Single Idea 4423

[catalogued under 13. Knowledge Criteria / E. Relativism / 1. Relativism]

Full Idea

We have fixed up a world for ourselves in which we can live, with bodies, lines, planes, causes, motion and form; without these articles of faith nobody would endure life. But that does not mean they have been proved. Life is no argument.

Gist of Idea

We assume causes, geometry, motion, bodies etc to live, but they haven't been proved

Source

Friedrich Nietzsche (The Gay (Joyful) Science [1882], §121)

Book Reference

Nietzsche,Friedrich: 'The Gay Science', ed/tr. Kaufmann,Walter [Vintage 1974], p.177


A Reaction

It is hard to disagree. A lot of recent thought suggests that they are Hume's 'natural beliefs', like truth and induction, which simply can't be proved. 'Unprovable' does not mean 'incorrect', however.