Nietzsche and politics as will to dominion

Adilson Felicio Feiler, Professor at the Jesuit Faculty of Philosophy and Theology (FAJE), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. 

Although Nietzsche does not provide thorough and proper reflection on politics to develop a political theory in the strict sense, there are, nonetheless, quite suggestive elements that make such development possible and culminate in a certain political theory. The article Nietzsche and the political project based on the selectivity of virtue. An aristocratic project of will to dominion utilizes the concept of will to power to develop aspects that can be built into bases to further develop Nietzsche’s political project of domination and overcoming.

The concept of will to power is crucial in this context. It’s constituted as the realization of forces. Within it, obstacles and resistances exert themselves in an endless battle. In the realm of politics, it is from the intensity of forces, struggles, and resistances that one can infer a strong, large, affirmative political force, or conversely, a weak, small, negative political form. Nietzsche associates the concept of the will to power with a strong, large-scale politics and links the concept of the herd with weak, small-scale politics.

Within Nietzsche’s conception, politics cannot be considered an end in itself; rather, it contributes to thinking about the domain of life in its affirmative connotation. This is precisely why many are resistant to considering Nietzsche as a political thinker. His approaches to politics are, essentially, preparatory steps for thinking about other topics, especially those related to life and its implications. Therefore, according to Nietzsche, in his second proposition of the Posthumous Fragments of 1889, “(…) a party creates life, strong enough for big politics: big politics leads physiology to lordship over all other questions” (Nietzsche, 1999, NF/FP December 1888 and early January 1889, 25[1], KSA, 13,638).

Image: Quotefancy.

This trajectory unfolds in three parts, each reflecting on some crucial aspects that can be deduced from the bases that form Nietzsche’s political project. The first part reflects on how Western culture has established itself and the need to transform these foundations, shifting from a culture based on rational moral virtue to one founded on perspective, stripped of the morality of weakness and reason, i.e., on forces. 

The second part addresses the role played by the concept of will to power in renewing cultural foundations, promoting the forces essential for the constitution of virtue. Finally, the third stage focuses on the radical dimension of the cultural project centered on the will to power, stripped of morality. It is titled, “A Political Project to Overcome Morality: A Radical Project.”

About Adilson Felicio Feiler

He has a doctorate in philosophy from the Potifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul and is a research professor at the department and Postgraduate Program in Philosophy at the Jesuit Faculty of Philosophy and Theology.

References

ARALDI, C.. Virtue. In: GEN – Nietzsche Study Group. Nietzsche Dictionary. São Paulo: Loyola, 2016. p. 418-419.

NIETZSCHE, F.W. Kritische StudienausgabeKSA. Herausgegeben von Giorgio Colli und Mazzino Montinari. Berlin: Gruyter, 1999. 15 Bd.

NIETZSCHE, F.W. Briefwechsel: Kritische Gesamtausgabe Briefwechsel KGB. Herausgegeben von Georgio Colli und Mazzino Montinari. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1986. 8 Bd.

VIESENTEINER. J.L. Great politics in Nietzsche. São Paulo: Annablume, 2006.

To read the article, access

FEILER, A. F. Nietzsche and the political project based on the selectivity of virtue. An aristocratic project of will to dominion. Trans/Form/Ação [online]. 2024, vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 1-24 [viewed 26 July 2024]. https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-3173.2024.v47.n3.e02400191. Available from: https://www.scielo.br/j/trans/a/7zfTkdJBnKJQWgYNTSxfYzg/ 

External Links

Trans/Form/Ação – TRANS: https://www.scielo.br/trans/

Trans/Form/Ação – Journal: Instagram | Facebook | Academia.edu

Adilson Felicio Feiler – ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7352-927X

Nietzsche Source: http://www.nietzschesource.org 

Red Iberoamericana de Estudios Nietzscheanos (RIEN): https://rediberoamericanadeestudiosnietzscheanos.wordpress.com 

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche-moral-political/