Friedrich Nietzsche's Cue The Richard Strauss Music

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Play is the highest form of human activity. At least that’s what Friedrich Nietzsche suggested in “Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” when he described a three-step development of the human spirit. First, the human psyche has the form of a camel because it takes on the heavy burden of cultural duties — ethical obligations, social rank, and the weight of tradition. Next, the camel transforms into a lion, which represents the rebellion of the psyche — the “holy nay” that frees a rule-governed person from slavish obedience to authority. Finally, this negative insurgent phase evolves into the highest level of humanity, symbolized as the playing child — innocent and creative, the “holy yea.” Cue the Richard Strauss music. As usual with Nietzsche, we can debate