If this life is all there is, how can existence be “absurd”? The bit of knowledge he will whisper in your ear? Salivating like Pavlov’s dog at the thought of leveling up on whatever trivial video game currently occupies the disc tray? Nietzsche explored the idea of the will to power throughout his career, categorizing it at various points as a psychological, biological, or metaphysical principle. Artists channel it into a will to create. This article is part of The Critique exclusive No Exit From Hell: The Philosophy Of True Detective. In early works like "Human, All Too Human" and "Daybreak," Nietzsche devotes much of his attention to psychology. But saying Yes to eternal recurrence affirms opposing conditions as opposing conditions, which one must oppose to find one’s own meaning. Payne (New York: Dover, 1969), p. 324. EXI is harmed by neither NC nor IC. In fact, he typically applies the theory quite subtly. Rather, he praises the sublimation of the will to power into creative activity. They will better themselves every day of their lives and in the process become versions of themselves (the übermenschen) which are superior to their past selves (unexceptional, timid humans). Metaphors, aphorisms, and all kinds of literary devices were all the rage back in his day. If that explanation doesn’t make complete sense to you—and frankly, it shouldn’t—then allow me to demonstrate. Copyright All Rights Reserved © The Critique 2015. Schopenhauer says that our response to this absurdity should be a denial of the Will to whatever extent possible, which in its strongest form would be an ascetic renunciation of desires, especially the sexual drive to reproduce, which simply perpetuates the absurdity. Of the possible challenges EXI faces, I will deal with two. He is the author or co-author of several books, including "Thinking Through Philosophy: An Introduction. For instance, in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" he has Zarathustra say: “Wherever I found a living thing, I found there the will to power.” Here the will to power is applied to the biological realm. View more posts, This is really good and offers a way to read Star Wars VII in terms of how it fits in with the preceding narrative using both eternal recurrence and the ubermensch. The Ethics of True Detective: Resignation or Compassion? Perhaps life-denial is absurd. You may be thinking to yourself, “Self, what the hell am I supposed to do with ‘Eternal Recurrence’?” The answer to your question? Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. On the basis of this, we’ll surrender our commitment to life and give up notions of meaning and purpose; we will behave as though nothing matters. So why are you content to just let it happen while passing time? When speaking of the equivalence of greatness and a lack of compassion, Nietzsche states that this experience is “a parable for the whole effect of great human beings on others and on their age; precisely with what is best in them, with what only they can do, they destroy many who are weak, unsure, still in the process of becoming” (Nietzsche, 101). I’ll admit, that kind of sounds like bullshit, but hang with me, it’s not. Section 1067, the last section of the book, sums up Nietzsche’s way of thinking about the world as “a monster of energy, without beginning, without end...my Dionysian world of the eternally self-creating, the eternally self-destroying…” It concludes: Emrys Westacott is a professor of philosophy at Alfred University. Change ), “There is only one thing a philosopher can be relied upon to do, and that is to contradict other philosophers” – William James, The Kalam Cosmological Argument and The Problem of Induction, “Ending The Abortion Debate: On The Issues That Truly Matter” Now Available on Kindle, Subsuming The Irenaean Theodicy Into Atheism, The Danger of Social Media: Schadenfreude. Pessimism implies that life should support human interests in some fundamental way but cannot—why else turn away from life? ‘We Are Creatures That Should Not Exist’: The Theory Of Anti-Natalism, 60 Years On: Academic Atheist Philosophers Then & Now, C.S. Other articles where Eternal recurrence is discussed: Friedrich Nietzsche: Nietzsche’s mature philosophy: The doctrine of eternal recurrence, the basic conception of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, asks the question “How well disposed would a person have to become to himself and to life to crave nothing more fervently than the infinite repetition, without alteration, of each and every moment?” Some think of the übermensch as simply an exceptional individual who stands above the rest. His view of individuals, especially great individuals, his revaluation of values, and his belief in a dynamic rather than mechanistic world are all encompassed in EXI. This is part of the reason it’s untenable once one considers Nietzsche’s philosophy as a whole. He also implies that the great individual has the ultimate self-knowledge that is to such an extent that s/he is fully cognizant of their strengths and weaknesses (Nietzsche, 232). He received his Ph.D. from Fordham University in 1976. After his death, however, his sister Elizabeth published a collection of his unpublished notes, organized and edited by herself, entitled "The Will to Power." Or at least someone who works to further their own dreams? It should. Nietzsche is basically borrowing Christian imagery and is saying something akin to milk is for babes and meat is for the strong (1 Corinthians 3:2), and therefore, the great can influence the great. At times Nietzsche seems to posit the will to power as more than just a principle that yields insight into the deep psychological motivations of human beings. Nietzsche is never perfectly clear about the übermensch. Circles are flat. His doctrine of eternal return is therefore telling us to live the kind of life we would approve of living over and over again for all of eternity, for in permitting this revelation to possess our thoughts and thereby bear upon our actions is the equivalent of living a great life once. We constantly seek what cannot be delivered in life. It is as Ronald Dworkin offered, an adverbial rather than adjectival life, a life comprised of the total performance rather than what remains when the performance is subtracted. “How many newsworthy issues, which should have been the rightful domain of philosophy, have been usurped in recent years by religion, law, and psychology?”