What does Nietzsche really mean by it.I think when he says, "When you gaze long into the abyss,the abyss also gazes into you.",he means when you dwell on nihilism/meaninglessness,it consumes you.Do I have it right?Is there more to the quote?
2007-03-23 05:51:24 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
I think it's interesting that Nietzsche himself was consumed by the "abyss" when the Syphillis finally deteriorated his brain enough to make him go insane,then die.I know it's not exactly the same as what the quote aims to,but it's interesting.
2007-03-23 06:15:10 · update #1
To Kate:It sounds like practically the same notion alot of other existentialists agree on.Ethics all come down to a sort of non-metaphysical Karma.I haven't found a good arguement against it.On a lighter note,ever since I've start reading Nietzsche and Schopenhauer,I think about Star Wars.
2007-03-24 15:55:41 · update #2
Beware of what you wish for, it might come true and you might not like it.
I love this one:
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Nietzsche.
2007-03-23 06:44:19 · answer #1 · answered by Alex 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That quotation has two parts. "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks into you."
I interpret this as one of Nietzsche's main objections on how philosophy had been carried out thus far, or even how lay people view their own morality. People tend to view their own way of thinking as untouchable and grounded in objective reasons. People believe they can think or do anything and retain their inherent objectivity and goodness. But here, Nietzsche warns, take care. You are affected by what you do and what you think. A philosopher can't have a terrifying thought and then just snap back unaffected to tranquil objectivity (if he ever was really objective). And a person can't resort to terrible tactics against an enemy without becoming terrible themselves.
2007-03-24 15:35:23 · answer #2 · answered by K 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I take a different view than that. I have a strong background in psychology and am very interested in studying the 'abyss' of human behavior (ie delinquent/criminal/deviant/abnormal behavior). So to me this qoute from Nietzche (which is my favorite) helps to remind me that by continiously studying the horrors that the human psyche can create, I must be careful that these same deviant behaviors do not become a part of my own psyche.
2007-03-23 06:03:35 · answer #3 · answered by AthenaGenesis 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think by "abyss" he is refering to a nihilist philosophy that nothing really has a purpose, we just exsist without reason.
When you start to dwell on the concept of the "abyss", that nothing has a purpose, this Philosophy stare back at you through a realization that you yourself also don't have a purpose or reason for existance.
2007-03-23 13:59:20 · answer #4 · answered by Michael M 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a warning that one may be consumed.
2007-03-23 06:05:38 · answer #5 · answered by Immortal Cordova 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