Nietzsches 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 c
The Will to Power, which results from these two books, contains various metaphors and generalizations which display contradictions and tensions (Harman, 2). The cost of self-imparement must not be at the expense of the weak. In effect, this is a representation of the survival of the fittest theory. In this manner of representation, one must question if this creature could ever become a reality. However, Nietzsche also argues that it is stability which has ultimately lead to the stagnation which is currently the position of man. Nietzsche views joy as being tinged with pain, in this way enabling the idea of joy to be appreciated in its totality. Cross states, "this creature can only succeed in negating himself, and, in essence, can never truly exist at all. In stability, there will be no movement forward and no evolutionary progress (Cross, 6). See how he treats his fellow man with contempt. However for man to change, he must want to change. 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. Nietzche's view of man's 'sickness' reveals itself very strongly in The Antichrist, but The Will to Power also displays his view. Therefore, the will to power is the power to set one's own values and one's own goals. 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).
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