Nihilism is, therefore, the coming into consciousness of the long waste of strength, the pain of “futility”, uncertainty, the lack of an opportunity to recover in some way, or to attain to a state of peace concerning anything – shame in one’ own presence, as if one had cheated oneself too long. . . the purpose above-mentioned might have been achieved: in the form of “realisation” of a highest canon of morality in a worldly phenomenon, the moral order of the universe; or in the form of the increase of love and harmony in the traffic of humanity or in the nearer approach to a general condition of happiness; or even in the march towards general nonentity- any sort of goal always constitutes a purpose. 12.A
Warfare
- The more space you have the more intricate your strategy
- Need space to align the troops
- Sometimes it is better to overwhelm the enemy, without giving them any time to think or react
- Short-term seductions
- Burnout and tiring
- Get pleasure from numbers
- Casanova / Cleopatra (Sirens) – Once he had a woman’s attention, he would move at lightning speed
Opposition to the truth is inevitable, especially if it takes the form of a new idea, but the degree of resistance can be diminished – by giving thought not only to the aim but to the method of approach. Avoid a frontal attack on a long-established position; instead, seek to turn it by flank movement, so that a more penetrable side is exposed to the thrust of truth. B.H. LIDDEL HART (1895-1970)
During this survey, one impression became increasingly strong – that, through the ages, effective results in war have rarely been attained unless the approach has had such indirectness as to ensure the opponent’s unreadiness to meet it. The indirectness has usually been physical and always psychological. In strategy, the longest way around is often the shortest way home. More and more clearly has the lesson emerged that a direct approach to one’s mental object,or physical objective, along the “line of natural expectations: for the opponent, tends to produce negative results. The reason has been expressed vividly in Napoleon’s dictum that “the moral is to the physical as three to one”. – STRATEGY, B.H. LIDDEL HART, 1954
The Aging Baby
- Doesn’t want competition
- Refuses to grow up
- Often potent narcissistic
- Fair victim – only for short-term amusements
- Fears death and growing old
- Seduction – free the baby to play
- Must be prepared to be responsible for him\
It may be expressed scientifically by saying that, while the strength of an opposing force or country lies outwardly in its numbers and resources, these are fundamentally dependent upon stability of control, morale, and supply. Move along a line of natural expectations consolidates the opponent’s balance and thus increases its resisting power. In War, as in wrestling, the attempt to throw the opponent without loosening his foothold and upsetting his balance results in self-exhaustion, increasing in disproportionate ratio to the effective strain put upon him. Success by such a method only becomes possible through an immense margin of superior strength in some form – and, even so, tends to lose decisiveness. In most campaigns, the dislocation of the enemy’s psychological and physical balance has been the vital prelude to a successful attempt at his overthrow.- STRATEGY, B.H. LIDDEL HART, 1954