In Friedrich Nietzsche's First Treatise of Zur Genealogie der Moral, Nietzsche attempts to trace the origins of what we perceive as the valuations of “good versus bad” and “good versus evil”. Nietzsche asserts that the spectrum of “good versus bad” arises from the empowered nobility of a society, and the spectrum of “good versus evil” arises from something he calls resentment for said empowered nobility out of a concept he coins the “slave revolt in morality”, which consequently is hijacked by the priest caste. He further claims that the value of “good” created by the nobility is inversely equal to the value of “evil” illustrated by the priest caste, which to Nietzsche is preposterous and dangerous. Thus morality is rendered useless as it cannot be accredited with any legitimacy in Nietzsche's eyes. In Treatise Two Nietzsche continues to delve into the concept of morality, asserting that our moral concepts are “watered thoroughly and for a long time with blood” (Genealogy, T2 VI). The moral concepts Nietzsche describes here (guilt, conscience, and sanctity of obligations) arise from the “laws of obligation” which are directly affiliated to the origin of punishment in a pre-moral environment.
Punishment
Nietzsche opens Treatise Two with his observation that animal has the key ability of forgetfulness, meaning animal doing any activity is doing so only via natural instinct and thus cannot be held accountable for their actions because it does not remember. Nietzsche claims that humans who were bred to make promises were done so by the creation of memory, and he proposes to the reader that promises are thus “the real problem of human beings” (Genealogy, T2 1). Nietzsche proposes that the power to make promises enabled for human beings creates a free will and a great burden of responsibility. Furthermore Nietzsche asserts that this responsibility is the root of punishment while claiming that the self realization of this responsibility is “conscience”.
Punishment arises for Nietzsche by the predictability of human beings created by their conscience. Nietzsche notices that promises