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Letter to a European Philosopher

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Letter to a European Philosopher

You talk in great detail about how you view the common man and how he feels about the world. You suggest that man is no better than a herd animal. You also have invented your “Superman” to explain away your own narcissism. Calling that man an Übermensch, you declare that this person is the only one who has the strength of will to change his life and rise above the herd.

The Übermensch you talk about is essentially an extremely intelligent yet immature, possibly even socially retarded egotist. These are precisely the type of people who would be drawn in by your Doctrine.

These people tend to pleasure in things that make them seem more important. I understand that your father, who by all accounts was a man of God, died when you were very young. As a result of this tragedy your mother along with your other female relatives lavished you with too much affection and no doubt catered to your every whim, giving you an overwhelming sense of self importance.

One of your more famous quotes asks a very simple but troubling question, “Is man one of God’s blunders or is God one of man’s?”

I am not going to pretend to understand a lot of what your personal philosophies mean, but I do know that much of what you theorize, although on the surface may seem true, once opened to serious meditation becomes troubling.

The idea that man is very much like a herd animal is interesting. Many people in my own time seem many similar to herd animals. It shows that the natures of people don’t change. Where as you would assume that these people cannot change their nature and only “superhuman” people can rise above this tendency to “follow”, your implication is that it is due to some deficiency in intellect. I would theorize that the reason why people act as they do is because of an instinct within them that allows them to

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