Tschandala
Encyclopedia
Tschandala is a term Friedrich Nietzsche
borrowed from the Indian caste system, where a Tschandala is a member of the lowest social class. Nietzsche's interpretation and use of the term relied on a flawed source but was used by certain interpreters to connect him to Nazi ideology.
as an example of one kind of morality, of "breeding", as opposed to the Christian version of morality which attempts to "tame" man.
At first, Nietzsche describes methods of Christian
attempts to "improve" humanity. As a metaphor, he uses a trained beast in a menagerie which is said to be "improved", but which in reality has lost vitality and is only weakened. In just such a way, Nietzsche says, has Christianity "tamed" the Teutonic races.
The law of Manu, on the other hand, tries to "improve" humanity by creating 4 castes of people, while ostracizing and making life miserable for the Tschandala, the untouchables. Nietzsche deplores this type of morality, that of the "breeder," just as he does the (Christian) "animal tamer", as he is opposed to all 'morality'. However, he much prefers it to the Christian "slave-morality." In his view, the humiliating and oppressive edicts against the Tschandala are a defensive means of keeping the castes pure:
According to Nietzsche, Christianity is a product of Judaism
, the "Tschandala-religion". By this he means that Judaism and Christianity after it are the morality born of the hatred of the oppressed (like the Tschandala) to their oppressors:
In The Antichrist
, Nietzsche again cites the law of Manu, and favors it in a relative sense to the morality of Judeo-Christianity. Nietzsche describes the "most spiritual" and "strongest" men who can say "yes" to everything, even the existence of the Tschandalas; and opposed to this is the envious and revengeful spirit of the Tschandalas themselves (cf. master morality vs. slave morality). Nietzsche also uses the term Tschandala for some of his opponents, e.g. socialism
.
. According to Annemarie Etter, this translation of the Manusmriti is not reliable and differs widely from other sources. For example, the high respect it gives to women, which Nietzsche quotes in opposition to "Christian misogyny", is in fact not contained in any of the usual texts.
In his description and interpretation of the "Tschandala", Nietzsche may have followed a long footnote by Jacolliot, which gives an "unbelievable, abstruse and scientifically completely untenable" (Etter) theory. According to Jacolliot, all Semitic peoples, especially the Hebrews, are descendants of emigrated Tschandalas. Although Nietzsche never directly says this, it seems plausible that he believed in Jacolliot's theory at least to some extent, even though, as Etter points out, Nietzsche would have easily been able to falsify several of Jacolliot's pseudo-scientific claims. In so doing, he may have increased the impact of Jacolliot's "effusive admiration for ancient Eastern wisdom and civilization with a more or less open and pronounced antisemitism and antichristianism" (Etter).
" and others Nietzsche used in his later works were very useful for Nazi ideologues
who tried to take him in for their political program. The pitiless humiliation and, eventually, destruction of the weak was favoured by national socialism. Also, Nietzsche's comparison between the Tschandalas and Judaism (see below) fitted in with antisemitism.
Though Nietzsche did use the term Übermensch
, nowhere in his works he used the contrary Untermensch
that in the 20th Century became a notorious concept in the racist Nazi ideology, that was used for races and individuals that it perceived "inferior", like Jews, gypsies and homosexuals. Nietzsche was not a nationalist
, explicitly despised the German
culture and also called himself an "anti-antisemite".
wrote a novel called "Tschandala" in 1889.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
borrowed from the Indian caste system, where a Tschandala is a member of the lowest social class. Nietzsche's interpretation and use of the term relied on a flawed source but was used by certain interpreters to connect him to Nazi ideology.
Nietzsche's use of the term
Nietzsche uses the term "Tschandala" in the Götzen-Dämmerung (Twilight of the Idols) and Der Antichrist (The Antichrist). Here he uses the "law of Manu“ with its caste systemCaste system in India
The Indian caste system is a system of social stratification and social restriction in India in which communities are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups called Jātis....
as an example of one kind of morality, of "breeding", as opposed to the Christian version of morality which attempts to "tame" man.
At first, Nietzsche describes methods of Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
attempts to "improve" humanity. As a metaphor, he uses a trained beast in a menagerie which is said to be "improved", but which in reality has lost vitality and is only weakened. In just such a way, Nietzsche says, has Christianity "tamed" the Teutonic races.
