[image source](http://bigthink.com/scotty-hendricks/man-doesnt-want-happiness-says-nietzsche)
> To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.
Friedrich Nietzsche is a classical philologist, philosopher and writer. He writes critical German works on issues such as religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy and science, using distinctive style and taste for metaphors, irony and aphorisms. Nietzsche has a significant influence on philosophy and beyond, especially on existentialism and postmodernism. His style of writing and the radical questions about the value and objectivity of the truth he is concerned have led to a number of discussions and interpretations, mostly among continental philosophers and, to a lesser extent, among analytical philosophers. His main ideas include his interpretation of the tragedy as a celebration of life, the eternal circle (which many commentators reinterpret afterwards), the reversal of Platoism, and his criticisms of Christianity and egalitarianism (especially in the form of democracy and socialism). Friedrich Nietzsche fully opposes sympathy. He calls it "the need of the unfortunate," because through compassion, after all, only self-superiority over the needy of compassion is shown. According to Nietzsche, compassion makes you want always to be weaker and have the opportunity to show your pain. For the German philosopher, compassion is more selfish than altruistic.
