Nietzsche’s Philosophy: Will to Power and the Overman
**First,** Criticism of the Platonic-Christian Tradition and Nihilism
A: Critique of the Platonic-Christian Tradition
The object of his critique is not see above dogmatic philosophy, but Platonism. Concretely, the guidelines in his criticism are:
- Moral
- Traditional metaphysics and the ontological-epistemological
- Positive sciences
1. Morality
Nietzsche’s critique with regards to morality opposes an unnatural life, and Platonic-Christian morality goes against its base instincts. The philosophical moral of Platonism: the world of ideas beyond serves to Christians as Platonism became the Christian metaphysics, putting the center of gravity of another life. He criticizes the idea of a moral world order that serves as a guide to direct man, as well as the importance of that order as something external to man. The same goals and orders are intrinsic and immanent, impartial and human. Plato thinks of two worlds and puts up good and bad in this and the next. Dogmatic philosophers, among other things, claimed that the highest value came not from this world but from God.
2. Traditional Metaphysics
a) To Ontology: Ontology considers a static legacy; one being is fixed and immutable. Some separation between real being and apparent being is a negative view on life and puts more weight on the world of the notion (real) than on the sense of (apparent), but there are not two worlds, but the fate of being. The constant reasons by which this world has been cataloged as apparent by metaphysics base their reality on another reality, a different and undemonstrable metaphysics. The Western tradition is taken as true without knowing the reason. What supports this reflection is not logic but the need for human beings to survive in a world where everything is becoming. For Nietzsche, both categories of states that are true of things are signs of non-being, and the world only exists through the senses. Inventing a different world implies having misgivings towards life and becoming. Inventing another world is meaningless if it is not intended to be better.
b) To Epistemology: In terms of reality and concept, the theory of knowledge explains the formation process of going from concept to feeling to image using intuitive metaphors, and the image is passed to the concept through the fixation of a metaphor. This fixation produces the custom. In the end, the concept is used to describe reality and as if it is not changed when this is nevertheless a constant. In becoming reality and regarding language, Nietzsche claims that if the concept does not fit reality, language, which is the union of concepts, much less.
3. The Positive Sciences
Nietzsche criticizes the mathematization of reality, which does not help us to know things but only to establish a quantitative relationship, thus nullifying the differences between them. But wanting to reduce qualities to quantities is crazy.
B: Nihilism
It is a historical moment characterized by the phrase “God is dead.” According to Nietzsche, it signifies that the supersensible world has subtracted the orderly operation of our existence; we are left senseless. This nihilism gives two faces to life:
- A negative, which is the destructive critique of the Western tradition
- A positive reflection on the West to become nihilistic
Three major movements:
a) Immediate consequence: Nihilism follows the destruction of current values. Now is the moment of tremendous doubt and disorientation.
b) Nihilism as a nihilistic affirmation of the process itself is a time for reflection.
c) Inflection point of nihilism towards a new perspective of being and man is the time of reassessment of life. Nietzsche now calls it “will to power.”
**Second,** the Will to Power and the Overman: Towards a New Ontology and Anthropology
A. Willpower
The new ontology states that reality and being are becoming and have a perspective. Being, like seeing the idea of being, is a never-ending process; that is, reality is constantly changing. Therefore, it is the will to power that exists, which is to accept the becoming. Its consequences are:
a) Compared to the positive sciences, Nietzsche proposed the new idea of truth: life is a continuous evolution as truth acquired by positive science is a will to power error. Authentic knowledge of reality is what is becoming, and human reason can never encompass it. Reason means capturing commonality and exalting the senses as a means of capturing it. This leads to irrationalism.
b) Versus the traditional epistemology based on the concept, Nietzsche proposes a new language based on the metaphor: it exalts the power of the true metaphor as a perspective rather than the static concept. The only fixed relationship is the artistic metaphysical relationship. As a consequence, conceptualism is rejected, opening the way to perspectivism.
c) Against the traditional Christian-Platonic moral, Nietzsche proposed atheism and the transmutation of values: the will says to earthly life, and the transmutation of values converts the object of affirmation for life. The consequence will be vitalism, the exaltation of life and values.
B. The Superman
Theory of Eternal Recurrence: In front of the linear conception of time in Platonism, Nietzsche says that what really exists is a sequence of the same problems; just change the attitude to face them. In Platonic-Christian philosophy, it is against running and refugees in the intelligible world. By contrast, in Nietzsche’s philosophy, it is against accepting them, and this is Amor Fati (love of fate).
The Three Metamorphoses: Nietzsche exposed three metamorphoses. The camel symbolizes wanting to obey blindly but wanting to be more and transforms into a lion that symbolizes the great denier, but wants to be more and transforms into a boy that symbolizes living free from prejudice and creates the new table of values. For Nietzsche, the Superman had the following values: “The superior man does not pay attention to the prejudices of the people, does not believe in equality, and says yes to the hierarchies. Equality only leads to a herd of slaves. The superior man laughs at suprasensible values. The superior man is a child, unbiased and innocent.”
Notions:
1. The Senses and the Body
Nietzsche criticizes the traditional philosophers for wanting to mummify life when in reality, this is a continuous becoming. Thus, they are fleeing from change, which is only an appearance. Therefore, the philosophers have created an ontology based on reason, setting aside the senses because they sometimes deceive us.
2. The Highest Concepts and Concept of God
Supreme Concepts: This expression corresponds to the true world. It is the reality of change. For Nietzsche, these concepts do not refer to anything real but are terms to refer to a world invented by jealousy and cowardice before becoming.
The Concept of God: The concept of God is causa sui, that is, it exists by itself while the rest exists by the cause of another.
3. Dionysian and Tragic Art
Tragic Art: For Nietzsche, reality is vital; therefore, life becomes the object of his philosophy. Being pure becoming reality, the concept cannot grasp the metaphor; instead, if it brings perspective. For that, art is the only adequate instrument for understanding the evolution of life because it states using the metaphor. Besides, tragedy is considered the highest form of art because it matches the Dionysian, that is, the acceptance of reality and man as they are exactly the same.
Dionysian/Apollonian: Terms to qualify artistic demonstrations. The Apollonian (related to the god Apollo) represents the ideal of beauty and order, as far as the Dionysian (referring to the god Dionysus) represents excess and clutter. Both poles need each other and are also the essence of all art. The two concepts are the two trends in humans, but knowing how to unite them would achieve the artistic dimension in their lives, situated beyond good and evil.