Beyond Good and Evil · Chapter
13 explained
Nietzsche critiques the psychological dogma that self-preservation is the primary organic instinct, arguing instead that life's fundamental drive is the discharge of strength—the Will to Power—and that self-preservation is merely a frequent
What happens
Nietzsche critiques the psychological dogma that self-preservation is the primary organic instinct, arguing instead that life's fundamental drive is the discharge of strength—the Will to Power—and that self-preservation is merely a frequent by-product of this more essential force.
Themes in this chapter
Will to Power
Explicitly defined as life's primary essence: 'A living thing seeks above all to discharge its strength—life itself is Will to Power.'
Psychology as the Fundamental Science
Directly addresses psychologists, challenging a core dogma and prescribing a methodological principle of economy for the science.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Directly addresses psychologists, critiquing their foundational assumptions and advocating for a methodological principle of economy.
- Baruch Spinoza
Cited as an example of inconsistency for positing the instinct of self-preservation as a superfluous teleological principle.
Key passages
“A living thing seeks above all to discharge its strength—life itself is Will to Power ; self-preservation is only one of the indirect and most frequent results thereof.”
The core drive of life is not to preserve itself but to expend its energy; this expansive force is the Will to Power, and survival is just a common side effect.
Central redefinition of life's primary motive.
“let us beware of superfluous teleological principles!—one of which is the instinct of self-preservation (we owe it to Spinoza’s inconsistency).”
We must avoid unnecessary goal-oriented explanations, like the instinct for self-preservation, a concept flawed by Spinoza's logical inconsistency.
Methodological critique targeting a specific historical figure and concept.