Europe Discovers Nietzsche 335philosopher had resorted to inventing. "Let us call the image of the
world that Nietzsche envisioned Heraclitean rather than Dionysian. This
is a wodd that is never at rest; it keeps on evolving. However, evolving
entails struggle and conquest" (Baeumler 15).
Even though Baeumler became an important ideologue of National
Socialism, it must be acknowledged that his study of Nietzsche recon-
structed a series of compelling links between the philosopher's ideas in
a precise and philosophically astute manner. His distortion lay in the
one-sidedness of his approach.
The basis of Baeumler's argument was Nietzsche's contention that
truth no longer exists; it is the will to power that molds the material of
experience into what we then call truth. Hence Baeumler built his argu-
ment on the underlying assumption that issues of truth are actually
issues of power. Since conflicts and batdes of antipodes, also known as
the Heraclitean "war," determine evolution on a grand scale, questions
of truth are resolved when life forces are pitted against one another.
Baeumler attempted to establish the path by which a given truth
becomes powerful and triumphant, and found the key to his inquiry in
Nietzsche's reference to the "great reason" of the body (4,39; Ζ First
Part, "On the Despisers of the Body"). Only thought that arises in the
forces of the body and the senses is truly powerful. Baeumler cited
Nietzsche's words of advice: "Start from the body and use it as a guide.
It is the far richer phenomenon and allows for more distinct observa-
tion. Belief in the body is better established than belief in the spirit"
(Baeumler 31; 11,635; IPP§ 532).
There are many bodies and, consequendy, many sources of power.
Power structures require no justification; only when reason is intent on
preserving balance do justifications enter the picture. Since, however,
reason itself is based in the body as one of its organs, its claim to uni-
versality becomes transparent. There is no realm of the spirit as a court
of appeal presiding over the power centers engaged in conflict.
Contingency is everything. There is no overarching meaning, but only a
dynamics of struggle, self-assertion, and self-enhancement, both indi-