282 Nietzscheonly of its instinct for self-preservation. The self is an expansive force.
A proclivity for enhancement and accumulation is peculiar to man. Mere
preservation leads to demise; only enhancement ensures preservation.
Nietzsche's critique of self-preservation is, of course, somewhat facile.
Zarathustra explains that the "will to existence," as described by the the-
oreticians of self-preservation such as Darwin, does not exist "What
does not exist cannot will; but what is in existence, how could that still
want existence!" (4,149; Ζ Second Part, "On Self-Transcendence").
One could argue that, if life is reflected in the medium of conscious-
ness, explicit self-affirmation is both feasible and essential. It is therefore
altogether possible to embrace or reject the fact that we find ourselves
in existence. We can opt to flee from existence by our own hand, but we
can also be gripped by the will to existence and remain. We already exist,
but we require the will to existence in order to stay in existence.
Nietzsche would concede this point, but retort that there is more to
explicit self-affirmation than the will to existence. Anyone who does not
yield to self-destructive powers, but instead chooses to resist them, any-
one who counters "no" with a categorical "yes" has the will to power,
the spirit of taking the offensive. A person of this sort wants not merely
to endure but to triumph over the powers of denial. Nietzsche's note-
books illustrate this idea with examples from the world of physics and
mechanics. A quantum of force is at work when one object does not
yield to another. If the quantum of force is smaller, the object yields; if
it is greater, it overpowers other objects. Staying within a form and its
boundaries is a consequence of balanced proportions of force.
During the period in which Nietzsche wrote Zarathustra, he began to
use the "will to power" not only as a psychological formula for self-
transcendence and self-enhancement but also as a universal key to inter-
pret all life processes, as indicated in the aforementioned statement
"Wherever I found living beings, I found will to power" (4,147; Ζ
Second Part, "On Self-Transcendence"). The will to power inheres not
only in the inorganic and organic world but also in the process of knowl-
edge itself. Knowledge is an expression of the will to power. "You want