To Whom It May Concern: A Philosophical Treatise and Tribute to the Best Thing Within Us For this essay I have

chosen to write about the human spirit as extolled in the philosophic ideals of Friedrich Nietzsche. The human spirit as characterized by Nietzsche, represents an alluring and uplifting picture of humanity. This picture displays humanity as finite creature with infinite potential. In this paper, I will begin with a survey of Nietzsches works, outlining the central tenets and concepts inherent in Nietzschean philosophy. This will be done, with a catalogue of recurrent themes Nietzsche has introduced and revisited in many of his works. After introducing key ideology inherent within the Nietzschean body of work I will showcase philosophical workings by individuals who can be considered neo-Nietzschean1 The works that will be introduced in this regard are those of Ayn Rand and Rollo May. I would like to show how Nietzsches existential and post-modern views relate to humanistic / transpersonal psychology particularly with respect to Nietzschean insights into human capability and resilience. I will do this reflecting on work done by the existential psychotherapist Rollo May, focusing particularly on elements of Rollo Mays precepts that have been informed by Nietzschean ideals or are strikingly similar to them. Rollo Mays works provide an impressive bridging of existential philosophy and applied psychotherapy that pays considerable homage to various Nietzschean principles. Next I will showcase how Nietzschean ideals relate to the an ideal of humanity, morality and creativity expounded in Ayn Rands neo-Nietzschean philosophy known as Objectivism2. Though I am convinced that an ardent and headstrong Objectivist philosopher would oppose to the idea
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I have used this term to denote ideals or philosophical frameworks that share in certain concepts pioneered by Nietzsche or bear some resemblance to his philosophical works. 2 The similarities and differences between Nietzsches philosophy and Ayn Rands objectivism will be explained later in the paper.

objectivism being classified as an inheritor of Nietzchean ideals there are however some parallels between the two philosophies that are undeniable and will be expounded further on . I will focus particularly on the moral tenets of Objectivist philosophy and its account of human creativity and progress. Lastly in the spirit of personal reflection often championed by Nietzsche I will conclude this paper with a brief account of some the experiences I have encountered around the time this paper was written relating to some of the conclusions and arguments made in this paper. Above all else it is my hope to showcase the importance of Nietzsches legacy and its relevancy to contemporary morality and psychology. I would argue that Nietzschean philosophy and its related successors entail the best ideological frameworks to consider when dealing with issues of morality and psychology and that they provide a bulwark for human resilience, ingenuity and survival in our changing and unpredictable times. Tenets of Nietzsche Self - Preservation and the Will to Power At the heart of Nietzsches philosophy is the concept known as the will to power. For Nietzsche the will to power represents the self-evident and organic nature of things that pervade all of existence. In a sense the will to power is Nietzsches account of the ontological imperative for why things strive for the things they do, a sort of teleology that Nietzsche uses to explain the why and the how of intention, agency and being. One thing that stands out in Nietzsches characterization of the will to power is the biological language which he uses to frame it. Mans growing inwardness. Inwardness grows as powerful drives that have been denied outward release by the establishment of peace and society seek compensation by turning with the imagination. The thirst for enmity, cruelty, revenge, violence, turns back, is repressed; in the desire

for knowledge there is avarice and conquest; in the artist there reappears the repressed power to dissimulate and lie; the drives are transformed into demons one fights, etc. (Will to Power BkII: 376) It will strive to grow, spread, seize, become predominant not from any morality or immorality or but because it is living and because life is simply will to power. (Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil: 352) Here there is an indelible concern expressed by Nietzsche about the natural state namely the will to power, and external influences crafted to suppress them3. This is evident in his suspicion of peaceful and societal establishments. Nietzsches concern stems from forces which he considered life-denying namely, those that counter the will to power and rechristen it in terms of deplorable social evils. The characterization of life-denial is an apt one considering Nietzsches natural and biological language. In regards to life denial, Nietzsches formulizes the human will to power as the source of our natural capabilities in the service of our continued survival by whatever means our competency allows us. The concept of power, whether of a god or of a man, always includes both the ability to help and the ability to harm. (Nietzsche, Will to Power BkII: 352). At the center of the will to power concept lies the importance of being able to exercise it without interference and bearing the sole responsibility for our prosperity alone. what good is it to hold with all ones strength, that war is evil, not to do harm, not to desire to negate! One wages war nonetheless! One cannot do otherwise! The good man who has renounced evil, afflicted, as seems to him desirable, with that hemiplegia of virtue, in no way ceases to wage war. Have enemies, say No and act No. (Nietzsche Will to power BkII: 351) In Nietzschean philosophy the only wrong with a capital W was the active or consenting withholding/denial of ones capacities. In a sense this represented a perversion of the will to power, the passage above implies that we cannot do otherwise but to yield
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Though it was not my plan to speak extensively about morality in this section it should be noted that morality or rather, the appearance/pretense of morality was a chief concern resonating in Nietzsches works

