On the doctrine of the feeling of power. (commonlit)


PART A: Which of the following best describes a central idea of the text?

A. Corruption from power is inevitable.

B. Humans with an abundance of power are more susceptible to cruelty.

C. Attaining and wielding power are basic human desires, with everyday practices that depend on circumstance.

D. Power is a process, one that everyone utilizes, established through reaffirming influence and/or attaining more.

2. PART B: Cite evidence from the text to support the answer of Part A.
Written response.


3. In the first line, Nietzsche claims there are two basic ways of exercising power: benefiting or hurting others. Why does the author introduce the passage with this claim? How does this statement frame or contribute to the structure of the text?
Written response.

4. Which of the following statements best answers the question: what conclusions does Nietzsche draw from the comparison between pain and pleasure?

A. In the end, they serve the same purpose in the attainment of power.

B. Pain is reserved for asserting authority, pleasure for reaffirming it.

C. Pain is far more immediate and more clearly understood than pleasure.

D. Pleasure works as a form of bribery to those in one’s power, while pain stands as the punishment

5. What does the term “poverty” most likely mean as used in the passage?

A. The state of having little money

B. The state of having few material possessions

C. Lacking something

D. The condition which prevents one from fulfilled living

6. Explain Nietzsche's concept of compassion, paying particular attention to the last line of the text. What impact does this conclusion have the author's purpose in the text?
Written response.

Respuesta :

1. D. Power is a process, one that everyone utilizes, established through reaffirming influence and/or attaining more.

2. "Benefiting and hurting others are ways of exercising one’s power over them—that is all one wants in such cases! "

This evidence supports the answer of Part A. It states that "all one wants" is to exercise power over others. It shows that there are two ways to get power over another person: benefiting or hurting others. Benefiting or hurting others are two processes by which a person can reaffirm or attain more power. If a person already has power over another, he can reaffirm it by continuing to provide beneficial services to that person he already has power over. To gain power from someone he does not get it from, he can hurt that person to attain power.

3. In the excerpt Nietzsche says that we hurt people who need  to be reminded of a person's power and benefit people who are already in that person's power. Nietzsche then goes on to discuss how power can be branched into good versus evil but this is still an oversimplification because it is much more complex in every day life.

4. B. Pain is reserved for asserting authority, pleasure for reaffirming it.

5. C. Lacking something

6. In the last line of the Nietzsche says, "Compassion is praised as the virtue of prostitutes." This line supports this contrast of good versus evil, but in reality it is a little more complex. This lustful desire for power can be shown with talk of prostitutes. And yet, in a way there is power in their compassion as they are constantly in demand and sought out.