Combining Texts

Ideas for 'fragments/reports', 'Writings from Late Notebooks' and 'On the Nature of Truth and Falsehood'

unexpand these ideas     |    start again     |     choose another area for these texts

display all the ideas for this combination of texts


3 ideas

1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 7. Despair over Philosophy
Words such as 'I' and 'do' and 'done to' are placed at the point where our ignorance begins [Nietzsche]
     Full Idea: We place a word at the point where our ignorance begins - where we can't see any further, e.g. the word 'I', the words 'do' and 'done to': these may be the horizons of our knowledge, but they are not 'truths'.
     From: Friedrich Nietzsche (Writings from Late Notebooks [1887], 05[3])
     A reaction: A nice contribution to the debate over whether our understanding is restricted to what we can say. Compare Ideas 2937 and 6870. Nietzsche seems to support Wittgenstein. I prefer Keith Ansell Pearson.
Pessimism is laughable, because the world cannot be evaluated [Nietzsche]
     Full Idea: The total value of the world is unevaluable, consequently philosophical pessimism is among the comical things.
     From: Friedrich Nietzsche (Writings from Late Notebooks [1887], 11[72])
     A reaction: Nietzsche always has Schopenhauer in mind when he laughs at pessimism. Presumably, by the same token, optimism would be equally ridiculous. But how can Nietzsche's dynamic hopes for the future operate without optimism?
Is a 'philosopher' now impossible, because knowledge is too vast for an overview? [Nietzsche]
     Full Idea: Is the 'philosopher' still possible today? Is not the extent of what is known too large? Is it not very unlikely that he will be able to reach an overview, the less so the more conscientious he is?
     From: Friedrich Nietzsche (Writings from Late Notebooks [1887], 35[24])
     A reaction: If Aristotle had a wonderful overview because knowledge was limited, presumably the overview was inaccurate - not an idea that would appeal to Nietzsche, with his relativism. I'd rather have too much knowledge, and struggle towards an overview.