A letter and a wrench

[Kyle Purrenhage]

For the first four lines, what author does this remind you of?

He who is not bold enough
to be stared at from across
the abyss is not bold enough
to stare into it himself.

The truth can only be learned
by marching forward.

Follow the map.
There's a letter and a wrench.

And how do you relate it to Silent Hill and the people that we've followed through Silent Hill so far?

Let me know what you think.

-KP

[what]

Nietzsche?

[Wooden Plank]

Definitely Friederich Nietzsche.

[Venithil]

It would actually fit Nietzche to assume he visited Silent Hill.

[Kyle Purrenhage]

Oh okay, so tell me about that. You three are reminded of Nietzche, so in what way can you relate him to Silent Hill?

You know another author this reminded me of? Lovecraft, believe it or not.

[what]

in what way can you relate him to Silent Hill?

Someone paraphrased a passage from Beyond Good and Evil in Silent Hill 2. Beyond that, I dunno. I never actually read Nietzsche. I can't even spell his name without looking.

[Wooden Plank]

I can relate him to Silent Hill.

He talks about the Abyss. Silent Hill is all about Abyssery.

[Augophthalmoses]

Is there a reason for this being in the SH3 section?

[Venithil]

I could give you a relatively logical, serious response with some analogies between him and what happens in Silent Hill, like parts of the cult or such, especially with some backup from my philosopher friend, but, seriously, it's 2 AM where I live.

in what way can you relate him to Silent Hill?

Someone paraphrased a passage from Beyond Good and Evil in Silent Hill 2. Beyond that, I dunno. I never actually read Nietzsche. I can't even spell his name without looking.

Very few people can. In some Slavic languages, his name is spelled nearly exactly the same as the word for "Nothing", (more accurately, an inflection of that word) so a lot of people I know just spell and write it in the same way. Ahhh, slackers.

[Kyle Purrenhage]

Is there a reason for this being in the SH3 section?

I had mistakenly put it in the SH3 section, when I was supposed to put it in the section for SH2. Apologies...

[mumbler]

I could give you a relatively logical, serious response with some analogies between him and what happens in Silent Hill, like parts of the cult or such, especially with some backup from my philosopher friend, but, seriously, it's 2 AM where I live.

You've got my attention. Let's hear it.

[Kyle Purrenhage]

Thank you to whoever moved this thread. Sorry for the oversight.

I could give you a relatively logical, serious response with some analogies between him and what happens in Silent Hill, like parts of the cult or such, especially with some backup from my philosopher friend, but, seriously, it's 2 AM where I live.

You've got my attention. Let's hear it.

I wanted to hear it too, but I didn't respond to Venithil because I felt like a pain in the a**.

I'm glad I've gotten people to think about this note. I was wondering what others thought of it. Originally I associated it with James, and then a certain author came to mind... If I still had my Lovecraft book I could quote something he said that reminded me of those four lines in that note. I guess I had loaned my book to someone though, because I couldn't find it today...

[Venithil]

Ah, sorry, I couldn't be on for a couple of days. Parallels between Nietzche and Silent Hill, you say? I can try to draw them, but as I said, it's my best friend studying philosophy, not me. I can be wrong at any point or interpret something incorrectly, so please, don't treat this post like the ultimate source of knowledge in the Universe, and even more, don't lynch me if something is incorrect or you disagree. I'm just trying my best with what I know here.

Well, the first one is obvious.Nietzche basically coined the statement " Gott ist tot" ("God is dead"), which, when we compare it to our deal cult's mythology in Silent Hill, well, MORE than fits.Interestingly, the book where he first used it was translated by one Walter Kaufmann. However, Nietzche didn't propose that God killed him/itself due to overuse of its power, but rather that humans lead to the extinction of gods/god. Also, "the death of God must be followed by a long twilight of piety and nihilism".

