Monday, October 7, 2013

Will to Power, Reflection, Miscegenation, Pragmatism

In #36 of Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche derives the Will to Power as a general principle from its original formulation as a Psychological hypothesis.  However, the passage leaves unexamined how the principle applies to his discovery of it, a moment which some characterize as 'Reflection'.  Instead, such a concept of Reflection can be derived from his later advocacy of Miscegenation.  For, deliberate interbreeding, as a means to the generation of superior beings, harnesses the Will to Power qua the procreative drive.  Thus, the advocacy of Miscegenation is a manifestation of the overcoming of Self-Overcoming, and, hence, of the Will to Power as applied to itself.  But, that harnessing is constituted by the implementation of a theory.  Thus, the Will to Power concept of Reflection can be classified as 'Pragmatist'.

No comments:

Post a Comment