Mike asked about my view regarding Nz’s view toward other people. (Or “the Other” as some people like to say, but I’m not sure what that means if it doesn’t means “other people”). So here goes.
Biographically, Nz wasn’t always a loner. He had a small circle of friends in high school, joined a fraternity in college (and even fought a duel!), went out drinking and carousing, wrote many letters to friends, proposed marriage once or twice, probably visited brothels. He proposed living with friends at various points and forming elite philosophical communities, and he always welcomed visits and made many friends in his travels. But, for all that, he was a lonely guy. He really wanted a second self, a comrade to make his journey with him. But his journey was so intense that no one else wanted to dedicate their lives to it. His expectations were too high, I think, and they certainly were never met. One of his hardest struggles was his attempt to overcome his need for others and be content in solitude.
I think this means that his loneliness did exert a strong pull over his philosophy. He writes often of the free spirits, which are basically his imaginary playmates, or the friends he wished he had. He frequently also writes of the friendship among overmen or higher men or whatnot, and it is clear he thinks that is a necessary and wonderful thing. And, holy smokes, did he have things to say about women. But it is a case of “presence by absence,” or his concern for other people showing by his relative loneliness. He really needed other people, that’s clear, since if they weren’t available, he went ahead and created them for himself!
I think I’m probably not seeing the larger significance of “the question of the Other,” so you’ll have to enlighten me.
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