Nietzche also criticised the morality system, explaining that it is now, in fact, a hypocritic, two-faceted system with a morality of masters (the wealthy, famous, and powerful - incidentally, the original morality of humans is supposedly the master morality according to Nietzche), and the morality of slaves (basically everyone else - they just hate those who have what they don't or can use power against them). Explaining the idea of master-slave morality would probably would be too hard and too long for me, but, ironically, the Cult itself would be more inclined to follow the slave morality, in which worldliness, wealth, education, and egocentrism/selfishness are wrong - this could bring about their desire to see the world "rebuilt" by their God. Eddie could share a similar system of beliefs, whereas James, at least at one point, follows a "Master" morality - poverty, sickness, weakness are the true evil, thus, he euthanizes Mary because now, she is "evil". (Yes, yes, I'm totally bending things so they suit me right now).

The aspect of the mentioned "will to power" is hard to tie to Silent Hill, but it is possible. Basically, the will to power is according to Nietzche the true driving power of man, which forces him to seek to obtain the highest position or the greatest accomplishment he can possibly achieve during his life. Interestingly, Nietzche suggests that the will to power is only very rarely outmatched by self-preservation instincts. How does that fit into the scheme of Silent Hill? There are two possible interpretations.

First is, of course, the Cult. Parts of the Cult advocate going through great physical of mental suffering to satisfy God and thus obtain greater positions within the religion. The wish of both chief priestesses to eradicate humans and bring a Paradise regardless of how many would actually be allowed into that Paradise fits quite well into the theory that will to power is above normal human self-preservation, and even the preservation of species. The cult even resides in dangerous places such as Silent Hill to accomplish its objectives, and Dahlia was willing to sacrifice her own daughter (though this may have more to do with her simply being a cold heartless shrew) to accomplish her "highest purpose".

However, the way I see it, the "will to power" is far more prominent...in the protagonists. Harry and James both completely ignore their own safety in favor of a higher purpose. This is especially true for James, who originally comes to Silent Hill to kill himself, but since both his preservation instinct and his will to power desire something else, they force him to abandon that purpose and instead seek something else - purification, atonement, and either the possibility to meet Mary once again, replace Mary, or even revive Mary. James even stays in town despite being technically able to leave at nearly any point in the game and despite being clearly followed around by an indestructable monster. Even when he experiences Maria's death and the Otherworld, he is unwilling to leave.His "power" would be the power to realize his guilt and live with it, but more importantly the power to see and meet Mary, who should be dead, but he believes that if she can be anywhere in the World, it's Silent Hill where he will find her.

Harry is less of a funny example, but in his case, him being the best he could be in life overwrites the survival instincts, rather than cooperate with them like in James' case. Harry is just a writer, he can't obtain much stature or power. He can, however, be a superdad, save his daughter regardless of hardships or consequences, and damn, he *is* going to do this, even if this means:
- Abandoning a friend (Lisa)
- Killing another (Cybil)
- Possibly killing a girl that looks just like his daughter (when Dahlia tells him to stop Alessa).
- Fighting incredible monsters (whole game really)
- Going through the Otherworld multiple times.
- Fighting a divine figure

In Heather's case, it's more like revenge silencing her preservation instinct, or maybe it is simply a desire to be as badass as her dad, I don't know.


I think this is all I can elaborate on right now. Maybe if I read more Nietzche or ask my friend about him. Again, please don't lynch me.

[Kyle Purrenhage]

Ah, sorry, I couldn't be on for a couple of days. Parallels between Nietzche and Silent Hill, you say? I can try to draw them, but as I said, it's my best friend studying philosophy, not me. I can be wrong at any point or interpret something incorrectly, so please, don't treat this post like the ultimate source of knowledge in the Universe, and even more, don't lynch me if something is incorrect or you disagree. I'm just trying my best with what I know here.

