The ethics of Gandhi and Nietzsche contradict each other. They differ in the following respects:—
(1) Difference of ultimate end:
According to Gandhi, the ultimate end is God realization while according to Nietzsche it is possession of power.
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(2) Difference of basis:
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Gandhi’s ethics is spiritual while Nietzsche’s is biological.
(3) Difference in regard to conception of good and bad:
The difference in the conception of good and bad arises out of a difference in the ends.) Power is good and weakness bad, according to Nietzsche. With Gandhi truth is good and falsehood bad. Good guides one towards God and evil away from Him.
(4) Difference in conception of human nature:
Nietzsche treats man as a mere living being and Gandhi as spiritual being. According to Gandhi man has a spark of God.
(5) Difference of Means:
According to Nietsche man should struggle in order to obtain dominance while, to Gandhi, sacrifice and service are the supreme duties.
(6) Difference of Moral Virtues:
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Accordingly, Nietzsche emphasizes virile qualities like strength, vanity, reason, enterprise, rigger and determination while recognizing the morality of slaves in sublime qualities on the other hand Gandhi treats gentleness, benevolence, non-violence, truth, love, pity, self-sacrifice and self-effacement as truly supreme moral qualities.
(7) Difference in thoughts pertaining to universe and god:
With respect to their thoughts about God and the universe, Nietzsche and Gandhi differ fundamentally. According to Gandhi, the entire universe is based upon moral laws whose organizer is God. Nietzsche is an atheist who believes the world to be based upon physical and biological laws.
(8) Difference about relation of means and end:
Upon the subject of the relation of means and end Nietzsche opines that the end determines the propriety of die means but in Gandhi’s opinion it is as necessary for the means to be good as it is for the end to be so.
(9) Difference in opinion about propriety of war:
Nietzsche looks upon war as right as well as necessary. But Gandhi opposes war contritely, being a staunch supporter of non-violence hi all spheres.
(10) Difference in regard to place of morality in the world:
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As far Nietzsche is concerned, neither life nor the world has any concern with morality but for Gandhi, the world is the moral field of self improvement.
It was on the basis of Nietzsche’s ethics that Fascism evolved hi Germany under the dictatorship of Hitler. By following Gandhi’s teachings today India is tie herald of peace in the world.
The strongest argument against the ethics of Nietzsche is the state of derogation to which Hider and Fascism fell. Nietzsche bitterly criticized the Christian religion but it was due to the lack of human qualities of the same Christianity that his superman becomes a devil.
The development of sublime qualities is also necessary besides the masculine and virile qualities here Nietzsche can take a lesson from the Gandhian ethics.