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The existential philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche believed that humanity nedded
to be overcome. He viewed humans as weak creatures and slaves to the Christian
religion. In The Will to Power, Nietzsche asserts the poer of the overman-- a
creature beyond Christian good and evil-- to replace the passive man. To
understand the book, it is first necessary to understand what Nietzsche means by
'The Will to Power'. Denneson describes this as a 'psychological presupposition'
which assumes that humans are always attempting to inflict their wills upon
others (Denneson, 1). When considering the use of the term 'ubermensch' or 'overman'
in this work, it is also necessary to understand exactly what Nietzsche means by
this term. This is seen by many as the way in which he refers to a 'superhuman'.
In the past, many comparisons wre made between Nietzsche's overman and the Nazi
idea of the superior race. However, this has been re-evaluated by many scholars,
and the comparison is no longer seen in the same light. The overman is seen as
the next step up from normal humans; this creature could even be interpreted as
the next step up the evolutionary ladder. The overman is not isolated to just
this work; we see Nietzsche talk about this creature in other works such as Thus
Spoke Zarathustra and The Antichrist. The idea is not new, but at best, it is
still controversial (Cross, 1).
The Will to Power, which results from these two
books, contains various metaphors and generalizations which display
contradictions and tensions (Harman, 2). The philosophies which underlie all of
Nietzsche's writing are themselves contradictory; they both celebrate and
embrace the humanity of man, whilst holding it in contempt and insulting it at
the same time (Cross, 7). The concept oof the overman appears to be a
contradiction in itself, reflecting the views that Nietzsche himself expresses
about the human condition. The creature is dichotomy, seeing himself as superior
and a master of his environment, but simultaneously he hates his human self,
seeing his weaknesses and flaws. In this manner of representation, one must
question if this creature could ever become a reality. Cross argues that the
overmanis a contradiction in terms of existence which cannot be resolved due to
the constraints which Nietzsche applies to this hypothetical creature. Cross
states, this creature can only succeed in negating himself, and, in essence, can
never truly exist at all. Nietzsche has the view that mankind as it exists is a
disease of a 'sickness' which is destroying itself, reflecting the porr nature
of a modern man and his lack of pro-activism, being seen as a purely passive
creature unalbe to rebel and define his life. Nietzsche further argues that the
passive reaction of the occurrences in society are the result of the Christian
religion (Cross, 2). Nietzche's view of man's 'sickness' reveals itself very
strongly in The Antichrist, but The Will to Power also displays his view. This
book reflects Nietzsche's belief that all creatures, whatever they are, have a
requirement and a need to follow commands of some sort. The freedom of the
overman is that the individual despises what he is and has been, and in this is
able to learn to command himself.
However, this is a difficult and
self-destructive process. The perception of the comand over power is an
interesting one; it is not the straight forward meaning of control over others,
but also the control over one's self. In The Will to Power, Nietzsche sees those
who look to improve themselves as looking to the 'will to truth'. However, he
argues that in doing this, they are not really seeking new values, but that htey
are trying to find a way of bringing all men under the same code of
understanding. In effect, they are bringing them all further to the weaknesses
for which he blames Christianity. Nietzsche says he believes that a man who acts
out of laziness, or does not act for the same reason is bad, and this passive
stance allows the weaknesses of society to become more entrenched and accepted,
this becoming of a self-fulfilling prophecy-- the more it happens, the more it
will cause its continuation. The passive man does not display obedience to
himself, but to society. The overman is obedient to himself, arguably hte
hardest type of obedience. Therefore, the will to power is the power to set
one's own values and one's own goals. The power is therefore not any type of
physical brute force, but a strong and enduring self-determination. This shows
the dichotomy that Nietzsche puts forward-- for how can a man full of
self-loathing and sickness, aware of his own weaknesses, ever become this self-determanist
creature, yet still aware of his faults (Cross, 7)? Nietzsche argues that the
achieve this, a man must be free of the weaknesses of society; he must not be
bound by the convention that the strong have to help the weak. This convention
only leads both parties to become even weaker.
Nietzsche believes that the only
way of overcoming this sickness in society is for the next evolutionary step to
be taken-- the weak be left to their own devices, whilst the strongest develop
themselves. In effect, this is a representation of the survival of the fittest
theory. This reflects his view that the current evolutionary process has been
halted by man's weakness, and that it can only be restarted and the overman be
attained by drastic measures (Cross, 10). However for man to change, he must
want to change. See how he treats his fellow man with contempt. Yet, even in his
own writing, this is a contradiction; One can enhance only those men whom does
not treat with contempt; moral contempt causes greater indignity and harm than
any crime (Nietzsche, 393). For this to be seen as possible, we must accept that
the principle motivation behind man is not one of mere survival, but that is is
one of betterment. The cost of self-imparement must not be at the expense of the
weak. Arguably, it is an amorist view, which shows the reasons why so many
scholars see Nietzsche's questionalbe (Cross, 2). One may argue that if the
overman represents total obedience to oneself and not to others, this change
would herald the end of the state. There would no longer be any need for the
state because there would not be a role for it to play. However even in this
contradiction, a level of stability must be reached in the individual overman.
However, Nietzsche also argues that it is stability which has ultimately lead to
the stagnation which is currently the position of man. In stability, there will
be no movement forward and no evolutionary progress (Cross, 6). In a final
thought regarding the process and achievement of this overman statur, one can
clearly see a difference in the state of mind in achieving it. The overman will
not likely be satisfied in his position. The goal of the normal man, embodied by
the masses, is that of pleasure. In this respect, Nietzsche argues with many
other philosophers.
However, this is different from the goal and reward which
the overman receives. This Nietzsche sees the attainment of joy, yet with
different outcome. Nietzsche views joy as being tinged with pain, in this way
enabling the idea of joy to be appreciated in its totality. The whole idea of a
'superman,' or overman has been seen many time through philosophy, but in the
case of Nietzsche, it is a self-negating idea, and the theory would not work as
it advocates to many imitations and a disregard for the social needs of man. The
acceptance of this theory would be to disregard many of the social needs and the
way in which society works. This theory advocates an abandoment of the current
society in favour of total self-determination and obedience to the self. However
in considering this, the most basic message regarding the book The Will to Power
must be that this was not written directly by Nietzsche. It is a collection of
notes and observations, which are not finished or refined (Cross, 1). Here, we
are in danger of misinterpreting his message, and the best and most complete way
to rectify this flaw is to read his other books, which do present a final and
polished perspective, rather than the unfinished rough outline.
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