Friedrich Nietzsche wrote a number of aphorisms, or briefly-stated “truths.” Here are 5 of them with commentary.
51: Sense of truth. — I think well of all skepticism to which I may reply: “Let us try it.” But I no longer want to hear anything of all those things and questions which do not permit experiments. This is the limit of my “sense of truth”: for there courage has lost its rights.
Nietzsche is not wrong in that there are some wacky ideas out there that simply can’t be considered in the first place. Of course, that’s in regards to really wacky ideas.
137: The worst readers. — The worst readers are those who proceed like plundering soldiers: they pick up a few things they can use, soil and confuse the rest, and blaspheme the whole.
I think most of us are guilty of being the worst readers. There are some words, paragraphs, and maybe whole pages which are just not worth reading at all. One particular philosopher comes to mind…
163: After a great victory. — What is best about a great victory is that it rids the victor of fear of defeat. “Why not also lose for once?” he says to himself; “now I am rich enough for that.”
It must be nice to be such a winner over other people that you have the freedom to either win or lose. What a thought, Nietzsche, you established philosopher.
251: In parting. — Not how one soul comes close to another but how it moves away shows me their kinship and how much they belong together.
Nietzsche points to some irony, but also to another common aphorism: you don’t realize how much you love someone until you’ve lost them. Thanks Nietzsche. Thanks a lot.
326: Don’t touch! — There are terrible people who, instead of solving a problem, bungle it and make it more difficult for all who come after. Whoever can’t hit the nail on the head should, please, not hit it at all.
One would wish this were actually an aphorism. Unfortunately, it’s not common sense. Combining 137 and 326, you have a representation of what you can find when you search up popular philosophy videos on Nietzsche. Sorry, not sorry, Nietzsche:
After all these examples, it doesn’t seem hard to come up with our own aphorism. Here’s one: when a tired college student can make memes for a class, they’ll make memes for a class.
