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The bite of conscience is indecent.
Friedrich Nietzsche
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote suggests that feeling guilty or having a troubled conscience can be an inappropriate or disturbing experience.

Friedrich Nietzsche, through this quote, critiques the nature of conscience and guilt, proposing that the feeling of being burdened by one's conscience is often seen as 'indecent' or morally questionable. He encourages a reevaluation of how we perceive guilt, suggesting that it may be a societal construct that hinders true freedom and self-expression, rather than a reflection of moral strength.

Themes

ConscienceGuiltMoralityFreedomPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about moral dilemmas, this quote can illustrate the weight of conscience.

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Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
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That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
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Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.
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Watch them clamber, these swift monkeys! They clamber over one another and thus drag one another into the mud and the depth. They all want to get to the throne: that is their madness β€” as if happiness sat on the throne. Often, mud sits on the throne β€” and often the throne also on mud. Mad they all appear to me, clambering monkeys and overardent. Foul smells their idol, the cold monster: foul, they smell to me altogether, these idolators.
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Reason is the cause of our falsification of the evidence of the senses. In so far as the senses show becoming, passing away, change, they do not lie.
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The anarchist and the Christian have a common origin.
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