The Will: Survival, Power, and Spirit
The concept of “The Will” is the metaphysical engine that drives reality in 19th and early 20th-century German philosophy. It represents the fundamental break from the Enlightenment’s focus on reason to a focus on drive and instinct.
This note compares three distinct evolutions of this concept: Arthur Schopenhauer’s “Will to Live” (the biological baseline), Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Will to Power” (the existential expansion), and Rudolf Steiner’s “Will as Sleeping Spirit” (the developmental potential).
1. Schopenhauer: The Will to Live
For Schopenhauer, the universe is not governed by a rational God, but by a blind, irrational, and insatiable force he called the Will.
- The Mechanism: In biological life, this manifests as the Will to Live—the desperate, unthinking drive to survive and reproduce.
- The Consequence: Because the Will is endless striving, it can never be satisfied. Therefore, life is fundamentally suffering.
- The Solution: Schopenhauer advocated for the denial of the Will through asceticism or aesthetic contemplation, temporarily escaping the tyranny of the drive.
2. Nietzsche: The Will to Power
Nietzsche accepted the premise of a non-rational drive but rejected the conclusion that it is merely about survival.
- The Mechanism: The Will to Power is an active, expansive force. It is the drive to overcome resistance, to grow, and to master one’s environment.
- The Critique of Survival: Nietzsche argued that a healthy organism doesn’t just want to survive (a goal of “slave morality”); it wants to expend energy, even at the risk of death.
- The Solution: Instead of denying the Will, Nietzsche champions Affirmation. One should embrace the struggle, creating meaning through the overcoming of obstacles (Übermensch).
3. Steiner: The Will as “Sleeping Spirit”
Rudolf Steiner, initially an editor of Goethe’s scientific writings and a student of German Idealism, took the concept of Will into the realm of consciousness. In The Philosophy of Freedom, he posits that the Will is not “blind” by nature, but merely unconscious to the human subject.
- The Mechanism: Steiner described the human soul as threefold: Thinking (waking state), Feeling (dreaming state), and Willing (sleeping state). We are fully aware of our thoughts, but we are “asleep” in our will—we know the intent of moving our arm, and the result, but the actual physiological mechanism of action is unconscious.
- The Goal (Ethical Individualism): Steiner argued that human evolution depends on bringing the conscious light of Thinking into the unconscious power of the Will.
- The Solution: Freedom. For Steiner, a “free deed” occurs only when the Will is no longer driven by biological instinct (Schopenhauer) or desire for dominance (Nietzsche), but is guided by Moral Intuition—a clear, conscious concept of action.
4. Comparative Summary
| Feature | Schopenhauer | Nietzsche | Steiner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Concept | Will to Live | Will to Power | Will as Sleeping Spirit |
| Nature of Drive | Blind, Reactive, Insatiable | Active, Expansive, Dominating | Unconscious, Potentially Moral |
| Consciousness | Will is the enemy of intellect | Will is the master of intellect | Will must be permeated by intellect |
| Goal | Cessation / Peace | Self-Mastery / Overcoming | Freedom / Love |
I wonder…
- How does Steiner’s concept of “Willing as Sleeping” relate to modern neuroscience’s “readiness potential” (Bereitschaftspotential), which suggests our brain prepares for action before we are consciously aware of it?
- Is “Flow State” (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi) an example of Steiner’s integration? It is a state where action (Will) and awareness (Thinking) merge perfectly.
- Can we view these three as a developmental hierarchy?
- Infant: Schopenhauer (Pure biological need/cry for survival).
- Adolescent: Nietzsche (Desire to assert self and dominate environment).
- Adult: Steiner (Conscious direction of drives toward ethical goals).
References
- Nietzsche, Friedrich. Beyond Good and Evil (Aphorism 13).
- Schopenhauer, Arthur. The World as Will and Representation.
- Steiner, Rudolf. The Philosophy of Freedom (aka Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path).
- Lachman, Gary. Rudolf Steiner: An Introduction to His Life and Work.