Who believes that "whatever does not kill us makes us stronger"? Why or why not?

Question

I think ultimately we are talking about the effects of stress here.

Doesn't it properly go "That which does not kill us" yada yada...

Yes. That's it.

Answer 1

As a philosophical, or psychological, stance, Nietzsche's famous quote sound quite bold and powerful. And, if you use it to psyche yourself up to do whatever is difficult in your life, then it can be quite effective as a mantra. However, in biological terms, it is unfortunately not quite true.

Repeated bouts of pneumonia only make you more succeptible to pneumonia. Likewise, you may feel a great triumph in defeating cancer, kidney disease, or other major illness... but you are not necessarily any stronger for having won the day. Repeated exposure to either acute health crises or to chronic health problems may reduce you body's ability to cope with further insult. Likewise, we know that repeated exposure to extreme stress results in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which, left untreated, results in a terminal outcome. PTSD in the long term is terminal: either the person commits suicide directly or more slowly through inadequate and/or unhealthy coping skills, such as alcoholism or nicotine addiction. Most of the soldiers returning from Iraq have some form of moderate to severe PTSD...and they are not stronger or better in any way for having it. We need to demand that the VA aggressively seek out and treat these men before their lives and the lives of those around them are ruined any more than they already have by this fruitless military campaign.

Answer 2

Kate was right in all respects concerning Nietzsche, apart from one. He was not poor. He had a pension from the University of Basel and his friends regularly gifted him with sizable donations. Hence his ability to go off and live in Genoa at the drop of a hat.

Apart from his ethics, Nietzsche's philosophy is more like a topical ointment than a cure. He couldn't apply it to every situation. When you break his aphorism down it seems to be saying that if you have overcome a problem, then you've mastered it and you're in a stronger position. Hardly profound.
From Nietzsche's perspective a man only 'becomes what he is' when he rises above (Nietzches pet hate) slave moralities. If that doesn't kill him, then he has the strengh for anything.

Many folks, quite wrongly, read Nietzsche as a sort of anti-Bible and feel that that even his most pithy sayings have profound meaning. This is not necessarily the case.

I 'believe' the saying as far as it can be usefully applied.

Answer 3

Nietzsche was the person who is most famous for this quotation. He measured strength in how much a person could flat out endure in their lives without complaint or resentment.

He actually did try and live by that too. His life in many ways was far from ideal. He was a physically sick man for most of his life with migriane headaces and stomach problems. He was very poor so his lodgings often had fireplaces that produced more smoke than heat and he had no luck in love.

Still, he affirmed his existence because he felt it made him stronger as a philosopher.

I don't know if his maxim is true for everyone. And he probably didn't know about the effects of stress as we understand them today. If he did, he probably would have suffered his mental breakdown sooner. It's sort of like when you're not sure you're sick you can make it through the day even if you don't feel great. But the minute you know you're actually sick... you collapse the rest of the day.

Answer 4

I live by that philosophy...but you are also talking to a gal who was thrown from a horse at age 16, should of died but didn't, also wrecked my Harley in 1996, should of suffered more than I did but I got through it....

YOU learn to cope....period, we are amazingly resilient creatures in the respect that just when you think you can't take it anymore...you tie another knot in your rope and keep on going forward....

Like my Daddy always said (and I am totally Daddy's little girl) LET the ROUGH end DRAG and let the SLICK end SLIDE....basically, take what comes at you as it comes and do what you can to get through it....and HEY if it DON'T kill you CONSIDER it a VICTORY!!!

Its triumph of the human spirit, and as for the great philosopher's all you can do is interpret what they were saying and you can get 20 people in a room and they will all see it differently....that is the BEAUTY of Philosophy as a teaching tool....

No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience....

Answer 5

I believe this through my own personal experience.
* When I was 17 I had my first major disappointment, and indeed, it made me work harder that last year of high school to 'prove' I could do it and was worthy!
*When I was newly married, we lost our first baby just over half-way thru the pregnancy. I had moments in which I too wanted to die, but it didn't kill me, and it made me stronger emotionally, more compassionate to others, stronger to face doctors and question them and their practices.
*When my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and battling a good fight, and then passed away, it did not kill me, but almost did. I have fought a good fight myself the past 2.5 years to regain some balance in life. I am stronger because I was better able to handle it when
*my stepdaughter got pregnant at 16 and I could put things in perspective more easily than I might have.

That that don't kill me, only makes me stronger, AMEN.

Answer 6

I don't think this saying was meant for effects of stress. It was for traumatic events. Something that you would normally expect to harm someone in a fatal fashion. An innocent person going to prison, a horribly painful heartbreak. A potentially terminal disease.
I don't think it necessarily makes us stronger but it does block off certain passages, certain pathways to the heart and soul that might have been more open before the event.

Answer 7

I've always known that quote was B.S. It should read: "Whatever doesn't kill you could make some people with the proper attitude & mental health going into the trauma stronger." There's another one by the Nietzsche: "If all you do is chase dragons, you yourself become a dragon." Although I agree with some of his stuff, these 2 are quite misled.

Answer 8

I do.

Why? Because our bodies are organic and for the most part, will repair themselves and stronger than the previous time as to avoid or reduce future damage.

I think the same goes for stress. If you don't die of it, then the next time you are stressed, you will be stronger than the previous time since you'll have more experience dealing with stress.

Answer 9

1

Answer 10

i think if it was applying to physical traumas ,it does not make sense...i do not think surviving from a hard attack would makes my heart stronger.....
and if it was applying to emotional traumas, i do not think it makes sense either....lots of people suffer a long time after them, carry emotional bruises even for the rest of their life....why else psychology developed a new branch like psychoanalysis