I always have to laugh at how fearful we really are about being heard; not because it's funny but because we never really think about how we can learn so much from being heard and hearing others. I hope no one has been physically or verbally abusing you because they don't think you're right about something.
I don't know where the victim complex came from Venithil, but you're a-okay around here. No I don't treat anything as the ultimate source of knowledge in the Universe, but I like to consider all the different view points and perspectives that people have. So as I remember saying this before: I do give a damn about what people post on here, even if it's about something silly and irrelevant. Doing your best with what you know is what counts I think. You could have said, "Well yeah I can see how Nietzche is parallel to Silent Hill but I have to get some goddamn sleep. Oh and don't call me at 3:00 AM asking me about it!" Being brave enough to get your thoughts and opinions down is what matters.

So what if anyone disagrees? That's happening to people all the time. Everybody's wrong and right all the time, and the only difference is whether you're right or wrong to yourself.

Well, the first one is obvious.Nietzche basically coined the statement " Gott ist tot" ("God is dead"), which, when we compare it to our deal cult's mythology in Silent Hill, well, MORE than fits.Interestingly, the book where he first used it was translated by one Walter Kaufmann. However, Nietzche didn't propose that God killed him/itself due to overuse of its power, but rather that humans lead to the extinction of gods/god. Also, "the death of God must be followed by a long twilight of piety and nihilism".

That's interesting to know Walter Kaufmann--spelled just like the Kaufmann in the game. I've seen a lot of people spelling it as Kaufman and I thought I was the only one spelling it with two n's. I think what's even more interesting is what Nietzche proposed here about humans being the ones that led to the god/god's extinction. I had to think of the ancient Greek gods becoming extinct when a new philosophy emerged; (i.e. people and their actions control their fate.) So they no longer believed that the gods had anything to do with determining a person's fate. They also learned to settle matters more peacefully (such as through discussion) instead of war.

If you read the story Medea it shows the emergence of this new philosophy and the changes it brought about. The story also poses the question of whether the gods do or do not exist. The story was quite controversial for its time but it left people wondering about these things.

You could assume that the minute the people no longer believe in the gods/god the minute those gods/god no longer exist. But I think that really leaves more questions than answers. Maybe the gods do exist whether the people believe in them or not--that's something I can't answer.

Nietzche also criticised the morality system, explaining that it is now, in fact, a hypocritic, two-faceted system with a morality of masters (the wealthy, famous, and powerful - incidentally, the original morality of humans is supposedly the master morality according to Nietzche), and the morality of slaves (basically everyone else - they just hate those who have what they don't or can use power against them). Explaining the idea of master-slave morality would probably would be too hard and too long for me, but, ironically, the Cult itself would be more inclined to follow the slave morality, in which worldliness, wealth, education, and egocentrism/selfishness are wrong - this could bring about their desire to see the world "rebuilt" by their God. Eddie could share a similar system of beliefs, whereas James, at least at one point, follows a "Master" morality - poverty, sickness, weakness are the true evil, thus, he euthanizes Mary because now, she is "evil". (Yes, yes, I'm totally bending things so they suit me right now).

This could also explain why Claudia had such contempt for Vincent. He would fall into the wealth category if anything. Funny if they could say selfishness is wrong when actually them wanting to bring about god to come give them paradise is a bit selfish in and of itself. It just sounds like sitting around crying for god (or no, how Vincent put it "for love"). The only difference between Vincent and Claudia is that he used a more practical approach to meeting god half way, and Claudia just did what she could to purge the world of those who didn't believe in god. She may have thought she was doing the god's biding or some such. That's just how I see it anyway--nobody has to agree with me on that.

I don't think you're bending things too much when you assume that James euthanized Mary, because it's possible that he viewed her being sick as no way to live, and it might have angered him to see her in such a declining state. I can't really agree with you that that's exactly why he did it, but I'm not going to disagree with it either. It's an interesting thought...

The aspect of the mentioned "will to power" is hard to tie to Silent Hill, but it is possible. Basically, the will to power is according to Nietzche the true driving power of man, which forces him to seek to obtain the highest position or the greatest accomplishment he can possibly achieve during his life. Interestingly, Nietzche suggests that the will to power is only very rarely outmatched by self-preservation instincts. How does that fit into the scheme of Silent Hill? There are two possible interpretations.

