At the deepest foundations, Nietzsche believes that mankind moralizes from the same underlying, driving force that is behind all life: the will to power. We will explore just what the will to power means, which Zarathustra says is synonymous with the process of self-overcoming. We will then examine how it is that the will to power produces our second-order drives, such as the will to truth, or the drive to obey the community's morality. We'll conclude by examining the practical applications of Nietzsche's level of "moral meta-analysis", how we can use this analysis to turn a critical eye to different world-historical moral systems, and, finally, what this understanding will to power means for our lives.

This episode draws on the arguments of Walter Kaufmann from his book, Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist. I also recommend this very helpful post by Lebensmaler on the Nietzsche subreddit: Polysemy of the Word Morality in Nietzsche's Writing.

Episode art: Rembrandt -- Moses with the Ten Commandments (Courtesy of Wikimedia commons)

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/untimelyreflections

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ZARzVCRfJZDCyeKjvIEfE?si=LL7Nk03ESZWgyec4x4mQcQ