Abstract

I examine Nietzsche's concept of a nihilism of strength\nand the relationship in which it stands to the kind of\nvital self-assertion that he admired in archaic\naristocracies. What is new in Nietzsche's nihilism of\nstrength is a self-awareness that was lacking in the past\nand that would enable a fully autonomous human being to\nrecognize the "being" he imposes on "becoming" as the\nexpression of his own will to power. I show that this idea\nleads to serious incoherencies in Nietzsche's account of\nthis new kind of strength and undermines any possible\nauthority that such volitional enactments might have for\nother people