Ask anyone in the street to name three philosophers and chances are Friedrich Nietzsche might be one of them. Famous for concepts like the Superman, the master-slave morality, the will to power, and his declaration that “God is dead”, Nietzsche remains a towering, influential figure. Equally, controversy still surrounds him in some quarters over his perceived connection with Nazism.

I first meet him when he turns up uninvited on my doorstep, flanked by Sartre and Thomas Hobbes. Thereafter, he makes regular appearances, whether it’s down the pub, in the belly of a whale munching on hallucinogenic fish, or traveling on a boat in search of Derrida in the Philippine jungle.