The preparation of the Optional Theme dedicated to People, nations and cultures is meant to challenge IB students about their perception and opinion of what constitute a global world and the prospect of a unifying world culture. The change of title from Philosophy of Culture to describe this particular theme indicates a change of philosophical perspective and the realization that the notion of ‘culture’ cannot be universally defined (in let’s say, a Kantian way) but only made understandable through the dispassionate interpretations of various cultural customs and practices. The Postmodern sceptical attitude to value judgements is an echo of the ancient Sophists’ proclamation that ‘Man is the measure of all things’. To be unable to decide between the appropriate moral worth of two possible choices is to show a relativist approach of ethics. A relativist will ultimately decide on what may appear like nothing but a personal whim, from the point of view of an external observer.
Nietzsche supported such a perspectivist attitude which boils down to the personal choice of the moral agent, from his own unique position or perspective, in the absence of compelling universal values. However, far from leading to a form of moral nihilism, Nietzsche’s philosophy rescued ethics through his own interpretation of the ‘Will to Power’ and the creative harnessing of our natural drives and impulses in our everyday life.
