German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (rhymes with “peachy”) said a lot of interesting things in his life. You’ve certainly heard some of them, even if you don’t know their origin… things like:
“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
“When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you.”
Less commonly known, here are a couple of other quotes:
“Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed.”
“Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”
Those latter two quotes are pretty relevant these days, in light of the ever-widening wedge between reason and insanity.
Interestingly, Nietzsche also said, “There are no facts, only interpretations.”
Here, Mr. Nietzsche and I may have to agree to disagree. Or perhaps he was thinking super-big-picture when he said that, as in when dealing with topics that don’t actually have factual basis. You can discuss things like the merits of democracies vs. benevolent dictatorships, thinking you have all the “facts”, and therefore your opinion, and only your opinion, is “correct”. I think that’s the sort of thing he had in mind, and with that, I don’t disagree. Philosophical “facts” are meant to be discussed and challenged.
But people who feel strongly about the “facts” that they’re defending will rarely change their minds, even when the facts are indisputable… and, for some reason, the less “factual” those facts really are, the more they’re stuck to those opinions. It’s like being right is a necessary part of their existence, and challenging that opinion is basically challenging that person’s right to exist. Go try have a rational discussion with a moon-landing-denier or flat-earther; I dare you. If someone is convinced that two plus two is anything other than four, you need to understand that mindset before challenging it. And in doing so, you might realize that you’re wasting your time.
Such is the mindset of the anti-vaxx, anti-mask, anti-lockdown crowd that’ll insist that “it’s a hoax”, “vaccines are poison”, “vaccines are crowd control”, “masks cause more damage than they prevent”, “things are going great”, “nothing to worry about” and so on. If you’re going to bother trying to engage in an intelligent conversation with any of that on the other side of it, you’ve been warned. I’m speaking from experience here.
A final quote from our friend Nietzsche:
“The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well, the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.”
Agreed.
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A warning: you wrote and then supported your own conclusion by agreeing with it, thereby creating a separate companion fact. #trumpian
Happy to see any discussion re: Nietzsche. And he is peachy. Other than he is dark AF. So perfect for our times, Horatio. Good work.
Excellent post. But then most posts featuring multiple Nietzsche quotes are going to be pretty good.
My own take (interpretation) on the facts vs interpretations quote is that it is more about how our perceptions of reality is ALWAYS an interpretation of our sensory and experiential input. Everything is *always* an interpretation, what varies is just how broken each interpretation is.
At some point (maybe not yet), you will need to address the topic of those that have changed their tone, but deny it. DJT being the latest example (although even his new tone is so muddled as to be open to later re-interpretations). You actually may have already discussed it in the vein of scientific learning, but it bears repeating.
Maybe your best yet…
Very good and so appropriate for our times unfortunately
The HK Daily Report (1.167 min read)
Agreed
That was a peachy read. ????
Agreed. ????
still the best.
Actually I did recently have a rational discussion with a non landing denier
as I believe we should once in a while listen to another’s opposing point of view or belief system. As you say it has to be rational.
hahaha…rhymes with peachy…
have you noticed a trend in my emotions – ???????????????? My patients have died of COVID, my friends mom dies of COVID, I am taking care of a 50 yo woman with post COVID fatigue and shortness of breath (truly awful), my medical school friends in NYC and CA have PTSD from witnessed. How can people not believe these facts.
Weren’t Dr. Fauci and Dr. Tam both on record as being anti-mask during this period? Didn’t Dr. Tam specifically say that “masks cause more damage then they prevent”? Where is Dr. Tam these days?
Everyone was on the record saying masks weren’t needed, including Dr. Henry… until it was realized that C19 is potentially airborne, and that asymptomatic transmission was possible.
Adults are allowed to change their mind in light of new information. It’s what makes them adults.
Let us also not forget that perhaps the most famous or infamous quote from Nietzsche was; “God is dead, long live Man and Superman”. Nietzsche influenced many Western thinkers, such as Freud, Sartre, Jung etc, but he also played a significant role in Hitler’s life. Hitler was only 11 years old when Nietzsche died but the philosophy that man and man alone should rule became one of the primary points in Hilter’s world philosophy and the Superman should be none other than the Aryans of German descent.