Pilosopo

This morning, my cousin and I discussed Nietzsche, that German philosopher who had a brilliant run with his existentialist writings but eventually went insane and died single. It was only when cousin showed me her copy of The Complete Nietzsche that I found out that he was the one who wrote Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

That would make a nice name for a daughter - Zarathustra. A name befitting a world conquering bitch. And she won't be using her surname. It'll be just Zarathustra, or Zara for short. I can see the news reports now: "In the Philippines, the world leaders were welcomed by President Zarathustra to the APEC summit in Cebu." And she'd cap off every SONA with, what else?...

"Mabuhay ang bansang Piilipinas. Thus spoke Zarathustra."

Ang ganda, 'di ba?

But I digress. If Nietzsche were living in the modern world, he'd be a voracious blogger, as a good amount of his writings in the collection reads like blog entries. If we had the mindset of the 18th century, we'd find his bantering really profound and insightful, yet now he'd simply be blasphemous and sexist. You can tell if he was having a good day or not based on his language.

But in the more opinionated world of today, I can see his tag-board get filled up by comments like, "Get a life!" or "You need a good shag, man!" That is, if he ever decides to have a tag-board in the first place.

For instance, he wrote that women were all about surface, and that men were deep. "Women feel the strength in men, but could never comprehend it."

At first, it all sounds like hogwash. But reading more, you could tell from where he comes. Women, he said, had the responsibility of keeping their men happy, but he also suggests in the same breath that men were childlike and needed to play.

His stating that women were all surface and thus couldn't comprehend men has manifestations even in today's society. Men are argued to be more stuck up than women, and can't express their emotions more readily, hence the use of the word "deep." Women, on the other hand, are very much capable of unleashing their emotions and letting the world know what they feel. Thus, "surface."

I remember Sharon Cuneta in Madrasta, where she confronts Boyet de Leon, paraphrased thus: "Ano ba'ng nararamdaman mo? Kung galit ka, ilabas mo! Kung nalulungkot ka, ilabas mo!"
"Women feel the strength in men, but could never comprehend it."

I was never into philosophy. It was never offered to us as a basic course in college. But talking to cousin about it piqued my interest. Maybe someday I'll immerse myself in some philosophy. Maybe. Now my priority is making some money.

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