Where does our sense of morality come from? Friedrich Nietsche's On the Genealogy of Morality is the focus of a short explanatory video. Clarifying the difference between the concepts of good and bad based on one's societal framework, the video demonstrates the way Judeo-Christian morality has influenced modern society with an illustrative example.

Concepts

philosophers, morality, religious beliefs, compassion, morals, individuality, friedrich nietzsche

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Create an interdisciplinary unit between language arts and social studies to explore the philosophy of morality
• Connect to modern examples of moral dilemmas and the sometimes contradictory responses to them 

Classroom Considerations

• Consists of a short sample of the full analysis, which is available at the publisher's website with a free trial subscription or paid membership
• Comment section is open to the public, and full of opinions about the video's accuracy regarding Nietzsche's philosophy

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Uses a metaphor of wearing jeans versus wearing suits to explain the master and slave frameworks
• Inspires discussion from learners that may feel strongly about the value of individualism

Cons

• None

Common Core

RH.9-10.2 RH.9-10.9 RH.11-12.2 RH.11-12.9