: Re: Integrating complex philosophical concepts into a story I would like to integrate the concept of "Nietzschean affirmation" in my short story. What are the typical ways to go about it? I don't

@Samaraweera193

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Here are the standard ways, from most to least direct:

1) Characters explicitly explain the philosophy. This can come across as preachy and forced. People tend to respond to it better if the character isn't presumed to be a stand in for the author's own views, or if there are other ways of preventing this from coming across as WORD OF TRUTH. For instance, the television show Blackish does a lot of consciousness raising around issues of race, but because the POV character is presented as a pushy blowhard, his preachiness is consistent with his character, and made entertaining.

2) The characters act in accordance with this philosophy. Nobody ever says "we're exemplifying "Nietzschean affirmation" but they make the choices someone who believes that philosophy would make. This can still seem heavy-handed, and its realism may depend on how compelling an individual reader finds the philosophy.

3) The events in the story are a metaphor for the philosophy. Think the parables of Jesus for an example. The story is that the sower plants the seeds, some grow, some don't. The philosophy is that you spread the message widely, and whether or not people are responsive will depend on them and their circumstances. This can be difficult to pull off in a believable longer work.

4) The events in the story exemplify the philosophy. For example, even though it never mentions the philosophy, the movie The Incredibles dramatizes the concept of the Nietzschean Ubermensh. Similarly (if a bit more explicitly) the movie Little Miss Sunshine debunks the same philosophy.

5) The aesthetic of the story arises from the philosophy. This more comes from when you, the writer naturally write out of an internalized concept of art that arises from a specific philosophy (whether you are trying or not). This is more a matter of themes than of specifics. For instance, compare and contrast a classical tragedy, an existentialist novel and a post-modernist short story. They all have different aesthetics based on their philosophical commitments. The things they pay attention to are different.

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