A prominent philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, has revealed that the ultimate goal is not to increase consciousness, but to enhance power. In his book "The Will to Power", Nietzsche emphasized that each individual chooses an ultimate value that serves as a guiding principle for their life. For many, this value is wealth, status, or happiness, but Nietzsche believed that true power lies in the ability to heighten one's sense of self and will.
Nietzsche's concept of power is vastly different from the common perception of controlling others. Instead, he believed that true power comes from within, manifesting itself through personal growth and expansion. This can be seen in athletes who improve their physical abilities, writers who refine their craft, or educators who enhance their teaching skills.
In his book "On the Genealogy of Morality", Nietzsche criticized the notion that power means controlling others, saying it often stems from an underlying weakness or inferiority complex. He argued that true power is about embodying and expressing one's inner strength and potential.
A contemporary philosopher, John Richardson, has elaborated on Nietzsche's concept of power in his book "Nietzsche's Values". According to Richardson, true power is not about mere continuation or multiplication of life, but about elevating one's capacity and control to a higher level. This involves overcoming previous states of oneself and ascending to a higher level of existence.
Richardson highlights that Nietzsche's philosophy provides a guide for achieving this power. The first step is to set a goal that meets four conditions: it must be meaningful and challenging, promote health and well-being, conducive to personal excellence, and self-chosen. In an unpublished note, Nietzsche wrote that individuals should not worry about their purpose in life but instead set high and noble goals for themselves.
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Philosophers Friedrich Nietzsche and Bernard Register have shared their insights on how to attain true power. According to Nietzsche, once you've set a goal that meets four criteria - it must be meaningful, challenging, promote well-being, and self-chosen - the next step is to dedicate consistent time to its accomplishment. However, obstacles and resistances will inevitably arise, but these can be valuable opportunities for growth and self-overcoming.
Nietzsche believed that resistances are essential for the seeker of power, just like a skilled opponent is essential for a warrior. By overcoming these resistances, we increase our power and capacity. This process is known as "the game of resistance and victory", where we overcome one hindrance after another, propelling us towards our goals.
According to Nietzsche, once we've achieved our goal, we must put it behind us and set our sights on an even greater goal. This is because the pursuit of power is not about achieving specific goals, but about the process of growth and self-overcoming. The agent in pursuit of power seeks not achievements, but the thrill of overcoming new challenges.
In his book "The Affirmation of Life in the Will to Power", Register explains that the pursuit of power is a never-ending cycle. There is no final goal, unless the joy of the cycle itself becomes a goal. This means that individuals who structure their life around the pursuit of power will never stop partaking in this cycle - this circle of power - until death.
In essence, philosophers Nietzsche and Register have revealed that true power comes from within, and can be achieved by setting meaningful goals, overcoming obstacles, and constantly pushing oneself to new heights. By embracing this philosophy, individuals can unlock their full potential and live a life of purpose and fulfillment.
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Hence, such a life is without a final goal, unless, as Nietzsche explained, we consider the goal to be the joy, or the great happiness, that is a spontaneous byproduct of repeatedly increasing our power. “What is happiness? The feeling that power increases – that a resistance is overcome. Nietzsche, The Antichrist “joy is only a symptom of the feeling of attained power…one does not strive for joy…joy accompanies.” Nietzsche, The Will to Power Nietzsche’s ethics of power has profound implications for the worldview of modern man. For it offers a solution to the perennial problem of suffering. The problem of suffering is that we need a justification or meaning to our suffering, otherwise, we become prone to nihilism, world-weariness, and a festering hatred of life.
Nietzsche frames this problem in the following passage: “Man, the bravest of animals, and the one most accustomed to suffering, does not repudiate suffering as such; he desires it, he even seeks it out, provided he is shown a meaning for it, a purpose of suffering. The meaninglessness of suffering, not suffering itself, was the curse that lay over mankind so far.” Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morality Many religious, philosophical, and political systems throughout history have attempted to solve the problem of suffering by positing that this reality in which we suffer is but a transition to another, better, reality, a “true world”, in which suffering is kept to a minimum, or absent completely.
Examples of true worlds include religious heavens, or social or political utopias that are said to exist on the historical horizon. Such worldviews attempt to give suffering a meaning by promoting the idea that so long as we endure our present suffering, at some point in the future we will find redemption in a reality devoid of it. But the fatal flaw of these so-called solutions is that they devalue this earthly reality and the present moment, in favor of another reality or future moment, the existence of which we must take on faith. “The concept ‘beyond’, ‘true world’ invented in order to devalue the only world there is—in order to retain no goal, no reason, no task for our earthly reality!”
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In contrast to traditional ethics, Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy offers a practical solution to the problem of suffering. According to Nietzsche, if we prioritize power as the highest human value, we must also value the obstacles that allow us to increase our power. Suffering is defined as a feeling of pain or distress caused by being hindered, and therefore, if we value power, we must also value suffering as a necessary step towards achieving it.
Nietzsche argues that humans do not seek pleasure and avoid pain, but rather seek to increase their power and overcome obstacles. As such, displeasure is a normal and necessary part of life. People do not avoid it, but rather need it to continue striving for power.
Nietzsche's philosophy does not require faith or dependence on external forces, but rather offers a sober and convincing solution to the problem of suffering. It encourages individuals to take action and live a meaningful and productive life, rather than succumbing to passivity.
By embracing the cycle of self-overcoming and continual growth, individuals can actualize their potential and achieve the "great happiness" and "great health" that comes with the pursuit of power. As Nietzsche wrote, "Pleasure appears where there is the feeling of power. Happiness: in the triumphant consciousness of power and victory." Ultimately, Nietzsche's philosophy reveals that life itself is about overcoming oneself, as he famously said in his book "Thus Spoke Zarathustra": "And life itself confided the secret to me: behold, it said, I am that which must always overcome itself."
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