Will to power
Concept · Friedrich Nietzsche · Philosophy, stage 1: Learn the vocabulary
Will to power is Nietzsche's proposal that the basic drive in living things is not survival or pleasure but the drive to grow, expand, and exert one's own strength, including over oneself. He uses it to explain behavior across biology, psychology, and culture, from a plant growing toward light to an artist mastering a craft. Scholars disagree on how literally Nietzsche meant it as a claim about all of reality, versus a narrower psychological observation about human motivation.
Why it matters
It is the closest thing Nietzsche offers to a positive theory underneath his attack on inherited morality.
Part of
Sources
- Friedrich Nietzsche Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Nietzsche Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