First is, of course, the Cult. Parts of the Cult advocate going through great physical of mental suffering to satisfy God and thus obtain greater positions within the religion. The wish of both chief priestesses to eradicate humans and bring a Paradise regardless of how many would actually be allowed into that Paradise fits quite well into the theory that will to power is above normal human self-preservation, and even the preservation of species. The cult even resides in dangerous places such as Silent Hill to accomplish its objectives, and Dahlia was willing to sacrifice her own daughter (though this may have more to do with her simply being a cold heartless shrew) to accomplish her "highest purpose".

However, the way I see it, the "will to power" is far more prominent...in the protagonists. Harry and James both completely ignore their own safety in favor of a higher purpose. This is especially true for James, who originally comes to Silent Hill to kill himself, but since both his preservation instinct and his will to power desire something else, they force him to abandon that purpose and instead seek something else - purification, atonement, and either the possibility to meet Mary once again, replace Mary, or even revive Mary. James even stays in town despite being technically able to leave at nearly any point in the game and despite being clearly followed around by an indestructable monster. Even when he experiences Maria's death and the Otherworld, he is unwilling to leave.His "power" would be the power to realize his guilt and live with it, but more importantly the power to see and meet Mary, who should be dead, but he believes that if she can be anywhere in the World, it's Silent Hill where he will find her.

That's interesting about the will to power. Notice how there is also another difference between the cult members and the main protagonists. They're all fighting for someone that they love; people they do believe in. James had Mary in mind, Harry had Cheryl in mind, and Heather had Harry in mind. It wasn't a love of god but a love of certain people. It seems like the cult members were instead wanting to be loved, and lacking their own love in the process. Love doesn't just cease to exist the minute a god dies. We don't have to wait for a god to come back and then we can start loving again. Maybe god has compassion but people can have compassion too; so just going around being a bully like Claudia and crying about whether god will forgive you for all the horrible stuff you did is kind of weak if you ask me. That's not really having the will to power it's just having fear and doubt nipping at your heels. At least the main protagonists fought for people they loved or fought to understand themselves no matter what the cost.

I think for Heather it was revenge but it was also the love for her dad. She had to honor her father, and I think that's something that sits well with the Japanese from their perspective--family honor and so forth. Not only that, but it's the kind of thing I read in Mythologies all the time (and from many cultures). The more I think about SH3 the more I think of it as it's own Mythology unfolding.

And again, you're safe--whatever they told you about us Germans (or half Germans) is completely wrong. Thanks for your post; I enjoyed reading it and I was glad to reply because it made me put my mind to work.

[Venithil]

I always have to laugh at how fearful we really are about being heard; not because it's funny but because we never really think about how we can learn so much from being heard and hearing others. I hope no one has been physically or verbally abusing you because they don't think you're right about something.
I don't know where the victim complex came from Venithil, but you're a-okay around here. No I don't treat anything as the ultimate source of knowledge in the Universe, but I like to consider all the different view points and perspectives that people have. So as I remember saying this before: I do give a damn about what people post on here, even if it's about something silly and irrelevant. Doing your best with what you know is what counts I think. You could have said, "Well yeah I can see how Nietzche is parallel to Silent Hill but I have to get some goddamn sleep. Oh and don't call me at 3:00 AM asking me about it!" Being brave enough to get your thoughts and opinions down is what matters.

So what if anyone disagrees? That's happening to people all the time. Everybody's wrong and right all the time, and the only difference is whether you're right or wrong to yourself.

Physical abuse is, thankfully, out of the question or at a level so minimal it's not worth mentioning. Verbal abuse is part of the Internet and, unfortunately, it seems many of my peers in age as well, so I get with it.

