Friedrich Nietzsche was on the cutting edge of sociological and philosophical theory when he lived in the latter part of the Nineteenth century. His ideas and theories about the world around him inspired some of the most recognized schools of thought in the modern world(or post-modern as it is seen). His post-humous work The Will to Power is the culmination of his life's work and allows for all who read it to understand the genius behind one of the greatest thinkers of all time. In The Will to Power, Nietzsche explains how the will is the controlling device each of us, and that the true will should only be used on oneself and not to take advantage of or injure another. Nietzsche seeks all who read it to understand how this is the true exercise of will and how the world has been run down by people using their will in the wrong way. In order to understand Nietzsche's sociological perspectives, it will help to be familiar with his background. Born in 1844 in Germany, he was the son of two generations of Lutheran priests. His father died when he was five, leaving young Friedrich to be raised by a family of women: his mother, sister, grandmother, and two aunts. At fourteen he was sent to boarding school and began his long academic career. He went to two "graduate schools" and received a teaching post when he finished at his second. He taught from 1869 to 1879, when he became to physically ill to continue teaching there. He managed to recover from his illness and actually produced the bulk of his work over the next decade, but his later years drew him so deeply into his philosophical theory that he lost his sanity.Nietzsche's The Will to Power is really a collection of his personal notes from 1883 to 1888. They were published in 1901 by his sister only a year after he died. During the period of time from which the notes are taken, Nietzsche wrote the bulk of his work including parts of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Beyond Good and Ev...
