i hear this Neitzschean apothegm quoted all the time, by glib people. but it doesn't seem to mean anything. either it's just plain false, or it's trivial.
FALSE: obviously there are millions of things that don't kill me, but also don't make me stronger. The number 128945634 doesn't kill me, and it doesn't make me any stronger. People from the past don't kill me, and don't make me stronger. Atoms on planets in faraway solar systems, etc. etc.
Some things that won't kill me can make me weaker, in fact: Gout, Ross River Fever, etc.
TRIVIAL: so it looks like Neitzsche means, "that which interacts with me, and tests me, and doesn't make me weaker, makes me stronger", but this just seems like a way of saying "that which makes me stronger makes me stronger", which is trivial.
So PLEASE give a good account, or tell everybody to stop saying this!!!
2006-07-10
23:24:17
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20 answers
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asked by
artful dodger
3
in
Philosophy