At approximately ten o'clock a.m. on October 15, 1844, not only a human being was born, but also a foundation was laid for future revolutions in the ways of philosophy and interpretation of human thought. Nietzsche was a German philosopher of the late 19th century who challenged the foundations of traditional morality and Christianity. He believed in life, creativity, health, and the realities of the world we live in, rather than those situated in a world beyond. Central to Nietzsche's philosophy is the idea of "life-affirmation", which involves an honest questioning of all doctrines that drain life's energies, however socially prevalent those views might be. Often referred to as one of the first existentialist philosophers, Nietzsche has inspired leading figures in all walks of life.
             Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was born to Lutheran pastor Karl Ludwig Nietzsche in the small town of Rocken, Prussia. Nietzsche's grandfathers were also Lutheran ministers, and ""his paternal grandfather was further distinguished as a Protestant scholar, one of whose books (1796) affirmed the "everlasting survival of Christianity"" (Wicks, 1997). His father died when he was just five years old and the death of his brother soon followed. In his adolescent years he attended a boarding school where he prepared for his studies at the university. Nietzsche entered the University of Bonn in 1864 as a theology and philology student. Soon after being influenced by Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl, Nietzsche transferred to the University of Leipzig in 1865. "Momentous for Nietzsche in 1865 was his accidental discovery of Arthur Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation in a local bookstore. Schopenhauer's atheistic and turbulent vision of the world, in conjunction with his highest praise of music as an art form, captured Nietzsche's imagination, and the extent to which th...