GO ASK NIETZSCHE
A weekly publication
Nietzsche Quotes of the Week
“There are no facts, only interpretations.”
- From Nachlass
Dear Nietzsche:
My boyfriend and I have been together for a year and half, and I really think he’s The One. I moved in with him two weeks ago, and things have been going great.
However, one of my friends seems to think he’s cheating. I have to admit; he has been going on a lot more business trips than usual, and he’s been staying really late at work. She even said she saw him flirting with a bunch of girls at the bar on guys’ night.
I can’t decide whom to believe. Should I confront him, or trust him? After all, we’ve been together a long time. How do I find out the truth?
- Confused In Love
Confused In Love:
It seems to me you are missing the point here. As I have said before, there are no facts. Have you read none of my books? It appears you have not, and neither has your friend. She seems stupid; must be German.
Anyway, to the point: whatever you and your friend have been noticing are merely interpretations skewed by the rumors she is obviously spreading. If she hadn’t said anything, would you still be worried and analyzing his every move?
The answer is no. If you want a real answer, ask him. Otherwise, your convictions could mean a dangerous end to your relationship.
“Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.”
• From Human, All Too HumanVol. 3, Issue 36, 4-25-2011
In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with morality at any point.
- From The Antichrist
“Christianity was from the beginning, essentially and fundamentally, life's nausea and disgust with life, merely concealed behind, masked by, dressed up as, faith in ‘another’ or ‘better’ life.”
- From The Birth of Tragedy
Dear Nietzsche:
Growing up, my parents never took me to church or forced me to ascribe to any religion. Now that I’m older, I’m trying to decide of faith is the right choice for me.
I’ve read several of your books, and you seem to completely hate Christianity. I’ve been to a few Christian churches. Despite what you write in your books, they seem like great, welcoming places with good philanthropic policies and strong moral beliefs. Why do you hate them?
- Kind Of Christian
Kind Of Christian:
Ha! Of course you think they’re “great, welcoming places with good philanthropic policies and strong moral beliefs.” That’s what the Christians want you to think! Why do you think they have so many followers?
No one’s going to join a religion that seems terrible and unwelcoming with no idea of philanthropy and weak moral beliefs. In fact, there is nothing that seems less appealing. It would be stupid to think that someone would even give that kind of religion a second thought.
Do not become a Christian, whatever you do. Christians are weak and use their massive numbers to overcome those of us who are strong enough to stand by our own set of beliefs and morals. Christians weigh us down; they make us blind to all moral opportunities by threatening us with the sin of not sharing their faith, and therefore going to Hell when we die.
If you become a Christian, you will undoubtedly lose yourself. You will become weak; you will become a mere pawn in their game of bringing down the strong. This is no way to live.
My honest advice to you is to choose no religion. Be a free spirit, especially because no particular religion satisfies the needs of every human being. Whether you choose Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Scientology or something else entirely, it will never fit all of your wants and needs. Instead, find your own perspective to be truly happy.
“At the bottom every man knows well enough that he is a unique human being, only once on this earth; and by no extraordinary chance will such a marvelously picturesque piece of diversity in unity as he is, ever be put together a second time.”
“Man is the cruelest animal.”
Dear Nietzsche:
My daughter just turned 11 and started middle school this past August. She has always had a lot of friends, but she started growing really quickly and now stands taller than most of the boys. She’s a very beautiful girl, but the kids have started to tease her for being bigger than everyone else.
She comes home from school crying almost every day because of the mean things the kids say to her. They tell her she’s an Amazon woman and that she should go back to the jungle where she came from.
I try telling her not to worry because they’ll all be as tall as she is soon enough, but it doesn’t seem to be helping. She can’t see past the present and understand that they’re just jealous of her and intimidated by her height, even though she isn’t really that tall. She won’t even wear her favorite little heels anymore. What can I do?
- Concerned Parent
Concerned Parent:
As hard as it is, I wouldn’t worry too much. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Beauty is completely subjective (as they say nowadays, it’s in the eye of the beholder), and most people are fickle and compare everything solely to themselves, as if they are the epitome of beauty, the best thing there is.
However, who are we to say that we ourselves are the epitome of beauty; that humans are more beautiful than anything else? Imagine what we look like to a cow, or a penguin. They certainly have different standards than to idolize a human.
Or imagine how we appear to a possible higher beauty. We probably look like mere garbage, something they wouldn’t dare come near to for fear of being tainted by our ugliness.
Your daughter will be fine. In time, the boys will be chasing after her just as she hopes they will. In the meantime, just understand her feelings.
"No price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself."
Dear Nietzsche:
I recently moved into a dorm room this past August, and I have a roommate for the first time. Things started off really great; we became friends quickly and started spending almost all of our quality time together.
However, I’ve noticed lately that she’s getting bossy. No matter what I do or say, she has a better idea. She even tells me what to wear and how to act. It’s getting on my nerves, but I have to live with her for at least this year. Should I stand up to her controlling ways, or should I let her walk all over me for the sake of having peace in my life through May?
- Submissive Student
Are you serious? Never give in to anyone’s pressures. Sure, it may be hard and it may create some troublesome drama, but do you want to become a mindless figment of today’s abhorrent society? I should think not.
As I have said before, “The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try I, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened.” Your roommate truly sounds like a nightmare.
However, despite the sacrifices you may make to keep your individuality, you are keeping something far more precious than anything money is able to buy. You are keeping all of the things that make you “you.”
I cannot stress the importance of fighting against conformity. If she says, “Change your clothes,” you say,“Change your judgments.” You will never regret this decision. I guarantee it.
“Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”
- From Beyond Good and Evil
Rumor has it that people are feeling a little uncertain about the meaning of one of my aphorisms from Beyond Good and Evil: “Battle not with monsters, lest you become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.”Once and for all, I would like to place emphasis on the fact that my aphorisms and published thoughts are such skeletal beings because they are open to your own personal interpretation. If I were so foolish as to create an idea that had a single meaning, wouldn’t I be stifling the very individualism I have fought so hard to encourage?
Having said that, I will discuss my personal interpretation, though somewhat vaguely. The abyss itself can be anything one wishes it to be: a literal abyss, darkness, thought or evil.
In this interpretation, the abyss is evil. When you spend too much time facing down and studying evil, if it is everything you eat, sleep and breathe as you are trying to ward it off, it ultimately will become an inherent part of you. It is impossible to fight something off forever. Evil, if you flirt with it, is unavoidable, and eventually it will find you.
As people who immerse themselves in psychology or literature ultimately become psychologists and literature professors, people who immerse themselves in evil with every fiber of their beings, no matter their honorable intentions, will ultimately become evil.
This is not to say that one should avoid evil at all costs. A person who continuously avoids evil for fear of it is living a life too cautious to be enjoyed. There is a balance to be found, a balance which cannot be explained even by me.
Face evil when necessary, because a time comes in every person’s life when he stands before it, and do not submit to its intriguing powers, for they are too strong. However, do not ever be so bold as to flirt with evil; it will get you as it has gotten so many in the past.
Friedrich Nietzsche is a world-renowned philosopher.
Go Ask Nietzsche is completely written, edited and published by Nietzsche himself.
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