Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a late 19th-century German philosopher who challenged the foundations of Christianity and traditional morality. He was interested in improving individual and cultural health, believing in life, creativity, power, and the realities of the world in which we live, rather than those in a world beyond. Central to his philosophy is the idea of life-affirmation, which involves an honest questioning of all doctrines that drain expansive energies, however socially prevalent those views may be. Nietzsches' revitalizing philosophy, often referred to as one of the first existentialist philosophers along with Sren Kierkegaard (18131855), has inspired leading figures in all spheres of cultural life;