to our will to power hence the enforcement against one doing so represents a sort of self contradiction or in keeping with the biological motif Nietzsche has pitched for us, a type of cannibalism4 and ethos that is destined to destroy itself. Creativity Another common theme frequently lauded in Nietzsches work is the principle of creativity. For Nietzsche creativity was the natural outcome of ones use of their will to power. In a sense creativity is the concomitant manifestation of the will to power that exemplifies an individuals seizure and manipulation of their material environment in the service of their survival and prosperity. life itself is essentially appropriation, injury, overpowering of what is alien and weaker; suppression, hardness, imposition of ones own forms, incorporation and at least, at its mildest, exploitation but why should one always use those words in which a slanderous intent has been imprinted for ages? - - - Exploitation does not belong to a corrupt or imperfect and primitive society: it belongs to the essence of what lives, as a basic organic function; it is a consequence of the will to power, which is after all the will of life. (Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil: 259) Nietzsches praise for this capacity and fulfillment of creativity is evident most in the fact that he consistently expresses his yearning for those who are bold enough to create. Nietzsches praise of creativity is also expressed in his boredom and suspicion of taken for granted systems of value and morals. Nietzsche notices a sense of stagnation and atavism wherever creativity is lacking. Nietzsche contrasts this stagnation with a sense of exuberance that the creator embodies. The noble type of man experiences itself as determining values; it does not need approval; it judges, what is harmful to me is harmful in itself; it knows itself to be that which first accords honour to things; it is value-creating. Everything it knows as part of itself it honours: such a morality is self-glorification. In the foreground there is the feeling of fullness, of power that seeks to overflow, the happiness of high tension, the consciousness of wealth that would give and
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This is a concept/theme that will be recapitulated in the Objectivist portion of the paper.

bestow: the noble human being, too, helps the unfortunate, but not or almost not, from pity, but prompted more by an urge begotten by excess power. The Overman Concomitant with the full expression of the will to power and its manifestation in creativity lays Nietzsches mandate for humanity to become higher than they are. In his most cherished work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsches literary protagonist Zarathustra, envisions and speaks of a new breed of humanity who will do away completely with life denying systems and replace them with their own virtues and truths. The overman is Nietzsche ideal of the fullest appropriation and tapping of our human potential, hence in a sense the overhuman is the human who has in a sense transcended their own mortality and is the sole source of their highest ideals (I.e. virtues, strengths, creed etc) This is foreshadowed in the first thing uttered by Zarathustra. Greetings, Great Star! What would your happiness, be, were it not for those whom you illumine! (Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: 1). This excerpt sets existential tone for this work and it is interesting that the symbolism of the sun/star is used. Interestingly the sun represents the highest form of reality in Platonic philosophy, it is representative of the purest and most perfect exemplar of truth, beauty and the good. (Plato: Republic VII: 518) With this in mind is interesting that Zarathustra speaks to the sun in this manner, asking where its happiness or purpose would be if those that recognized it no longer did so. There seems at least to be some implication of the inferiority of having the ones value contingent on those who can either recognize it or not. On a platonic reading of this interaction we can see that Zarathustra is speaking directly to truth, beauty and the good. What is furthermore interesting about Nietzsches ideal of the overhuman is the way Nietzsche portrays their relationship to one another. To the layman, the expression

