The Will to Power: Retreating from the Ontological Position

Abstract

Abstract: "The will to power" has long been considered to be the foundation of Nietzsche's aesthetics or even his entire thought, as it is the most clarified differentiating mark in Nietzsche's philosophical thought. However, this claim has pinned Nietzsche's aesthetics on the metaphysical concept of aestheticization and overlooked his breakthrough contributions to contemporary aesthetics. The ontological theorization of the will to power is itself not an established theory, and a retreat from the ontological position of the theory can be found in Nietzsche’s later works. Nietzsche eventually abandoned his project to build a mansion of philosophy on The Will To Power. The paper argues that the theorization of the will to power should not be over-evaluated and the will to power should not be considered to be the essential route to Nietzsche’s aesthetics.

Key words: The Will to Power, ontology, genealogy, somaesthetic, Nietzsche's aesthetics

Feng Xueqin. The Will to Power: Retreating from the Ontological Position[J]. Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art, 2013, 33(3): 197-207.

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