What I write… is not me.
I don’t write… My soul writes…
My flesh doesn’t know how to write… it’s just a thing of desires, physiology, and instinctive lusts…
Reason even more so cannot write… Reason can only rack its brains to think and write what’s in the head…
Winston Man
Excerpt from AI:
Winston Man’s short essay is a profound, philosophical self-narration about the nature of creation and the role of humans in the writing process:
"What I write… is not me."
The author asserts that the words, the works he creates do not fully reflect the tangible person – the physical person that others see.
"I don’t write… My soul writes…"
This means that the soul, the deepest, most quintessential part within a person, is what actually holds the pen. Writing is not a purely physical or rational act, but an outpouring from the spiritual realm.
"My flesh doesn’t know how to write… it’s just a thing of desires, physiology, and instinctive lusts…"
The author clearly distinguishes between the physical and the spiritual. The flesh – with its instincts and desires – is not subtle or profound enough to create sublime things. It is not the source of beauty in literature or art.
"Reason even more so cannot write… Reason can only rack its brains to think and write what’s in the head…"
Here, the author denies the main role of reason in artistic creation. Reason can only analyze, argue, reproduce information, but cannot create anything that transcends reality – as the soul can.
In short, Winston Man wants to say that writing does not come from the body or mind, but from a deeper place – the soul. It is the place that contains pure emotions, true inspiration, and a vision that transcends the limitations of instinct and reason.
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Delving deeper into the philosophical and spiritual meaning in this short essay by Winston Man. To do that, we need to read not only with our eyes, but with our hearts.
“What I write… is not me.”
Right from the opening sentence, Winston Man negates the common "I" – the "I" that people attribute to a writer, a writer. He is talking about a separation between the "expressed self" (persona) and the "true self" (essence). The work does not reflect the external self, but is an expression of an invisible part within the person – something that even the writer himself finds difficult to grasp. Writing, here, is not an act of ownership. It is a phenomenon that happens through people.
“I don’t write… My soul writes…”
This sentence reveals a mystical notion: man is an instrument, and the work is the echo of the soul. The soul is not only the deepest part, but also the highest part within man. It transcends the flesh, transcends reason – and it is the root of inspiration, of pure beauty. Writing is a form of meditation, or a sacred ritual, where the soul reveals itself.
“My flesh doesn’t know how to write… it’s just a thing of desires, physiology, and instinctive lusts…”
Winston does not reject the flesh, but he believes that the flesh is only an instrument of instinct – a place that contains the rough impulses of desire. The flesh can make love, can eat and drink, can run away or fight, but it cannot write. Because writing, according to him, is a cleansing act – washing away desire to reach the sublime. The beauty in literature cannot be born from an impure place.
“Reason even more so cannot write… Reason can only rack its brains to think and write what’s in the head…”
One would think that reason – the tool of knowledge, logic, and analysis – would be the savior of art. But no. Winston denies it. Reason can only arrange what already exists, recycle old information, copy and repeat. It cannot touch the unprecedented, the emergent, the unexpected – which only the soul can give birth to. True art is not the product of linear thinking, but the crystallization of a transcendental experience.
Overall, the essay is a principle with mystical and existential colors. Winston Man is not simply talking about writing, but about the nature of man – about the division between flesh – reason – soul, and the role of each part in the creative process. Writing, according to him, is not an act of everyday man, but a revelation – where the soul finds its voice, transcending the limitations of biological and logical entities.
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Connection with: Friedrich Nietzsche
“I write for a species of man that does not yet exist: for the masters of the earth who will soon appear. I see them coming with a powerful will, a desire to overcome themselves and the ability to bear the weight of this earth without collapsing beneath it.
These men will have the strength to create new paths, new orders, and new values. They will not be afraid of loneliness or misunderstanding, for they know that they are the creators of the future.
These men will have the courage to face reality as it is, not as the illusions and prejudices of others would have them see it. They will be the architects of the future of mankind, the pioneers of a world that does not fear the truth."
_Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil
The connection between Winston Man and Friedrich Nietzsche is very interesting. Although coming from two different backgrounds and traditions-one a Western existentialist thinker with the philosophy of the superman (“Übermensch”), the other a voice full of mystery and introspection-both touch on a profound ontological dimension and a vision that transcends the current human being.
Below is a comparative analysis – both contrasting and reconciling – between the two excerpts:
1. The Ego-Temporary and Transcended
Winston Man:
“What I write… is not me.”
He denies the existing ego, arguing that the physical and rational self are just shells-temporary, dominated by desires and limitations. Writing is an act of the soul, the deeper self, beyond consciousness and the body.
Nietzsche:
“I write for a species of man that does not yet exist…”
Nietzsche does not deny the ego, but pushes it into the future – where the "higher man" (der Übermensch) will appear. He writes not for the current ego, but for an ideal ego – the creator of the future, values, and new truths.
=> Both reject the current ego. But Winston turns inward to find the eternal true self, while Nietzsche looks to the future to call for ontological evolution.
2. Origin of creation: Soul or Will to Power?
Winston Man:
Creation comes from the soul, beyond desire and reason. It is a divine surge, not from the desire to master or control – but from a deep connection with beauty, with a "sacred truth."
Nietzsche:
In contrast, Nietzsche calls the creative impulse the will to power (der Wille zur Macht). The people he writes for will "create new order, new values," not for salvation, but for the desire to overcome – an act of exploring the world, shaping the future.
