The will to power is one of the prominent philosophical concepts that appears in the late works of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The fundamental motive that drives human beings
-
Achievement, ambition, striving to “rise to the highest possible place in life”.
-
“the willingness to own, dominate, be more than, and be stronger.”
Directly influenced by Alfred Adler. Adlerian psychology reflects the concept of the will to power. This is in contrast to the other Viennese schools of psychotherapy. They include Sigmund Freud’s pleasure principle, Victor Frankl.’s logotherapy (will to meaning), and others. Each defines a person’s fundamental motivation separately.
The first time these words appear in a published book is in the chapter “Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” Part II, “Self-Transcendence. So Nietzsche criticizes the “will to truth” by which “wise men” try to make all things thinkable, as a “will to power” that tries to subject everything to the mind. i.e., the will to power was initially closely related to ressentiment and was marked as negative. However, Nietzsche eventually redefined the will to power as a positive concept. Daring to actively affirm nihilism and overcome nihilism can be the will to power.
The will to power is sometimes translated as the will to power, but the “power” of the will to power does not refer only to the so-called power of man to control others. Nor does the “will” refer only to feelings that arise independently in the individual. The will to power competes in all things, including natural phenomena. The antagonism of the will to power determines the form, arrangement, and movement of all things. In other words, truth does not exist as an unchanging Logos, but is produced each time by the will to power. This idea was carried over into the philosophy of difference of [Gilles Deleuze.
Hitoshi Nagai also refers to this concept, writing that it is better to call it “power = will theory” rather than “will to power.
Nietzsche holds that the Logosic, such as Christianity, lusantimanic valuations, and metaphysical values, keep man away from “Here’s a live one. And that man is a tragic being who must continue to recognize the values that are displaced by his will to power. But to reach such an awareness means to leave existing values behind and to attain a free spirit. It is also a condition for reaching superman. Will to Power - Wikipedia
This page is auto-translated from /nishio/力への意志 using DeepL. If you looks something interesting but the auto-translated English is not good enough to understand it, feel free to let me know at @nishio_en. I’m very happy to spread my thought to non-Japanese readers.