overman may evoke some sense of dominance or at least petty competitiveness. Nietzsche however characterizes the relationship of overmen, in a manner of mutual respect and yearning for each other. The one who breaks their tablets of values, the breaker, the lawbreaker: -- yet that is the creator.Companions the creator seeks and not corpses, nor herds or believers either. Fellow creators the creator seeks, those who inscribe new values and new tablets. No herdsman shall I be, nor digger of graves. With the people I will not talk even one more time; for the last time I have spoken to a dead man. (Nietzsche; Thus Spoke Zarathustra 9) Nietzsches contempt for the lower / undeveloped man and his yearning for his higher creative counterparts who replace aging paradigms of thought and valuation is undeniable. It is this hallmark that has resonated throughout the Nietzschean legacy and has continued to inspire countless more creators. Existential Philosophy and Applied Psychotherapy As the person gains more consciousness of self, his range of choice and his freedom proportionately increase Rollo May The Holistic Self Rollos Mays book, Mans Search for Himself, explores the modern life as we experience it from day to day. May looks into various experiences and trials that humans will face such as identity crises and anxiety. May invests is his work predominantly in existential philosophy and the humanistic school of psychology which emphasizes freedom goodwill and human potential. It assumes that human nature is inherently good, and humanistic psychologists blame, dysfunctional, abnormal or aggressive behaviour on society, not on the individual In many respects, the humanistic paradigm was a reaction against determinism, the basic assumption that human behaviour is caused by potentially knowable internal and/or external events. (Oltmanns, Emery, Taylor: 2006)

With respect to societys effect on the human psyche, a chief concern of Rollo Mays was the tendency for socio-economic paradigms to fragment and compartmentalize ones psyche. This was a direct result of one having to carry out different roles be it professional, familial etc. Like Nietzsches concern for the suppressed will to power and its social rechristening as social evils, (i.e. greed, avarice) May had a similar concern that society pressured us to divide our identity and consider them in terms of separate mutually exclusive roles. The impersonal, separated attitude toward the body is shown also in the way most people once they become physically ill, react to the sickness. They speak in the passive voice I got sick --- The attitude toward disease is not that of the self-aware person who experiences his body as part of himself, but of the compartmentalized person who might express his passive attitude in a sentence like, The pneumococcus made me sick, but penicillin made me well again (May, 1953) Part of Rollo Mays therapeutic approach in his sessions was to try to make his clients actively aware of all aspects of their self and integrate them. May would help the client recognize the importance of having a balanced self-schema that did not entail or enforce partitioning. Provincialism. and Value Another concern that was unsettling for May, was the unhealthy formation of ones identity, specifically with respect to dependency. The form of dependency May was most concerned with was both social as well as ideological. Rollo May best expressed his concern for identity and dependency incorporating anecdotes from Greek mythology. The myth used is the legend of Orestes and it speaks of the characters struggle against his mothers domineering control of his fate and independence. It is true that Clytemnestra is a symbol more than a person -- a symbol for a dominating and authoritarian tendencies in the parent which would

exile and strangle the potentialities of the child. And it is true also that this drama, with the usual profoundness and courage of the Greek literature, minces no words in presenting these basic human conflicts. What does the killing of the parent mean? The essence of the struggle is that the growing person, in this case Orestes, fights against the authoritarian powers which would strangle his growth and freedom. (May, 1953) Although the notion of killing ones parent may seem a bit off-putting at first, it is an apt analogy considering struggles that we face particularly against authoritarian influences. Rollo May, even goes so far as to describe the parental conflict as a basic human one, his chief concern here being the suppression of ones creative potentialities. Here we see that both Nietzsche and May lend considerable concern to one having unfettered access to their creative energy, and both men suggest that this at times involves the figurative murder of parental influence. Furthering his concern for ones independence May, ushers in another theme that pertains to the symbolism of the mothers womb. May notes that one of the chief deities in the Greek Parthenon, Athena was not only the Goddess of wisdom but she also experienced a womb-less birth. Interestingly Athena votes in favour of Orestes during his court trial for murdering his parents. Athena the goddess who, as she puts it, never knew the mothers womb that that bore me, but sprang, full-attired, from the forehead of her father, Zeus She says she votes for Orestes because she never having existed in the womb, is on the side of the new are the Greeks implying that since the child is blood of the mothers blood and flesh of her flesh, he will always be bound by his tie to her, and that the mother relationship will always tend to be conserving rather than revolutionary, oriented to the past more than the to the future?...they may mean that the temptation to be sheltered, to regress to be passive and blunted as Orestes puts it, are symbolized by the tendency to go back into the womb. (May, 1953)

