslaved, most people, if not all, will choose freedom. We crave freedom. We crave control over our lives, and yet we’re all tied down, many times willingly, by figurative chains of some sort.
In his many literary works, Nietzsche often writes about doing away with these chains, of liberating ourselves from the yoke of religion, morality, society, or pretty much anything that is holding you back from greatness.
However, he also cautions that, once obtained, this freedom could be too much for mere mortals, and thus, in “Human, All Too Human,” he writes about the necessary stages of becoming a free spirit.
“Liberation comes suddenly.”
Freedom does not knock at everyone’s door. But if you’re lucky enough for it to choose you, you must know that it will arrive suddenly, like an earthquake, without previous warning. This sudden development of events can cause confusion. You feel yourself being ruled by an unknown force which fills your with new vigor which impels you to move forward:
“The young soul is all at once shaken, torn apart, cast forth — it comprehends not itself what is taking place. An involuntary onward impulse rules them with the mastery of command; a will, a wish are developed to go forward…”
We’ve all felt this force to some degree. When we know we’ve had it with a certain situation, when we realize that it is unthinkable to keep living under our current circumstances… When we realize that we can control a lot more than we ever thought possible, freedom shows up unexpectedly, ready to bless us with renewed vigor. Or as Nietzsche poetically wrote, with a “volcanic-like longing for a far away journey…”
Struggles and Difficulties
As much as we’d like to believe that the arrival of freedom is our happily ever after, we need to understand that this is merely the beginning of our troubles. Freedom requires work and effort, and once you realize you deserve to live free, the true toil begins:
“Things of pain and ill belong to the history of the great liberation. And it is at the same time a malady that can destroy a man, this first outbreak of strength and will for self-destination, self-valuation, this will for free will…”
Freedom demands that you question all your chains, everything that is keeping you away from your dreams. EVERYTHING. This new vigor which now propels your life demands that you sacrifice to it even your most beloved beliefs. If you wish for to be free, you must examine everything that you’ve blindly treasured. For some, this may come in the shape of questioning their religious beliefs. For others, it may mean questioning some family ties, some friendships, or conventional rules.
The person that wishes to be free “tears to pieces whatever attracts him…He overturns whatever he finds veiled or protected by any reverential awe: he would see what these things looks like when they are overturned.”
Yes, nothing is off-limits in your quest for freedom. Nietzsche is inviting us to question why we’ve chosen to believe certain things, even if those things hold a reverential value. He’s inviting us to take inventory of our lives, to see the real worth of our values.
This may be the most painful of the stages to freedom. It is during this stage where you may be forced to forget long held beliefs. It is at this point where you may have to say good-bye to toxic relationships in your life.
Once you start unraveling your life and freeing yourself from useless believes, you may become a little addicted to this feeling:
“The liberated…roves fiercely around, with an unsatisfied longing, and whatever objects he may encounter must suffer from the perilous expectancy of his pride…”
You’ll get used to questioning everything. You may get the urge to laugh at everything foolish you see others believing. This is just a stage until you regain your balance.
“The Free Spirit Draws Near to Life Again”
After laughing sardonically at everything he once held dear and at everything he finds foolish, the free spirit comes back to life again, void of hatred for the conventionalities that once kept him enslaved:
“It seems as if now for the first time his eyes are open to things near. He is in amaze and sits hushed…These near and immediate things: how changed they seem to him! He looks gratefully back — grateful for his wandering, his self exile and severity…
Now for the first time he really sees himself.”
After shedding all things that kept him captive, the free spirit for the first time sees himself… and he is surprised and happy for the first time in a long time.
Become Master Over Yourself
In short, Nietzsche argues that freedom and liberation can only come to us if we become master over ourselves and our own good qualities, instead of the letting them lead the way unguided.
So go ahead, be free. But keep in mind that freedom will also bring its own pain. Whether it’s worth the pain or not is up to you.
