Nietzsche's Four Core Concepts: Will, Values, Recurrence

The Three Manifestations of the Will to Power

Nietzsche identifies three primary manifestations of the Will to Power (Wille zur Macht):

• Will to Create: Developing the instincts that give us life and creating new values.
• Will to Self-Affirmation: Striving to maintain one's current state.
• Will to Improve: Trying to surpass oneself by becoming more authentic.

The Will to Power is a force driving continuous change, movement, and creation. All beings are expressions of the Will to Power, but some possess a greater intensity of this life force than others.

The Concept of the Übermensch (Superman)

Following the “death of God” and the decline of traditional Christian values, we conclude that there are no absolute truths. This creates the necessary atmosphere for the arrival of the Übermensch (Superman).

Nietzsche does not provide a clear picture of this figure, suggesting it is a new species or biological arrival achieved through evolution. This arrival is not necessarily guaranteed; it is reached if we utilize circumstances and create a climate for excellence, viewing the death of God as a favorable condition.

The Übermensch is a moral creator who establishes new values. They ground their certainty in their own morality, not pretending to uphold universal values, but intensely personal ones. The values of the Übermensch include:

• Freedom (Libertad)
• Independence
• Self-reliance (having their own criteria)
• Being self-created.

The Übermensch cultivates all aspects of the human experience—intellectual and sensual—enjoying food and cultivating their intellect, refusing to be limited unless they choose to be.

Nietzsche's Transmutation of Values

Nietzsche uses the expression “Transmutation of Values” (or Transvaluation) to refer to two distinct processes:

1. Negative Transmutation (The Morality of Resentment)

   This consists of inverting old values or giving them a new meaning. It is performed by the weak man through resentment, who transvalues strong human values (seeing the strong man as evil and the weak man as good).

2. Positive Transmutation (Creative Valuation)

   This involves destroying the old, conventional values and creating entirely new ones. This creative act is carried out by the Übermensch, who may also transmute old values by giving them a foundation rooted in the Will to Power.

The Übermensch places humanity “beyond good and evil.” This does not mean the Übermensch is amoral; rather, they possess their own morality. There are no absolute goods or evils; instead, there is moral relativism (each individual establishes their own moral framework).

The Übermensch is honest because they create and adhere to their own values. They cannot be considered immoral according to the old morality because they operate outside its framework.

The Eternal Recurrence of the Same

The idea of Eternal Recurrence is presented as a kind of inspiration or challenge: the thought that everything will repeat itself forever. This concept is drawn from mythology and pre-Socratic philosophy (specifically Heraclitus).

Nietzsche regards the acceptance of this idea as the ultimate challenge for the Übermensch. At the same time, it serves as a powerful incentive to live an authentic life:

“Every moment of our lives will be repeated forever. The stimulus is that every moment of my life must be worthy of eternal repetition, even if it has not been joyful.”

This concept argues that one must love life so intensely that they are willing to repeat it, even enduring its pain.