Previous
Maxim
Philosophical nihilism rejects fundamental aspects of human existence (such as morality or objective truth) on the basis that life is meaningless and moral truths are unknowable.
Nihilism Quotes in Twilight of the Idols
The Twilight of the Idols quotes below are all either spoken by Nihilism or refer to Nihilism. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Foreword Quotes
Nothing succeeds in which high spirits play no part.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In the Foreword to Twilight of the Idols, Nietzsche lays out the book’s central purposes. “Nothing succeeds in which high spirits play no part,” he states here, giving an implicit nod to the despairing, nihilistic culture out of which Twilight of the Idols emerged—and which motivated him to write it in the first place. Nietzsche believes that conventional systems of morality—namely Christian morality—have made society nihilistic and decadent. Moreover, he thinks that these unnatural rules of conduct—right and wrong—have made people distrust themselves and the world around them. In short, morality has instilled a sense of self-hatred in them and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium
Another form of recovery, in certain cases even more suited to me, is to sound out idols. …There are more idols in the world than there are realities: that is my ‘evil eye’ for this world, that is also my ‘evil ear’. … For once to pose questions here with a hammer and perhaps to receive for answer that famous hollow sound which speaks of inflated bowels—what a delight for one who has ears behind his ears—for an old psychologist and pied piper like me, in presence of whom precisely that which would like to stay silent has to become audible…
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In the Foreword, Nietzsche identifies his purpose in writing Twilight of the Idols. He thinks society’s degraded state is the consequence of centuries of philosophers and moralists idolizing unattainable standards of moral conduct. In the book, he examines why the worship of ideals is destructive and sets in motion a plan to help society recover from the decadent, nihilistic state it’s fallen to. This passage contains Nietzsche’s proposed plan for “recovery.” Nietzsche states that he will “sound out idols” by “pos[ing] questions here with a hammer.” Striking the idols with a hammer, he argues, will create a “hollow sound,” meaning Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porr
Maxims and Arrows Quotes
39. The disappointed man speaks. – I sought great human beings, I never found anything but the apes of their ideal.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This passage comes from “Maxims and Arrows,” which (as the title suggests) consists of 44 numbered maxims related to the core ideas of Twilight of the Idols. As is characteristic of Nietzsche’s writing, the maxims have a distinct style and employ lots of figurative language. In this maxim, Nietzsche, embodying the consciousness of “The disappointed man,” describes his search—and failure—to find “great human beings.” Rather than “great human beings,” he found only “the apes of their ideal.” A few things are going on here. First, when Nietzsche states that he looked for “great” or strong or vital human beings, he’s Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Q
The Problem of Socrates Quotes
In every age the wisest have passed the identical judgement on life: it is worthless. … Everywhere and always their mouths have uttered the same sound—a sound full of doubt, full of melancholy, full of weariness with life, full of opposition to life.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In “The Problem of Socrates,” Nietzsche lays out the origins of society’s obsession with unattainable idols/ideals, which he traces back to Socrates. Nietzsche blames Socrates for introducing logic and rationality into mainstream philosophical thought. Reason and rationality, Nietzsche argues, have taught humanity to be skeptical of the observable world and human instinct. This skepticism, in turn, has made people “full of doubt, full of melancholy, full of weariness with life, full of opposition to life.” And all this is to blame for the nihilism and decadence that characterizes the modern world. This passage is important because it outlines the traits Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debit
Judgements, value judgements concerning life, for or against, can in the last resort never be true: they possess value only as symptoms, they come into consideration only as symptoms—in themselves such judgements are stupidities. One must reach out and try to grasp this astonishing finesse, that the value of life cannot be estimated.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In “The Problem of Socrates,” Nietzsche describes how the nihilism and decadence that characterize the modern world came to be. He attributes their hold on modern intellectual culture to Socratic philosophy, which values argumentative discourse and reason, and which taught humanity to use logic and rationality to view themselves and the surrounding world with skepticism and doubt. By examining the world critically and rationally, Socrates held, people could make “value judgments concerning life” and decide what is right versus wrong, good versus evil. Socrates also proposed that reason, virtue, and happiness are interconnected. But Nietzsche disagrees with this perspective. He Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia solut
What I Owe to the Ancients Quotes
Ultimately my mistrust of Plato extends to the very bottom of him: I find him deviated so far from all the fundamental instincts of the Hellenes, so morally infected, so much an antecedent Christian—he already has the concept ‘good’ as the supreme concept—that I should prefer to describe the entire phenomenon ‘Plato’ by the harsh term ‘higher swindle’ or, if you prefer, ‘idealism’, than by any other.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In “What I Owe to the Ancients,” Nietzsche considers the ancient world—mainly through a critical lens, as he does here with his analysis of Plato. Nietzsche condemns Plato for “deviat[ing] so far from the fundamental instincts of the Hellenes.” Nietzsche sees a tension between Apollonian and Dionysian impulses (order and disorder, rationality and impassion) as the foundation of Greek drama. He thinks that Plato has strayed from this ever since he became “morally infected” and obsessed with the idea that the apparent world can’t be trusted and that an ideal, unattainable world exists elsewhere that is more real than the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi solut
Get the entire Twilight of the Idols LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Nihilism Term Timeline in Twilight of the Idols
The timeline below shows where the term Nihilism appears in Twilight of the Idols. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Expeditions of an Untimely Man
...and “reckless realism, reverence for everything factual.” How, then, has society become so chaotic and nihilistic? Nietzsche thinks the chaos is the result of society wanting to return to the 18th...
(full context)
