- The will to power: the natural instinct/drive of each individual to define and express their own values, i.e., what is worth pursuing in life
- The overman: the individual who fully expresses their will to power, i.e., defines what is worth pursuing for them and pursues it with passion and discipline
- Eternal recurrence: as a thought experiment, how would you live if every moment of your life was repeated for eternity?
- Becoming the overman is a process that
- is creative and positive/affirmative: every day you must decide who to become, what to build
- involves concrete action and achievement, striving for greatness and becoming an example of what humanity can produce at its best, whether it be through political action, written thought, arts, science, etc.
- is instinctive and passionate (Dionysian) — what you value should express your instincts, it cannot be derived analytically, and whatever you decide to pursue, you should embrace it fully
- requires reason and discipline (Apollonian) — both in deciding your values (critical thinking and questioning of basic assumptions to trim down undue influences) and expressing them (whatever standard you set for yourself, you have to uphold)
- never ends: living is the process of becoming, you must keep striving to become the overman until you die
- The overman is defined in contradiction to
- destructive nihilism
- the individual who inherits pre-baked values (in particular morality: what is good or bad/evil) from others (religion, culture)