For Nietzsche as well as May it was of utmost importance that one eventually separates from paradigms that have nurtured them so that they have an opportunity to create their own sense of value and exercise their own identities. Objectivism My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of a man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute Ayn Rand Men of the Mind Ayn Rand showcases her philosophy of objectivism most extensively in her magnum opus Atlas Shrugged. Atlas Shrugged, in essence is a story about the un-tethered human intellect and spirit within society and its corresponding interaction against a dominant zeitgeist of socialist resentment. The main thesis of this story is that mans mind is essentially a motor that moves the world and ensures its survival. Objectivism champions the idea that mans rational self-interest is mankinds only guarantor of happiness and progress. Ayn Rand introduces several characters in her novel that exemplify this ideal. These characters bear significant economic importance within the story as their professional pursuits provide important goods/services for their society. (I.e. metallurgy, transportation, music. oil etc). The characters upholding this ideal bear a striking resemblance to Nietzsches overman particularly with respect to their drive to create and their disdain for conventional moral restraints. In the first part of the story there is a key dialogue between two characters representing the men of the mind. I keep thinking of what they told us in school about the sun losing energy, growing colder each year. I remember wondering, then, what it would be like in the last days of the world. I think it would be like this. Growing colder and things stopping.

Ive never believed that story. I thought by the time the sun was exhausted, men would find a substitute. You did? Funny. I thought that too. He pointed at the column of smoke. Theres your new sunrise (Rand, 1957) This dialogue touches upon the same symbolism as that portrayed in Zarathustras dialogue with the sun in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The characters conversing in this excerpt are Dagny Taggert and Hank Rearden. These characters are discussing the creation of a new metal that is the product of Hank Reardens genius. Rearden dubs his new metal Rearden Metal and it has properties that make it the most superior metal known to man. Due to Reardens headstrong, cold and calculating demeanour in his pursuits he is reviled in society as one who has no sense of public or social good, and has to consistently defend the superiority and goodness of his product. Sanction of the Victim Those producing the economic benefits in Atlas Shrugged are branded as antisocial and are indirectly punished via socialist laws passed that specifically limit their professional pursuits and livelihood. Ayn Rand implies that this can only be done with the consent of those who are persecuted in this manner as it is the people who accept the legitimacy of such policies. In the final portion of the book Ayn Rand recapitulates her philosophy through a radio speech given by one of the chief characters in the story. The portion of this speech takes place after those who have been targeted and reviled for their intellectual and professional pursuits have disappeared into exile and have left their society on the verge of near economic collapse. Are you now crying: No, this was not what you wanted? A mindless world of ruins was not your goal? You did not want us to leave you? You moral

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cannibals, I know that you've always known what it was that you wanted. But your game is up, because now we know it, too (Rand, 1957) The idea of moral cannibalism was introduced earlier in this paper and I characterized it in terms of the perversion of the will the power in connection to Nietzsches views on our very nature as explained earlier in this paper. In order to understand the idea of moral cannibalism in this context, the Objectivist reading of morality needs to be expounded. Ultimately Ayn Rands reading of morality asserts an equivalence between the moral and the rational / pragmatic Since life requires a specific course of action, any other course will destroy it. A being who does not hold his own life as the motive and goal of his actions, is acting on the motive and standard of death. Such a being is a metaphysical monstrosity, struggling to oppose, negate and contradict the fact of his own existence, running blindly amuck on a trail of destruction, capable of nothing but pain. I swearby my life and my love of itthat I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine. (Rand, 1957) In light of this code of morality presented in Objectivist philosophy, there is an implication of a proper and moral way of conducting interaction with others. Ayn Rand mentions the notion of value for value many times in her novel. This is ultimately reflected in her extolling of the capitalist system she places in high regard in the book. Above all else the Objectivist philosophy mandates that we must respect ones natural right and capacity to procure their survival. As a corollary to this proviso, when conducting business or other affairs with others we must do so without expecting them to self-sacrifice for our sake. This implies that a mutually beneficial agreement or trade is the best and most moral conduct of action. When others become persons of interest in terms of our survival (either by the goods and services / agreements they can offer) we

