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Full Idea
There is no such thing as 'willing', but only willing something: one must not remove the aim from the total condition - as epistemologists do. 'Willing' as they understand it is as little a reality as 'thinking': it is a pure fiction.
Gist of Idea
There is no such things a pure 'willing' on its own; the aim must always be part of it
Source
Friedrich Nietzsche (The Will to Power (notebooks) [1888], §668)
Book Ref
Nietzsche,Friedrich: 'The Will to Power', ed/tr. Kaufmann,W /Hollingdate,R [Vintage 1968], p.353
A Reaction
This is parallel to the common modern assertion that emotions also have intentional content, and cannot be understood as having a 'pure' identity.
20304 | The cause of my action is in my will [Shakespeare] |
20037 | Merely willing to walk leads to our walking [Descartes] |
4552 | There is no such things a pure 'willing' on its own; the aim must always be part of it [Nietzsche] |
20038 | If the action of walking is just an act of will, then movement of the legs seems irrelevant [Stout,R] |