The Nietzschean ‘Will to Power’ and the Bantu Notion of Force: Implications for Cross-Cultural Philosophizing

ABSTRACT

This paper x-rays the Nietzschean reconstruction of being as will to power, which is deeply rooted in the notion of force, and the Bantu conceptualization of being as force with a view to showing how convergence and divergence of thought in the Nietzschean and Bantu philosophies can inform cross-cultural philosophizing. Nietzsche captures the will to power as a brute force and dynamic quanta, which is firmly enshrined in endless flux, while the Bantu articulate the notion of being within the framework of force, which is also embedded in motion. The paper highlights the dynamics of Nietzsche’s will to power and articulates the basic principles of Bantu notion of force in a fruitful encounter between the German tradition of thought, which Nietzsche belongs and the African tradition of thought which the Bantu belong. These two traditions will be critically examined to show their implications for cross-cultural philosophy.

KEYWORDS:

• will to power
• force
• being
• becoming
• cross-culturality