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Nietzsche And The Stanford Prison Experiment Essay

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Friedrich Nietzsche was an existentialist philosopher who believed that all our actions are derived from our instinctive desire for power. A myriad of experiments done has proven Nietzsche’s point, but a paragon of these experiments is the Stanford Prison Experiment. The experiment’s objective was to “decipher” the mind of a guard and a prisoner. Results showed that guards started to exploit their own powers to accrue control over others. Although some believe the result of this greed is the adulteration of society, it is thought by many that this want and greed for power is innate. First of all, Nietzsche and the Stanford Prison Experiment both indicate that even though we accrue much good from pleasure, power is still our ultimate goal. …show more content…

People in the experiment who saw the advertisement for a Prison experiment signed up to experience a rush of power unavailable to them outside of the experiment. If people are given the chance to experience a higher level of power they will ruthlessly rush to take it. As Nietzsche says pleasure is something we want and urge to get, but in the general sense, “[the] driving force is the will to power.” Secondly, examples of Will to Power are evident in life too. The development of a child is a clear example. A child gets sustenance and shelter from his/her parents to grow and gain more power. As the child grows older he/she starts to engage in activities that heighten their social level of power, such as schooling, getting jobs, and working. Through this increase of power we spend some of it through entertainment, pleasure, and receiving nourishment while balancing our income of power. Man is always in the cycle to gain power by taking advantage of the world around himself/herself. Because of this relationship between the act of attaining power and man, we have a reason why the guards in the Stanford Prison Experiment berated and physically abused the prisoners. They were trying to increase their power and ranking in

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