The law of Manu, on the other hand, tries to "improve" humanity by creating 4 castes of people, while ostracizing and making life miserable for the Tschandala, the untouchables. Nietzsche deplores this type of morality, that of the "breeder," just as he does the (Christian) "animal tamer", as he is opposed to all 'morality'. However, he much prefers it to the Christian "slave-morality." In his view, the humiliating and oppressive edicts against the Tschandala are a defensive means of keeping the castes pure:
"Yet this organization too found it necessary to be terrible—this time not in the struggle with beasts, but with their counter-concept, the unbred man, the mishmash man, the chandala. And again it had no other means for keeping him from being dangerous, for making him weak, than to make him sick—it was the fight with the "great number."
According to Nietzsche, Christianity is a product of Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, the "Tschandala-religion". By this he means that Judaism and Christianity after it are the morality born of the hatred of the oppressed (like the Tschandala) to their oppressors:
"Christianity, sprung from Jewish roots and comprehensible only as a growth on this soil, represents the counter-movement to any morality of breeding, of race, privilege:—it is the anti-Aryan religion par excellence. Christianity, the revaluation of all Aryan values, the victory of chandala values, the gospel preached to the poor and base, the general revolt of all the downtrodden, the wretched, the failures, the less favored, against "race": the undying chandala hatred as the religion of love…"
In The Antichrist
The Antichrist (book)
The Antichrist is a book by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, originally published in 1895. Although it was written in 1888, its controversial content made Franz Overbeck and Heinrich Köselitz delay its publication, along with Ecce Homo...
, Nietzsche again cites the law of Manu, and favors it in a relative sense to the morality of Judeo-Christianity. Nietzsche describes the "most spiritual" and "strongest" men who can say "yes" to everything, even the existence of the Tschandalas; and opposed to this is the envious and revengeful spirit of the Tschandalas themselves (cf. master morality vs. slave morality). Nietzsche also uses the term Tschandala for some of his opponents, e.g. socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
.
Nietzsche's flawed source
Nietzsche's source for the law of Manu was the book Les législateurs religieux. Manou, Moïse, Mahomet (1876) by French writer Louis JacolliotLouis Jacolliot
Louis Jacolliot was a French barrister, colonial judge, author and lecturer.Born in Charolles, Saône-et-Loire, he lived several years in Tahiti and India during the period 1865-1869....
. According to Annemarie Etter, this translation of the Manusmriti is not reliable and differs widely from other sources. For example, the high respect it gives to women, which Nietzsche quotes in opposition to "Christian misogyny", is in fact not contained in any of the usual texts.
In his description and interpretation of the "Tschandala", Nietzsche may have followed a long footnote by Jacolliot, which gives an "unbelievable, abstruse and scientifically completely untenable" (Etter) theory. According to Jacolliot, all Semitic peoples, especially the Hebrews, are descendants of emigrated Tschandalas. Although Nietzsche never directly says this, it seems plausible that he believed in Jacolliot's theory at least to some extent, even though, as Etter points out, Nietzsche would have easily been able to falsify several of Jacolliot's pseudo-scientific claims. In so doing, he may have increased the impact of Jacolliot's "effusive admiration for ancient Eastern wisdom and civilization with a more or less open and pronounced antisemitism and antichristianism" (Etter).
Nazi appropriation
Terms like "race", "breeding", "AryanAryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
" and others Nietzsche used in his later works were very useful for Nazi ideologues
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
who tried to take him in for their political program. The pitiless humiliation and, eventually, destruction of the weak was favoured by national socialism. Also, Nietzsche's comparison between the Tschandalas and Judaism (see below) fitted in with antisemitism.
Though Nietzsche did use the term Übermensch
Übermensch
The Übermensch is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche posited the Übermensch as a goal for humanity to set for itself in his 1883 book Thus Spoke Zarathustra ....
, nowhere in his works he used the contrary Untermensch
Untermensch
Untermensch is a term that became infamous when the Nazi racial ideology used it to describe "inferior people", especially "the masses from the East," that is Jews, Gypsies, Poles along with other Slavic people like the Russians, Serbs, Belarussians and Ukrainians...
that in the 20th Century became a notorious concept in the racist Nazi ideology, that was used for races and individuals that it perceived "inferior", like Jews, gypsies and homosexuals. Nietzsche was not a nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, explicitly despised the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
culture and also called himself an "anti-antisemite".
Literary influence
Inspired by Nietzsche, August StrindbergAugust Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
wrote a novel called "Tschandala" in 1889.