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“History
repeats itself. That's one of the things wrong with history.”
Clarence Darrow
(1857 - 1938)
U.S. lawyer
“It was not a
casual bit of philosophy with [Leopold]; it was his life. He
believed in a superman. He and Loeb were the supermen. There might
have been others, but they were two, and two chums. The ordinary
commands of society were not for him. Many of us read this
philosophy but know that it has no actual application to life; but
not he. It became a part of his being. It was his philosophy. He
lived it and practiced it; he thought it applied to him, and he
could not have believed it excepting that it either caused a
diseased mind or was the result of diseased mind.”
-From Darrow’s
summation to the court
Sebastian
as Superman
by
dll
In
Nietzsche’s superman or “overman” philosophy, he theorized
that man no longer needed Christian ideals of morality. He felt that
only a weak society and weak people needed to follow a generalized
moral structure, and that humans were evolving into people who
could moralize on their own. The Christian structure was developed to help prolific
procreation of a religious sect; basically an "all for
one" theory. Nietzsche
saw globally that that was no longer necessary.
Nietzsche's superman, or "overman," was someone who
could think on his or her own, and therefore could create on their
own. Not being held
down to a generalized moral doctrine would "free" people
to imagine other possible worlds.
Although Nietzsche explicitly denied that any overmen had yet
arisen, he mentions several individuals who could serve as models.
Among these models he lists Jesus, Greek philosopher Socrates,
Florentine thinker Leonardo da Vinci, Italian artist Michelangelo,
English playwright William Shakespeare, German author Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe, Roman ruler Julius Caesar, and French emperor
Napoleon I.
The concept of the overman has often been interpreted as one
that postulates a master-slave society and has been identified
with totalitarian philosophies. Many scholars deny the connection
and attribute it to misinterpretation of Nietzsche's work.
This misinterpretation usually consists of people who think
they are better or smarter than those around them, therefore they
can do anything they want, regardless of laws, including murder.
Glen Sebastian Burns is not the first teenager to get sucked
in by this misinterpretation and land in jail for it. Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold were 18 & 19 years old in
1924 when they decided they could commit the perfect crime.
Both came from wealthy families and were extremely
intelligent. Loeb is
the youngest graduate ever of the University of Michigan.
Both were fascinated by Nietzsche and his “overman”
philosophy. Inexplicable
still, the two kidnapped  and killed a young schoolboy whom they both knew. They
were later caught for this crime, and pled guilty.
Clarence Darrow delivered a successful twelve-hour long
plea to save their young lives.
During sentencing, the defense tried to get
Sigmund Freud to come to Chicago to testify, but his poor
health at the time prevented the visit.
The defense presented psychiatric evidence describing the
defendants' emotional immaturity, obsessions with crime and
Nietzschean philosophy, alcohol abuse, and sexual longings and
insecurities. Witnesses, classmates and associates of Loeb, were offered
to prove his belligerence, inappropriate laughter, lack of
judgment, and childishness. Other lay witness testified as to
Leopold's egocentricity and argumentative nature. The state
offered in rebuttal psychiatrists who saw normal emotional
responses in the boys and no physical basis for a finding of
mental abnormality.
The judge sentenced both to life in prison.
Loeb was slashed to death in prison in 1936 and Leopold was
released in 1958 and died in freedom in 1971.
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