A metaphysics of life

[hoserofdoom]

I recall reading from Nietzsche a critique of Darwinism that ran somethings like this... Those arguing that the diversity and specialization of the species was driven by a need for survival (what Nietzsche called the "Will to Life") have it wrong. They have it wrong because where life is possible, it does not merely exist or get by: it thrives to

Comments

[onemoreblog]

Hmm, you're bored at work, aren't you? ;)

[onemoreblog]

On a Sunday?

[onemoreblog]

It's not just the day you write it. Surely, you didn't just roll out of bed and go on this epic rant about the meaning of life over a bowl of cereal with no premeditation - it had to be pondered and digested and perhaps pondered some more. Had you been properly engaged (i.e. enslaved) during business hours and beyond, it ought to be tough to formulate a coherent ranting strategy, let alone summoning the will to commit a seemingly thought out argument to "paper."

[onemoreblog]

Actually no, I did just sort of roll out of bed and commit this to paper. I had thought about this quite a lot in my 1st year of undergrad, but never wrote it down.

[anonymous]

I think Nietzsche simply didn't understand evolution. There is no will or anything like that involved; in fact the message is so bland it almost seem taulological: any organism that adapts the best to its environment will survive and reproduce better than others, thus it survives and reproduces, sometimes replacing others. To give it an underlying drive force is a far more sentimental and imprecise view than what the original theory intended to convey.