![]() The accepted hierarchy of the good, based on how a low, higher, or a most high egoism desires that thing or the other, decides today about morality or immorality. On morality and the ordering of good he writes: ![]() ![]() We attack not only to hurt another person, to conquer him, but also, perhaps, simply to become aware of our own strength. On why we attack others, Nietzsche points out that it’s not always to hurt them: If we have injured someone, giving him the opportunity to make a joke about us is often enough to provide him personal satisfaction, or even win his goodwill. If we’ve offended someone we need only offer compensation: Their skill inspires amazement, but the spectator who is guided not by the scientific spirit, but by the humane spirit, will eventually curse an art which seems to implant in the souls of men a predilection for belittling and doubt. … La Rochefoucauld and those other French masters of soul searching (whose company a German, the author of Psychological Observations, has recently joined) are like accurately aimed arrows, which hit the mark again and again, the black mark of man’s nature. If one imitates Plutarch’s heroes with enthusiasm and feels an aversion toward tracing skeptically the motives for their actions, then the welfare of human society has benefited (even if the truth of human society has not). And perhaps the belief in goodness, in virtuous men and actions, in an abundance of impersonal goodwill in the world has made men better, in that it has made them less distrustful. Indeed, a certain blind faith in the goodness of human nature, an inculcated aversion to dissecting human behavior, a kind of shame with respect to the naked soul, may really be more desirable for a man’s overall happiness than the trait of psychological sharpsightedness, which is helpful in isolated instances. Why do people let the richest and most harmless source of entertainment get away from them? Why has it been forgotten in this century, when many signs point, in Germany at least, if not throughout Europe, to the dearth of psychological observation? Not particularly in novels, short stories, and philosophical meditations, for these are the work of exceptional men but more in the judging of public events and personalities most of all we lack the art of psychological dissection and calculation in all classes of society, where one hears a lot of talk about men, but none at all about man. German philosopher and writer Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) is one of humanity’s most influential and enduring minds. He was particularly good at the aphorism and the brief collection published in Aphorisms on Love and Hate highlights some of his most profound thoughts on the subject.Ĭommenting on psychological observation, in his typically beautiful prose, he wrote that it would be better to have a blind faith in humanity than a curious one.Įditating on things human, all too human (or, as the learned phrase goes, ‘psychological observation’) is one of the means by which man can ease life’s burden that by exercising this art, one can secure presence of mind in difficult situations and entertainment amid boring surroundings indeed, that from the thorniest and unhappiest phases of one’s own life one can pluck maxims and feel a bit better thereby: this was believed, known – in earlier centuries. Everyone can find their own way of interpreting his quotes.įrom the list of philosophical quotes below, can you find one of Plato's quotes that relates to you?ĭetermining what that quote means in your life can help you learn more about the world. Everybody has a story, and each of the quotes tells a story in a way that can relate to the human condition, what people have gone through, what people want to say about the world and how the world can change.“We must learn to love, learn to be kind, and this from earliest youth … Likewise, hatred must be learned and nurtured, if one wishes to become a proficient hater.” Plato was good at not telling people directly what the quotes are about and, instead, making them into a riddle so people can find out what his quotes mean on their own. His way of teaching people through his writing has inspired people to get into writing themselves and life out their best lives through his quotes and his teaching. His quotes have been an inspiration to millions of people around the world to help them get through hard times and uplift them.Īs a wise man, Plato wanted people to look outside of the box, discover something new and take their own wisdom away from what he said to better people's lives and the world.
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