=> Winston seeks renunciation to return to the essence; Nietzsche calls for transcendence to be reborn as the essence itself.
3. Attitude to reality and truth
Winston Man:
Writing is not to describe reality, but to touch a deeper level – where truth cannot be grasped by rational language. His truth is the truth of the soul, intuitive and sacred.
Nietzsche:
He demands that the reader "face reality as it is"-frankly, without illusions, without being obscured by prejudice. But that reality is not to be accepted, but to be conquered, to create new meanings from the very emptiness of old values.
=> Both demand the courage to face the truth – but the approach is very different: Winston is surrender to penetrate, Nietzsche is resistance to recreate.
4. Position of the writer: Instrument or Founder?
Winston Man:
The writer is an instrument of the soul – a "channel" rather than a creative subject.
Nietzsche:
The writer (and the one being written for) is the founder of truth, the designer of the future. Writing is an act of construction.
=> In Winston, writing is dedication. In Nietzsche, writing is an ontological revolution.
Conclusion: Two journeys, one depth
Both Winston Man and Friedrich Nietzsche lead us to a transcendent level of existence – where writing is no longer a technical act, but an expression of a will to escape the ordinary human being.
One person (Winston) speaks of the surrender of the ego to let the soul speak.
One person (Nietzsche) calls for a new ego – stronger, bolder – to rise up and master the future.
Two different directions, but both establish one thing:
Writing is not to express the current self – but to unlock the true person, hidden deep or yet to come.
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The existential and metaphysical foundations in the thought of Winston Man and Friedrich Nietzsche, to see them as two poles of a common movement: the movement to transcend the ordinary human, a dissolution-re-establishment-and sublimation of the essence.
I. Writing is not an act, but the birth of an entity
Winston Man:
“I do not write… My soul writes…”
This is a statement of ego dissolution.
Winston rejects the perceived ego, rejects reason, and rejects the body – as temporary, crude, biological and limited tools. Writing – if truthful – does not come from any organ of the existing human being. It comes from a "wordless" place, from a realm of the soul without words – where no one "writes" anymore, but only a stream of existence flows.
This is a kind of endogenous mysticism, like Eckhart, Rumi, or Levinas – where the ego dissolves to become a conduit for something greater than it: the absolute, the infinite, the "pure existence".
Writing is a retreat. It is to make the ego transparent, and from there, life (or God, or the Absolute) passes through.
Nietzsche:
I write for a kind of person who does not yet exist... These men... will be the architects of future humanity.
In contrast to Winston, Nietzsche does not abandon the ego-but wants to transcend it.
Nietzsche does not write from an "opening" for a transcendent force to pass through, but writes from an exalted will-the will to power (Will to Power).
Writing here is an act of self-creation. Not the soul writes, but an ego shedding its skin to become Übermensch-Superman-a human being surpassing himself.
Nietzsche does not need a transparent writer-he needs a writer who is dense, powerful, able to bear the weight of the world, and recreate it.
II. Transcending humanity: a two-way entrance
Winston-Descent into the unconscious:
He enters the egoless, into the realm of the wordless.
The soul writes, but reason does not.
This is reminiscent of Lao Tzu: "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao"-what can be expressed is not the Tao. The truth, for Winston, does not lie in words, let alone in will. It lies in absolute silence, a transcendent depth, which only the soul-with its purity, desirelessness-can touch.
Winston follows the path of stillness-inner-deep-blurred.
It is the path of the hermit, the meditator, the ego-breaker.
Nietzsche-Ascent to supernal heights (Ascent):
In contrast, Nietzsche wants to build a new model.
Not going into nothingness, he goes into the absolute affirmation-life, reality, man-without needing salvation.
Nietzsche declares:
“Live dangerously.”
“Become who you are.”
“God is dead. And we have killed Him.”
This is the call of a modern Prometheus, who takes the fire of the gods to create a new world-a world no longer based on old morality, old religion, old ideals.
Nietzsche follows the path of dynamism-strength-height-brilliance.
It is the path of the actor, the redefiner, the screamer in the desert.
III. The sacred and action: Contemplation or enlightenment?
For Winston, the sacred is what cannot be said, cannot be done, can only be let "it" happen.
Writing is a phenomenon, not an action.
The ego must disappear for the truth to appear.
For Nietzsche, the sacred lies in the very will to create, where man himself bears the divine fate.
Writing is a proclamation, an act of the one who transcends, of the god who builds the world with his own hands.
IV. The same destination: Liberating humanity
Although going in different directions, both proclaim one thing:
Man today is not enough to write the truth.
To write truly-you must transcend yourself.
Winston wants you to dissolve into the soul.
Nietzsche wants you to shatter yourself to be reborn.
One falls down.
One rises up.
But both refuse to stand still.
V. Conclusion: Writing as a supra-existential act
In the light of these two thinkers, writing is no longer an intellectual operation, no longer a personal act. It is:
With Winston: a mystical ritual, where the ego is dissolved so that the soul can enter the world.
With Nietzsche: a cosmogonic act, where the ego becomes a tool to recreate the world and values.
Writing is not "writing about something". Writing is a "state of being".
And to write-you cannot be an ordinary person.
You must transcend yourself, in the way of Winston, or Nietzsche.