. You ask me, the light’s winning.” What is meant by the light winning? Plan for an unfinished book: The Eternal Recurrence. This is the definition of a circle. Perhaps the most damning point to be made is that Nietzsche’s thesis involved an inversion of Christian values and an admonition for us to see evil as vital to the preservation of our species. Even if one does not experience deep trauma, that does not alter the global absurdity analyzed by Schopenhauer”. There is the cosmological interpretation (CI). Think of the übermensch as the future-you who is superior to the current-you. He did suggest that the doctrine of eternal return may crush you and perhaps this will be the common reaction to the demon’s revelation. If this holds, then there’s nothing inconsistent about EXI. Lewis Is Great But You Should Be Reading Alvin Plantinga, Why There Is No Such Thing As A Soul Mate. If this thought gained power over you, as you are it would transform and possibly crush you; the question in each and every thing, 'Do you want this again and innumerable times again?' Everything we have done or will do we will do over and over and over again—forever.” – is similarly ambiguous; by “we” does he mean we as individuals, or we as the human race? To the contrary, he speaks of the sort of intoxication that leads to the breaking of limbs along false paths (see p.101). Zarathustra comes to humanity in order to “redeem the earth,” to speak for natural life against all life-denying doctrines. His areas of specialization include 19th- and 20th-Century Continental Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, and Social and Political Philosophy. This demon will creep up to the side of your bed and he will whisper in your ear, “Your entire life will endlessly repeat itself. [1] The World as Will and Representation, Vol. In this video, I explain the idea of "Eternal Recurrence" in Nietzsche's philosophy. “In Schopenhauer’s philosophy, pessimism is a function of wisdom, not mood or terrible misfortune. But… what if it was? If you take McConaughey’s 2013 oscar acceptance speech as a true reflection of his personal belief system then I have to conclude that Catholic values projection was and is important to McConaughey. People unacquainted with Nietzsche’s writings may be inclined to interpret the idea of the will to power rather crudely. 1, trans. It is not clear (Read Professor Sandra Shapshay’s discussion of this question in “The Ethics of True Detective: Resignation or Compassion?“). And this idea underlies Nietzsche attempt to understand and evaluate moral systems. Nietzsche applauded Schopenhauer’s honest analysis of existence and his deconstruction of all “optimistic” doctrines. Given what’s been surveyed above, it is clear that CI and EI do not allow Nietzsche’s philosophy to be consistent. Schopenhauer was therefore able to articulate the pessimistic spirit of Western thought without concealment. Saying Yes to the repetition of life includes all the things we regret and despise, all the things that go against what we find meaningful. In this video, I explain the idea of \"Eternal Recurrence\" in Nietzsche's philosophy.Should you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.\"The heaviest weight. No small thing there. ( Log Out / The ethical interpretation (EI) sidesteps the metaphysical commitments of the premises of CI and seems to prescribe to us an ethical principle with an unusual Kantian flavor. Then he says: “Once there was only dark. In fact, I’d be happier than parrot with a cracker.” Nietzsche thinks you wouldn’t be quite as content as you’d like to think. NC fails because it gives more weight to the suggestion that the doctrine of eternal return will crush people than to other suggestions, in particular the suggestion of desiring an eternally recurring life and receiving it as an ultimate confirmation. ( Log Out / The will to power as Nietzsche conceives of it is neither good nor bad. However, there is a section dedicated to the idea in The Will to Power, a collection of notes published by Nietzsche’s sister Elizabeth in 1901. By R.N. Nietzsche speaks of giving style to one’s character. How would feel about that knowledge? The question in each and every thing, “Do you desire this once more and innumerable times more?” would lie upon your actions as the greatest weight. The Gay Science. The question in each and every thing, “Do you want this again and innumerable times again?” would weigh upon your actions as the greatest weight. Nietzsche, in fact, argues that causing pain is generally less pleasant than showing kindness and even suggests that cruelty, because it is the inferior option, is a sign that one lacks power. The surging of the Will for individual agents comes to a stop with death, but this is only an apparent cessation of the Will because it continues to surge in all other beings. First things first: Nietzsche wasn’t being literal about the Eternal Recurrence. Would such a prospect be a devastation or a joyous gift? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: 'You are a god, and never have I heard anything more divine.' There are also the ethical (EI) and existential interpretations (EXI). [2] The Gay Science, trans. With eternal recurrence, the small man will return again and again, forever.
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