Compare Nietzsche’s concept of the “Will to Power” with Alfred Adler’s insight that Nietzsche’s
Compare Nietzsche’s concept of the “Will to Power” with Alfred Adler’s insight that Nietzsche’s “Will to Power” is not essential to human nature, but is, in fact, a neurotic pattern of behavior based on a “fictional goal” created by the individual in order to cope with the demands of society.
When it comes to definition of “Will to Power”, Nietzsche and Adler have two completely different outlooks. Nietzsche has a completely different outlook than everyone else has. He believes that the will to power means “manipulating characters of fragility and frailty, to indulge on one’s supremacy, and to pamper one’s self with praise, are admirable traits of the good” (O’Sullivan and Pecorino). Adler believes that everyone should be treated equally and that everyone performs and act to better their surroundings and the individuals around them. In today’s world I do believe that both outlooks do still exist. In today’s society with social media and the news, people are always worried about how they are perceived by everyone else in the world and they feel like they need to be liked by everyone. I can see how Nietzsche’s outlook on the “Will to Power” can be a main driving force in the actions that a person performs. With having the need to be liked by everyone, they perform actions, weather it is something they like or not, just to get the approval of everyone else, which in turn falls under “intentions being self-absorbed, and do not entail goodness or benevolence” (O’Sullivan and Pecorino). I do also believe that there are people fighting for right and equality because they truly believe that it is the right thing to do. They are not looking for approval from anyone else or looking for spotlight. These are also the people that work as a team and look to help everyone to make them better and do not force their beliefs upon them. A person always has a choice in life of who they want to be, and in today’s society I believe the main thing is blocking out the demand of how social media thinks you should be and focusing on how you truly want to be without the approval from everyone else. Looking at it from a Teleological Ethics point of view, following Adler’s outlook on “Will to Power” would be the happiness to the greatest number of people because you are not doing everything for just yourself but you are doing it for equality and because it is what you truly believe in.