After God : the normative power of the will from the Nietzschean perspective

The ‘master of suspicion’, Friedrich Nietzsche, has both profoundly wounded and profoundly delighted his readers for years and in equal measure. Despite the considerable literature devoted to his philosophy, the ‘tragic gay science’ has never been fully elucidated and still affords new perspectives for interpretation. The ‘death of God’ must, in Nietzsche’s opinion, lead to a revolution in human consciousness which requires the creation of a new frame of reference for values. To realize this aim, Nietzsche invokes the will which has the normative power to create values and even to overcome time. Irrespective of whether we agree with Nietzsche or not, his philosophy is a school of thought which may inspire its adherents to follow him in tackling the greatest philosophical aporias of our age.