Jan Rehmann

Abstract

As we think about how to develop a life-affirming spirituality, we need to be attentive to the social perspectives from which we are speaking. This essay attempts a critique of the widespread conflation of Spinoza and Nietzsche in both mainstream research and poststructuralist interpretations. The assumption of a continuity of their concepts of power overlooks that the late Nietzsche took a sharp anti-Spinozian turn and introduced his “will to power” against Spinoza’s conatus. Whereas Spinoza’s potentia agendi designates a collective and cooperative capacity to act, Nietzsche’s “will to power” naturalizes the principle of domination. A spirituality inspired by Nietzsche’s philosophy can never get rid of its inherent “pathos of distance,” which manifests itself even in its most “leftist” forms as a celebration of social distinctions against ordinary people. Recourse to Spinoza can help redefine life affirmation in a democratic-socialist way, constituting a dynamic component of counterspirituality from below.

Key Words

Life Affirmation, Friedrich Nietzsche, Potentia, Benedict de Spinoza, Will to Power

From: Rethinking Marxism 2016 28 (3-4) (Special issue: Marxism and spirituality)

Editor: Wang Yi