This thesis examines Nietzsche's Übermensch based on Amor fati (translated as affirmation of life) and proposes a model of teacher as 'artist of life'. The thesis seeks via Nietzsche's Übermensch a model of teacher who can seize pathos of di... This thesis examines Nietzsche's Übermensch based on Amor fati (translated as affirmation of life) and proposes a model of teacher as 'artist of life'. The thesis seeks via Nietzsche's Übermensch a model of teacher who can seize pathos of difference in daily lives with repeated teaching and learning, teacher who can generate life by enhancing humanity. To Nietzsche, Amor fati-based Übermensch is a human that can love the life itself where creation and destruction are continually repeated. Such understanding of Übermensch by Nietzsche was established from his earlier experiences as a teacher concerned about enhancing humanity, and in his later years led to the problem of Will that affirms life revealed by self-reflection. This thesis examines such Nietzschean view of humanity in terms of teacher as a human that affirms life of teaching and learning. "Whoever is a teacher through and through takes all things seriously only in relation to his students – even himself." (Nietzsche, 1889) Such an admonition can be understood under the premise that life of a teacher who teaches and learns is linked to life of students. The identity of a teacher is formed in relation to students, and authenticity as a teacher's trait is practiced in daily lives. A teacher who affirms life of teaching and learning not only affirms the changes in students but also exercises the life-affirming Will in order to seize one's own changes influenced by such changes and to maintain healthy relationship. Such a teacher can seize thousands of differences in thousands of situations in a life of repeated teaching and learning. It represents a human being not as someone who passively adjusts to changes under rapidly changing culture, but as an active agent that generates life. An active adjustment to changes goes beyond approving differences to actively generating differences for change. A teacher who approves differences removes conflict before expressing any differences in internal will but a teacher who generates differences recognizes students as the Other that is non-substitutable and unique so can love ("Amor fati") them. A life-affirming teacher not only exercises the arts vitae that utilizes teaching methods and contents but also becomes an artist that generates life by being oneself in classroom situations that seem not to admit co-existence. Chapter II examines how Nietzsche came to form the notion of Übermensch and shows that Nietzsche's understanding of Übermensch is grounded in esthetic view of humanity based on Amor fati. The chapter first overviews Nietzsche's position that criticizes the Enlightenment's dualistic form of reasoning as well as the passivity of pessimistic nihilism. It also discusses how modern culture tends to formalize dynamic life into artificial reasoning and neglects human life. Nietzsche does not remain at criticizing modern culture but seeks alternatives in recovering humanity in life's context. Nietzsche explains Übermensch in terms of esthetic awareness in ancient Greece and clarifies that the life-loving human is a prototypical subject that responds to dynamic life and aims at continual growth and changes. Chapter III investigates Perspectivism in view of Nietzsche's Übermensch. Nietzsche's Übermensch is someone who continually enhances oneself in one's own life and is someone who recovers oneself and is "becoming" in relational life. When applied to teachers, a teacher's identity as Übermensch lies in authenticity. This chapter introduces the stages of Übermensch in Thus Spoke Zarathustra and clarifies teacher's authenticity for affirmative will as well as distinguishing the life affirmation into Perspective and Experience. Perspective is a will that faces and attempts to overcome falsity in reasoning that conceptually formalizes life. Experience is a will that recognizes and attempts to generate differences in life's phenomenality. Furthermore, affirmative will required of teachers is a fair interpretation of repetition of differences and is based on corporeality as extended reason. Chaper IV proposes teacher as artist of life who shares the meaning of life and generates life. First, a teacher who exists in sharing life's meaning is not a technician who transmits propositional knowledge but is a subject that waits for interpretation. Such a teacher goes beyond contemplating and appreciating life and affirms that one's own perspective can be perceived differently by the others. Second, a teacher who as an artist of life generates differences of perspectives in life is an artist who expresses esthetic sense in the life of teaching and learning. A teacher's esthetic sense means a multidimensional perspective that can place the vanishing point on multidimensional relationship by allowing various actions of will in complex network of relationship. In conclusion, Chapter V makes recommendations for education of teachers. The teacher as Übermensch based on Amor fati offers implications for explaining teacher's affirmative will as a human being who continually agonizes over what and how to teach and learn in modern society where various values co-exist. teacher's affirmative will to life is a motivating power to achieve educational objectives together with learners, other teachers and parents. When a teacher recognizes the affirmative will that can be expressed in own life and actively participates in life's sharing activities with students, education will transform into life generation and teachers themselves will be able to enjoy life as a "festival" with learners.
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