“When no one has had a good father, one must create one.” - Freidrich Nietzche

The Father figure is a restless conundrum in the psyche of humankind. It is by no means a happy, welcome figure- from birth, children are in competition with the father for attention from their life giving mother. But even at more conscious ages, father- child relations are often strained under many different circumstances. Nietzche's idea that if noone has had a good father, one must be created, goes deeper than the idea of a literal father figure- he's talking about the need for guidance when there is none. I believe this quote is at least partially about God, and how people can look at religion for guidance in life. But in the modern age, with the already established understanding of religion, it is more than that too. When someone is unhappy with a situation, of any kind, they'll look to change it- filling the void of so often an unhappy father- child relationship is the same as any of these other changes.

- Dominic Curran