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also have to bear in mind what they would reasonably value and what we can possibly offer them as compensation. Friedrich Nietzsche & Ayn Rand There are a lot of similarities between the philosophies of Ayn Rand and Nietzsche, and I trust that I have highlighted the similarities adequately. There is however an important difference that I would like to emphasize that is a potential source of contention in terms of the meaning of natural virtue. Where Nietzsche extols instinct and emotion as part of our natural virtue Ayn Rand enforces the intellect as the chief natural virtue and capacity and the sole guarantor of our survival happiness and prosperity. It is quite possible that Nietzsche and Rand would disagree about what is best about human nature and more importantly what constitutes moral harm based both on their respective readings of natural virtue. Putting this contention aside however, I would like to focus on Nietzsche and Rands similarities which I believe is more important than their respective differences. Despite their differences both philosophies, say something very important about the human being. Both philosophies encourage that we are equipped to face whatever obstacles we may experience, and that it is our natural virtue (by whatever means) to overcome them and incorporate them into our survival. The symbolism of creating our own sun, (e.g. truth, good and beauty) is an affirmation of the highest achievement humanity is designed to make. In a sense, both philosophies emphasize an account of mankinds mastery of his material surroundings, his respect for others that do so and serves as a bastion against despair and uncertainty.

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A Reflection: Looking back and looking forward I had written this paper during a time I was uncertain about a lot of things, where I was going after graduation, if I was going graduate, where my future would take me. I let a lot of these things fill me with anxiety as I felt I was not capable to answer my personal quandaries and I felt I was unable to face a lot of things I was going through. During this time I had taken considerable comfort in existential philosophy and particularly the writings of Nietzsche, Ayn Rand and Rollo May. What comforted most about these works is that they help to restructure ones perception of hardship. During my stint of depression I had come to respect adversity not as a devastating and unchangeable state of affairs we are bound to face, but an opportunity to manifest and prevail with all that is human within us. What is the best thing in humanity? That is a question I leave up to you. For Nietzsche, it was everything we have in virtue of our humanity, for May it was the unbridled and full awareness of ones self, and lastly for Rand it was our intellect and rational self interest. The bottom line rests in the fact that the best thing about us, comes from within but is ours to define. In turn this definition will define us, our abilities, our security and ultimately our fate. The title of Nietzsches Thus Spoke Zarathustra had the subtitle A book for everybody and nobody Though I found this a puzzling title at first I have come to understand its meaning (or at least its meaning as perceived by me). Writing for everybody and nobody entails a bridging of the personal and transpersonal. This was hinted at earlier in the Rollo May section of this paper where he emphasizes the importance of basic human conflict. Personal experience can always inform the experiences of others and vice versa. It is my hope that I have achieved this pursuit in

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this paper. Both success and failure are choices we make and elements we define, I have titled this essay To whom it may concern because prosperity and desperation concerns all of us. By virtue of our humanity success and failure are things we have to face and redefine to fit our own ethos and survival. I have come to the realization that my existence and utilization of my natural virtues (as I choose to define them) are all that I require and furthermore, my prosperity, security and happiness follow from them. (Regardless of what I will face) It is my sincerest hope that after reading the insights and conclusions provided in this paper you can also say the same.

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Works Cited / Consulted Allision, David B. Reading the New Nietzsche. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2001 Cohen, S. Marc, Curd, Patricia, and Reeve, CDC, eds. Readings in Ancient Greek Philosophy. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2000 Kauffman, Walter, ed. Basic Writings of Nietzsche. New York: The Modern Library, 1967 Kauffman, Walter, ed. Friedrich Nietzsche The Will to Power. New York: Random House, 1967 Kauffman, Walter, ed. Friedrich Nietzsche The Will to Power. New York: Random House, 1967 May, Rollo Mans Search for Himself. New York: 1953 Oltmanns, Thomas F., Emery, Robert E. and Taylor, Steven. Abnormal Psychology. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada, 2006 Parkes, Graham., ed. Friedrich Nietzsche Thus Spoke Zarathustra A Book for Everyone and Nobody. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005 Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. New York: Penguin, 1957

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