Thankfully, people rarely think I'm not right. It mostly goes like this.
Me : I am right.
Mr/Ms X : No, you're not.
Me : I know where your mate and offspring reside.
Mr/Ms X : Ok, fine, I agree with you.


It ain't no victim complex, either, it's automatic defense against the two people on the Internet most likely to discredit you. Specialists, in this case in philosophy or German books, could probably tell me how I can't be right in 6 sentences, explain what is really right in 4 sentences, further discredit me in 3 sentences and add to it about 3 sentences of basically telling me I'm an idiot, throwing the fact that they're specialists in there somewhere.

The other group, collectively we're going to call them ogres, because trolls is so mainstream it is boring, would explain in 1 sentence how I can't be right (Example; You're wrong), then explain that they're right in 1-2 sentences (Example: I am right. I hold conclusive and indiscussable evidence about the fact that I'm right and you're wrong), then mock me and discredit me in further 3 sentences and then spend 7-8 sentences basically telling me I'm an idiot. (Example: You're an idiot. I've never met anyone as dumb and stubborn as you. JUST GTFO &*#@^$*&$#&*)

"Well yeah I can see how Nietzche is parallel to Silent Hill but I have to get some goddamn sleep. Oh and don't call me at 3:00 AM asking me about it!"

I did, except it was 2 AM. Did you miss it? And frankly, I wouldn't care if you called me at 3 am, because I am immune to the sound of my cellphone at that time. Totally immune. For a few hours. Then even if I have to get up, I frequently oversleep.

If you read the story Medea it shows the emergence of this new philosophy and the changes it brought about. The story also poses the question of whether the gods do or do not exist. The story was quite controversial for its time but it left people wondering about these things.

You could assume that the minute the people no longer believe in the gods/god the minute those gods/god no longer exist. But I think that really leaves more questions than answers. Maybe the gods do exist whether the people believe in them or not--that's something I can't answer.

Frankly, if we assume Gods exist, we also have to wonder whether our faith affects them in any way. If it does, then it is not God being our caretaker, creator, or Lord - it is symbiosis of sorts.

If it doesn't, you can still see God as a tyrant for imposing on us something he/it doesn't need.

But worst, if gods actually need our faith to exist - what kind of gods are they? Weak ones if you ask me.

This could also explain why Claudia had such contempt for Vincent. He would fall into the wealth category if anything. Funny if they could say selfishness is wrong when actually them wanting to bring about god to come give them paradise is a bit selfish in and of itself. It just sounds like sitting around crying for god (or no, how Vincent put it "for love"). The only difference between Vincent and Claudia is that he used a more practical approach to meeting god half way, and Claudia just did what she could to purge the world of those who didn't believe in god. She may have thought she was doing the god's biding or some such. That's just how I see it anyway--nobody has to agree with me on that.

I don't think you're bending things too much when you assume that James euthanized Mary, because it's possible that he viewed her being sick as no way to live, and it might have angered him to see her in such a declining state. I can't really agree with you that that's exactly why he did it, but I'm not going to disagree with it either. It's an interesting thought...

I was more talking about James having "Master morality" being bending things to suit me than Mary being euthanized being bending things. What James did was midground between euthanazing and murdering someone. I doubt James would have so many endings that show something of a promise for future if what he did was normal, cold-blooded murder of a healthy wife.

By the Order's point of view, they're totally not-selfish. They care about the World and think it has declined so much it has to be purged. They also try to save all the souls they can so they can live in Paradise with them, if God wills so.

Somewhere along the line, they failed to recognize they kill in cold blood and worship something not exactly benevolent, but they believe what they do isn't selfish.

Claudia may be likeable because she's tragic, but Vincent is more human than her. Simply because he has human vices - greed and such. Her problem is fanatism, complete, utter fanatism, to the point she doesn't exactly see that what she's doing probably won't bring paradise and "salvation".

