QuoteProject
You say 'I' and you are proud of this word. But greater than this- although you will not believe in it - is your body and its great intelligence, which does not say 'I' but performs 'I'.
Friedrich Nietzsche
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the distinction between the ego and the body's inherent intelligence and capabilities.

Friedrich Nietzsche's quote highlights the pride we take in our individuality represented by the word 'I', while suggesting that our physical being embodies a greater intelligence that operates beyond our conscious self-awareness. This indicates that our bodies function autonomously and carry out actions without the need for the ego to affirm its identity, urging us to recognize and appreciate the deeper aspects of our existence.

Themes

IdentityBodyIntelligencePhilosophyExistence

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about the connection between mind and body during a philosophy class.

More from Friedrich Nietzsche

Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
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 — as if happiness sat on the throne. Often, mud sits on the throne — 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.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
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.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
The anarchist and the Christian have a common origin.
Friedrich NietzscheRead

Similar quotes

Visions! omens! hallucinations! miracles! ecstasies! gone down the American river! Dreams! adorations! illumnations! religions! the whole boatload of sensitive bullshit!
Allen GinsbergRead
If I didn't care about doing right and didn't feel uncomfortable doing wrong, I should get on capitally.
Louisa May AlcottRead
In every human Beast, God has implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom; it is impatient of Oppression, and pants for Deliverance.
Phillis WheatleyRead
We kill each other over which name to call the Nameless.
Ram DassRead
So India’s problem turns out to be the world’s problem. What happened in India has happened in God’s name. The problem’s name is God.
Salman RushdieRead
This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are.
Barack ObamaRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.