At the deepest foundations, Nietzsche believes that mankind moralizes from the same underlying, driving force that is behind all life: the will to power. We will explore just what the will to power means, which Zarathustra says is synonymous with the process of selfovercoming. We will then examine how it is that the will to power produces our secondorder drives, such as the will to truth, or the drive to obey the community's morality. We'll conclude by examining the practical applications of Nietzsche's level of "moral metaanalysis", how we can use this analysis to turn a critical eye to different worldhistorical moral systems, and, finally, what this understanding will to power means for our lives.

This episode draws on the arguments of Walter Kaufmann from his book, Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist. I also recommend this very helpful post by Lebensmaler on the Nietzsche subreddit: Polysemy of the Word Morality in Nietzsche's Writing.

Episode art: Rembrandt Moses with the Ten Commandments (Courtesy of Wikimedia commons)

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