That's interesting about the will to power. Notice how there is also another difference between the cult members and the main protagonists. They're all fighting for someone that they love; people they do believe in. James had Mary in mind, Harry had Cheryl in mind, and Heather had Harry in mind. It wasn't a love of god but a love of certain people. It seems like the cult members were instead wanting to be loved, and lacking their own love in the process. Love doesn't just cease to exist the minute a god dies. We don't have to wait for a god to come back and then we can start loving again. Maybe god has compassion but people can have compassion too; so just going around being a bully like Claudia and crying about whether god will forgive you for all the horrible stuff you did is kind of weak if you ask me. That's not really having the will to power it's just having fear and doubt nipping at your heels. At least the main protagonists fought for people they loved or fought to understand themselves no matter what the cost.

Actually I don't think that, assuming they have the "will to power", it is directly tied to their love for those they search of. It works on a different basis and gives them different motivations. Since "will to power" would be all about aspirations, they all aspire to something. James aspires to be able to live with his guilt, and aspires to meeting a dead person in a city that is anything but sane, helpful and redeeming but malevolent and dangerous at the same time.

Harry aspires to be the best father Cheryl could hope to have since the day they found it, and that is his "will to power".

Love is a purer motive than such aspiration. Morally more adequate. I don't think Nietzche thought will to power and love could be intertwined or associated with each other at any point.

But perhaps I shouldn't talk about love. I don't have much experience with the feeling.

And again, you're safe--whatever they told you about us Germans (or half Germans) is completely wrong. Thanks for your post; I enjoyed reading it and I was glad to reply because it made me put my mind to work.

You're Half-German ? (Runs for cover)
No, seriously, you happened to hit the jackpot here. I've heard so many bad things about Germans from my family that I probably should use the option "add as a foe" on you right now if it all soaked in But no worries, I'm an open minded person. I avoid telling people where exactly I am from to avoid racial/national problems/inhibitions and any stereotypes someone might've heard about my country, though.

[Kyle Purrenhage]

Physical abuse is, thankfully, out of the question or at a level so minimal it's not worth mentioning. Verbal abuse is part of the Internet and, unfortunately, it seems many of my peers in age as well, so I get with it.

Thankfully, people rarely think I'm not right. It mostly goes like this.
Me : I am right.
Mr/Ms X : No, you're not.
Me : I know where your mate and offspring reside.
Mr/Ms X : Ok, fine, I agree with you.


It ain't no victim complex, either, it's automatic defense against the two people on the Internet most likely to discredit you. Specialists, in this case in philosophy or German books, could probably tell me how I can't be right in 6 sentences, explain what is really right in 4 sentences, further discredit me in 3 sentences and add to it about 3 sentences of basically telling me I'm an idiot, throwing the fact that they're specialists in there somewhere.

The other group, collectively we're going to call them ogres, because trolls is so mainstream it is boring, would explain in 1 sentence how I can't be right (Example; You're wrong), then explain that they're right in 1-2 sentences (Example: I am right. I hold conclusive and indiscussable evidence about the fact that I'm right and you're wrong), then mock me and discredit me in further 3 sentences and then spend 7-8 sentences basically telling me I'm an idiot. (Example: You're an idiot. I've never met anyone as dumb and stubborn as you. JUST GTFO &*#@^$*&$#&*)

Too funny. I see what you mean about people being like that--especially in the workplace. Some customers are cases. They'll come straight out and say "I'm right, you're wrong!" and I wonder what the heck kind of world are they living in? I should have told them we're all right and wrong sometimes but it wouldn't change anything. They might try and hit me but that's about it... Yeah, some people get really pissed off so you wonder if they will do something stupid. I wouldn't put it past them. You know I wouldn't even put it past them to carry a gun. The way some of those people talk you wonder why no one has questioned their mental health...

Yeah some of the youngsters can be a bunch of smartasses, and they don't care what they say to people. That's always a good age to be at. But you know some of the elderly people are like that too. They always have to give you this talk about how they're right because they're old, and I'm wrong because I'm younger than them or because I look like their boy or some such... It's always something along the lines of that; I call it the self entitlement issue.

