Nietzsche: Truth, Morality, and the Will to Power

Truth and Morality in Nietzsche's Philosophy

All works written after Thus Spoke Zarathustra are possessed by the idea of the "transmutation of all values." This means, first, that Nietzsche's thought passes through a fixed bed of issues and does not question itself. All the problems of philosophy are value problems for him; the actual nature of value, however, is not problematic.

The Axiological Perspective

Whenever the philosophy of the past reflects on being, Nietzsche secretly thinks it is guided by axiological points of view. It wants to escape "becoming," estimating the stable and permanent as superior, as the most valuable, and as the real thing.

The Value of Truth

Nietzsche is annoyed by the unresolved question regarding the value of truth—a question that seems to him more radical than others. In his work, Nietzsche operates with a narrow concept of truth, which remains primarily focused on objective and scientific learning. In other words, the truth value Nietzsche calls into question is the truth about what exists:

• The truth of science
• The truth of metaphysics

The opening of truth as life flows—as will to power and eternal return—is the foundation of Nietzsche's universal axiological perspective and can only be an axiological phenomenon.

Metaphysical Ambiguity

The true nature of his own underlying philosophy never reaches final clarity. This is not a coincidence, but a limitation that can be explained biographically. The lack of clarity regarding the essence of the truth of "life"—which is the truth of the will to power and eternal return—hides Nietzsche's position regarding split metaphysics. It leaves the deep question of whether he still belongs to this tradition or whether he transcends and goes beyond it.

Moral Status and the Will to Power

It is a remarkable spectacle to see how Nietzsche reduces all previous ideas of truth to the will to power and the axiological views dictated by it. The moral status is defined, for Nietzsche, by its degree of truth; that is, by the way it aligns with the will to power and to what extent it recognizes it as a principle of creating value. Ultimately, for Nietzsche, the moral problem is a real problem of compliance with the will to power, which is the essence of life.