Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy revolves around key ideas like Eternal Recurrence, the will to power, and the notion of the Übermensch—concepts that call us to transcend limitations and affirm life in its totality. While Nietzsche wrote in response to existential questions of the human condition, these ideas resonate in unexpected places, including our relationship with technology.

Emacs, the endlessly customizable text editor, embodies Nietzschean ideals in surprising ways. More than a tool, Emacs challenges its users to master its complexities, customize its environment, and create workflows unique to their needs. This essay explores how Emacs reflects Nietzsche’s philosophy, particularly the concepts of Eternal Recurrence and the will to power, offering insight into both technology and the human spirit.

Eternal Recurrence

In The Gay Science (Die fröhliche Wissenschaft), Nietzsche introduces the idea of Eternal Recurrence, a thought experiment that asks:

What if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: ‘This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more’? ¹

Nietzsche’s question forces us to confront the nature of repetition in our lives. Can we affirm existence, even if every moment were to repeat endlessly?

Emacs, in a way, embodies this eternal cycle. As a text editor, it is a system designed for workflows that repeat indefinitely. Whether it’s editing files, managing tasks, or coding, Emacs users encounter the same keystrokes, processes, and modes every day. However, through mastery and customization, they shape these repetitive tasks into something uniquely their own.

To use Emacs is to embrace Eternal Recurrence—not passively, but actively. Each tweak and customization transforms repetitive workflows into a creative act. The keybindings, once mundane, become an extension of one’s mind and hands, reflecting a life fully affirmed in its endless cycles.

Will to Power

Nietzsche’s will to power is not merely a drive for dominance but a creative force—the desire to shape the world according to one’s vision. As he writes in Thus Spoke Zarathustra:

What is the great thing about man? That he is a bridge and not a goal: what can be loved in man is that he is an overture and a going under. ²

Emacs challenges its users in a similar way. Unlike tools designed for passive consumption, Emacs demands active engagement. Its steep learning curve and immense configurability require users to take control of their environment, shaping it to reflect their goals and values.

The Act of Creation

Customizing Emacs is an act of creation. Through Emacs Lisp, users can write functions, define workflows, and build entirely new systems. Each piece of code, each new keybinding, is an expression of the will to power. By mastering Emacs, users do not merely adapt to their tools—they transcend them, turning a general-purpose editor into a reflection of their unique needs and vision.

Nietzsche believed that true greatness lay in the ability to overcome oneself. Emacs offers the same challenge: to master it is to overcome its initial complexity and to build something personal and meaningful.

Technology and Nietzschean Freedom

Nietzsche frequently warned against forces that dull the human spirit. He criticized complacency, mediocrity, and submission to systems that strip individuals of their creative power. In On the Genealogy of Morality, he describes modern life as dominated by passive conformity, where individuals “forget to command” and live “as if [they] were a mere appendage to others.” ³

This critique resonates in the realm of technology. Many modern tools prioritize ease of use over freedom, locking users into predefined patterns. Social media algorithms, closed ecosystems, and restrictive interfaces reflect this tendency to “forget to command.”

Emacs, however, stands as a Nietzschean rebellion against this trend. It demands effort and mastery, but in return, it grants freedom. By learning Emacs, users take control of their tools, crafting workflows that reflect their values and needs. This active engagement resists the passivity Nietzsche feared, empowering users to reclaim their creative agency.

Affirming the Eternal Workflow

Nietzsche challenges us to affirm life in all its complexity, to embrace its challenges, and to find joy in its repetition. Emacs, as both a tool and a philosophy, reflects these ideals. It is not easy to learn, but its difficulty is part of its value. It is not rigid, but its adaptability requires effort to unlock. And it is not fleeting, but timeless—rooted in the principles of mastery and reinvention.

To use Emacs is to say “Yes!” to the eternal recurrence of work and to affirm one’s power to shape the tools of modern life. It is a quiet, Nietzschean defiance of mediocrity, passivity, and stagnation—a daily act of mastery and creation.

As Nietzsche asks us in Thus Spoke Zarathustra:

Do you want to be the ebb of this great flood, and even go back to the beasts rather than overcome man? ⁴

In using Emacs, we choose not the ebb but the flow: to overcome our limits, master complexity, and shape the world according to our will.

Footnotes

1. Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Gay Science. Translated by Walter Kaufmann, Vintage Books, 1974. The concept of Eternal Recurrence is introduced in section 341. ↩︎

2. Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Translated by Walter Kaufmann, Penguin Books, 1978. See the section “On the Overman.” ↩︎

3. Nietzsche, Friedrich. On the Genealogy of Morality. Translated by Walter Kaufmann, Vintage Books, 1989. See the preface and first essay for his critique of conformity. ↩︎

4. Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra. See the section “On the Higher Man.” ↩︎