Nietzsche's Will to Power
5. Discuss Nietzsche’s theory of “will to power” and “the innocence of becoming”. Does the hypothesis of the will to power successfully “debunk” traditional religion, morality, and philosophical claims to provide the “disinterested” or “objective” truth?
Nietzsche introduced an idea of philosophy that was more than simply a rational groundwork of existence or as the pursuit of an absolute truth. Instead, he suggested that philosophy is something to be respected as a personal interpretation of life and all its faculties (morality, existentialism etc.) and that was – for him - focused on life affirmation. Furthermore, this thinking implies that philosophy is not a be all and end all answer to life’s questions; rather, it is merely a process of understanding and faith. Two central doctrines of Nietzsche’s philosophy, the ‘will to power’ and the ‘innocence of becoming’, work in tandem to isolate this affirmation of life from any ‘otherworldly’ thinking i.e. religion. The ‘will to power’ which refer’s to a pursuit of autonomy, supposedly fuels all our decisions. Furthermore, this does call into question the existence of an “objective” truth put forth by traditional authorities; As surely, if man is motivated by an internal and primal drive, how can there be an outside force i.e. god governing our actions? The role of the ‘innocence of becoming’, arguably an extension of the ‘will to power’, refers to the solace that we take in blaming a common enemy for our weaknesses. The responsibility for our place in life is ergo no longer our own burden to bear. This essay is focused on the tension between traditional claims to the truth and Nietzsche’s theories that seemingly “debunk” them.
Although Nietzsche essentially preaches that to each their own, this does not mean that his philosophy cannot be applied to a greater domain than his own lifestyle; and in fact, the ‘will to power’, refers to the primal drive motivating all things in the universe. This will to power,
Nietzsche introduced an idea of philosophy that was more than simply a rational groundwork of existence or as the pursuit of an absolute truth. Instead, he suggested that philosophy is something to be respected as a personal interpretation of life and all its faculties (morality, existentialism etc.) and that was – for him - focused on life affirmation. Furthermore, this thinking implies that philosophy is not a be all and end all answer to life’s questions; rather, it is merely a process of understanding and faith. Two central doctrines of Nietzsche’s philosophy, the ‘will to power’ and the ‘innocence of becoming’, work in tandem to isolate this affirmation of life from any ‘otherworldly’ thinking i.e. religion. The ‘will to power’ which refer’s to a pursuit of autonomy, supposedly fuels all our decisions. Furthermore, this does call into question the existence of an “objective” truth put forth by traditional authorities; As surely, if man is motivated by an internal and primal drive, how can there be an outside force i.e. god governing our actions? The role of the ‘innocence of becoming’, arguably an extension of the ‘will to power’, refers to the solace that we take in blaming a common enemy for our weaknesses. The responsibility for our place in life is ergo no longer our own burden to bear. This essay is focused on the tension between traditional claims to the truth and Nietzsche’s theories that seemingly “debunk” them.
Although Nietzsche essentially preaches that to each their own, this does not mean that his philosophy cannot be applied to a greater domain than his own lifestyle; and in fact, the ‘will to power’, refers to the primal drive motivating all things in the universe. This will to power,
References: Miller Robert, PHIL1087 Mind-opener #4. Introducing Nietzsche, Part 1, RMIT University, 2012, pp. 3. Nietzsche Friedrich, The Will to Power, Vintage, New York, 1968, pp. 382, 550. Rowling J.K., Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, Bloomsbury, London, 30 June 1997, pp. 211.