A famous Friedrich Nietzsche quote goes, "And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you." What did he mean by that? When/where did this quote first appear?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
2007-01-14 17:27:59 · 10 answers · asked by dorasquisher 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Quotations
The quote first appears in section 146 of Nietzsche's "Beyond Good and Evil," in the section entitled "Epigrams and Interludes." The quote appears by itself and thus has no broader context, save for the rest of Nietzsche's philosophy.
The full quote reads, "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you." As I read it, the quote refers to the propensity for people to become that which they strive against. A good example of this concept appears in Orwell's Animal Farm, where the animals seek to overthrow the tyranny of human control only to find that the pigs, upon achieving liberation from the humans and securing power themselves, soon become indistinguishable from the humans. This point is evident in the poignant last line of Orwell's work: "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." In fighting monsters, the pigs in Animal Farm became precisely the monsters that they once sought to free the animals from. A similar phenomenon might be said to exist in the Bush administration's willingness to tolerate (and even encourage) the torture of "enemy combatants," despite the fact that such behavior runs counter to our professed role as "liberators" and our nation's role as the "beacon on the hill."
The second half of the quote is an extension of the first, warning that when you seek to understand the "abyss," or the darker elements of life or truth, the abyss enters you as well. The lover of knowledge cannot remain merely an observer. In observing the abyss, or "dangerous truths," man cannot avoid the consequences of his newfound knowledge.
Hope this helps.
2007-01-14 18:07:30 · answer #1 · answered by anointed one 1 · 62⤊ 7⤋
Stare Into The Abyss
2016-10-04 21:17:48 · answer #2 · answered by osazuwa 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
wherever you put your energy is what you become. This is why we should never mention Voldermort. Put all your energy into creating something of beauty and manifestation follows will. But where there is paradox evidently there is God. In life I have observed jumping into the abyss was akin to jumping through the eye of the devil in Dante's hell. Like Yin and Yang you come out on the otherside. Walking in another's shoes is the best way I find of forgiving and forgetting and moving on. Running away from the devil is also as bad as gazing at him .....the monster becomes bigger behind you. Turn around and just walk straight through him into your life. Like Jesus's Manakos.
2015-08-31 05:18:18 · answer #3 · answered by Lynne Morgan 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
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What does "And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you" mean?
A famous Friedrich Nietzsche quote goes, "And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you." What did he mean by that? When/where did this quote first appear?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
2015-08-06 23:27:48 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It means that when you spend a lot of time on something, that something can take over who you are. It's one of my favorite quotes by him
2013-10-20 18:46:02 · answer #5 · answered by mark 1 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Nietzsche was not a nihilist. He despised nihilists who went around saying life on earth is worthless. He considered Christians nihilists because they could not find their value in the earth. They had to look to otherworldly places for it.
I agree with anointed one. If there was one thing that drove Nietzsche spare (other than nihilists) it was philosophers who felt they could venture anywhere their mind or life could take them and come out unscathed and a objective as ever. Nietzsche can make a lot more sense if you study just enough traditional western philosophy to understand what
he was unhappy about.
2007-01-17 04:28:14 · answer #6 · answered by K 5 · 19⤊ 2⤋
Good question, I was wondering the same thing myself
2016-08-23 15:13:28 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Putting it in a modern context, America has become more like the terrorists it attempted to quash that it was beforehand. You must take care that when you fight violence and racism that you do not become like the monsters that support it.
2014-07-13 09:17:01 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 4⤋
Need more info to answer
2016-08-09 00:03:13 · answer #9 · answered by Katrina 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
means that abyss is a scary-asss thing to think about.
2007-01-14 17:57:08 · answer #10 · answered by maxin and relaxin 2 · 8⤊ 4⤋