Friedrich Nietzsche’s notion of the Übermensch is one of his most famous philosophical narrative. While he himself never defined or explained what he meant by it, many philosophical interpretations have been offered in secondary literature.
Throughout his works, Nietzsche writes about possible great human beings or “higher types” who serve as an example of people who would follow his philosophical ideas. These ideal human beings Nietzsche calls by terms such as “the philosopher of the future”, “the free spirit”, “the tragic artist” and “the Übermensch”.
In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche posits the About this sound Übermensch (often translated as “overman” or “superman”) as a goal that humanity can set for itself. Rather, he suggested this as a more better version of the human being and shall consider this as the next evolutionary stage of existing for of human being. They are not concerned about rewards in another world and will be concerned about the world where we live and rise above the existing value systems and create his own morality and values. Thus, they won’t be mastered by the herd mentality following the morality of the masses because they have been told what is right or wrong. In short, this proposes human being to find meaning of life by striving to be Übermensch rather than following anything else which is followed by the mass.
Further influences
In 1903, three years after Nietzsche’s death, George Bernard Shaw published his play “Man and Superman,” in which he equated the Übermensch with an overflowing “Life Force.”
Three decades later, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two Cleveland teen-agers, created the first “Super-Man” story, depicting the character not as a caped hero but as a bald, telepathic villain bent on “total annihilation.” Super-Man soon reëmerged as a muscle-bound defender of the good.