Guide on ANTON

will

2024-08-26 · 00:00 UTC ·1 min read

Brief

The will is portrayed as an external force in which eminent figures are often 'possessed'—driven by an iron purpose they cannot deviate from—rather than simply exercising internal willpower; Troy Nikov (2024-08-26, 166 words) contrasts this with contemporary materialist-rationalist-humanist skepticism and cautions that social restraints on such compelled agency could break down.

Why it matters

Troy Nikov (published 2024-08-26 on troynikov.io, 166 words) contends that the 'will' often appears externalized in high achievers who are 'possessed' or compelled by a higher force, making them instruments of that will rather than its owners.

Key details

  • Nikov contrasts this with the modern materialist-rationalist-humanist tendency to dismiss higher-purpose justifications, warning that societal constraints on individual will — likened to 'chains binding the wolf Fenrir' — may eventually fail.
Source evidence

title: will
contenttype: article
publication: Guide on ANTON
published: 2024-08-26T00:00:00+00:00
sourceurl: https://troynikov.io/notes/will/

word_count: 166

the will is often conceptualized as something wielded by an individual, and expended in the pursuit of their goals, i.e. ‘willpower’. we conceive of people who achieve great things as possessing a great instrument of will. however in their biographies, we often find that rather than possesing a great will themselves, they are themselves possessed. compelled by a higher force to act in a certain way; for these people the will is often externalized, and they are themselves the instrument. they have said they are granted iron purpose from which they cannot deviate, and so the world must fall in line instead. in our era it’s often easy to dismiss any justification for action arising from a higher power; a form of arrogance maybe, that any individual could take on the mantle of a higher power, in our materialist-rationalist-humanist age. for good reasons we have increasingly bound the exercise of individual will, but like the chains binding the wolf fenrir, these may fail in the end.