more from this thinker     |     more from this text

Single Idea 20106

[filed under theme 23. Ethics / F. Existentialism / 7. Existential Action ]

Full Idea

Nietzsche was fascinated by the idea of a will that turns against itself, against its usual impulses.

Gist of Idea

Nietzsche was fascinated by a will that can turn against itself

Source

report of Friedrich Nietzsche (Works (refs to 8 vol Colli and Montinari) [1885]) by Rüdiger Safranski - Nietzsche: a philosophical biography 03

Book Ref

Safranski,Rüdiger: 'Nietzsche: a philosophical biography' [Granta 2003], p.49

A Reaction

This strikes me as very existentialist - a case of existence before essence.

The 17 ideas with the same theme [existentialist attitude to decisions and ethics]:

22027 Life isn't given to us like a novel - we write the novel [Novalis]
20747 What matters is not right choice, but energy, earnestness and pathos in the choosing [Kierkegaard]
16001 Life may be understood backwards, but it has to be lived forwards [Kierkegaard]
24079 The best life is the dangerous life [Nietzsche]
4504 Morality used to be for preservation, but now we can only experiment, giving ourselves moral goals [Nietzsche]
20106 Nietzsche was fascinated by a will that can turn against itself [Nietzsche, by Safranski]
20316 Every decision I make moves towards or away from fulfilled Existenz [Jaspers]
6571 When a man must choose between his mother and the Resistance, no theory can help [Sartre, by Fogelin]
3851 If I do not choose, that is still a choice [Sartre]
9242 Essential problems either risk death, or intensify the passion of life [Camus]
9246 Danger and integrity are not in the leap of faith, but in remaining poised just before the leap [Camus]
22342 Kantian existentialists care greatly for reasons for action, whereas Surrealists care nothing [Murdoch]
22351 Only a philosopher might think choices create values [Murdoch]
22502 Refraining from murder is not made good by authenticity or self-fulfilment [Foot]
4245 Ethical conviction must be to some extent passive, and can't just depend on the will and decisions [Williams,B]
4246 Taking responsibility won't cure ethical uncertainty by; we are uncertain what to decide [Williams,B]
6689 The key to existentialism: the way you make choices is more important than what you choose [Graham]