Nietzsches Overman In The Will To Power Essays - Free Essays

Nietzsche's Overman In The Will To Power Essays - Free Essays Nietzsche's Overman In The Will To Power 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