Nietzsche was one of the most influential philosophers since Kant. He dedicated his first book 'The Birth of Tragedy' to his friend Wagner, whose operas he regarded as the true successors to Greek tragedy. He determined to give his age new values, Schopenhauer's 'will to power' serving as the basic principle.

For Nietzsche the will to power had ethical primacy and represented the noble man's ultimate objective.

Nietzsche denounced Christianity for resenting this world, and for consigning all whom it hates to hell.

In his major work 'Thus Spake Zarathustra' he presents his own ideal, the passionate man who uses his emotions in creative energy, a man he called 'Uebermensch' or 'superman'.