I did, except it was 2 AM. Did you miss it? And frankly, I wouldn't care if you called me at 3 am, because I am immune to the sound of my cellphone at that time. Totally immune. For a few hours. Then even if I have to get up, I frequently oversleep.

You said 2:00 AM yeah...

Frankly, if we assume Gods exist, we also have to wonder whether our faith affects them in any way. If it does, then it is not God being our caretaker, creator, or Lord - it is symbiosis of sorts.

If it doesn't, you can still see God as a tyrant for imposing on us something he/it doesn't need.

But worst, if gods actually need our faith to exist - what kind of gods are they? Weak ones if you ask me.

You could even argue that the gods remain dormant until there are people who have faith in them. There's all kinds of things you could think of with regards to god or gods but we don't really have the answer to any of it. We can really only speculate about it.

I was more talking about James having "Master morality" being bending things to suit me than Mary being euthanized being bending things. What James did was midground between euthanazing and murdering someone. I doubt James would have so many endings that show something of a promise for future if what he did was normal, cold-blooded murder of a healthy wife.

By the Order's point of view, they're totally not-selfish. They care about the World and think it has declined so much it has to be purged. They also try to save all the souls they can so they can live in Paradise with them, if God wills so.

Somewhere along the line, they failed to recognize they kill in cold blood and worship something not exactly benevolent, but they believe what they do isn't selfish.

Claudia may be likeable because she's tragic, but Vincent is more human than her. Simply because he has human vices - greed and such. Her problem is fanatism, complete, utter fanatism, to the point she doesn't exactly see that what she's doing probably won't bring paradise and "salvation".

Ah I see... Then the thing with Claudia--you could assume that she twisted things into her own belief of what was just and would bring about god. You can't expect religions to be completely without those who corrupt it. She was determined to bring forth god and to bring about paradise but I think she should have consulted Heather about the blood thirsty b**** part. Because I don't think Heather liked that idea too much... Especially if it involved her dad. You have to be careful about the moms who are going to birth god. You don't want to make them angry. You even have to be careful about the ones who are not going to birth god.

Actually I don't think that, assuming they have the "will to power", it is directly tied to their love for those they search of. It works on a different basis and gives them different motivations. Since "will to power" would be all about aspirations, they all aspire to something. James aspires to be able to live with his guilt, and aspires to meeting a dead person in a city that is anything but sane, helpful and redeeming but malevolent and dangerous at the same time.

Harry aspires to be the best father Cheryl could hope to have since the day they found it, and that is his "will to power".

Love is a purer motive than such aspiration. Morally more adequate. I don't think Nietzche thought will to power and love could be intertwined or associated with each other at any point.

But perhaps I shouldn't talk about love. I don't have much experience with the feeling.

Well you also have to consider that I haven't read Nietzche yet. You were doing your best to tell me about him and I was doing my best to understand him. I do study certain philosophies though most of them are from the far east or Rome. I'd like to study more philosophies if I can in the future, and Nietzche has caught my attention now (as well as Carl Jung).

Bah, I've got the make love not war thing going on with me, therefore I wouldn't relate it to anything Nietzche said. To be honest a lot of philosophers were not into mixing love with philosophy, and probably a lot of them were not good with the love department to begin with. Some people can be very intellectual but not much for love, or some people can be into love but not be very intellectual.

You're Half-German ? (Runs for cover)
No, seriously, you happened to hit the jackpot here. I've heard so many bad things about Germans from my family that I probably should use the option "add as a foe" on you right now if it all soaked in But no worries, I'm an open minded person. I avoid telling people where exactly I am from to avoid racial/national problems/inhibitions and any stereotypes someone might've heard about my country, though.

I'm not worried about telling people my nationality. People will pick each other apart either way. It doesn't matter who you are at the end of the day, anyone can have a gripe with you. Thanks for understanding though. It's good to be open minded--that's what helps people learn.