Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Species do not grow more perfect: the weaker dominate the strong, again and again- the reason being that they are the great majority, and they are also cleverer. Darwin forgot the mind (-that is English!): the weak possess more mind. ... To acquire mind, one must need mind-one loses it when one no longer needs it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote explores the dynamics of power and intelligence in species, suggesting that the weaker often prevail due to their numerical advantage and cleverness.
Nietzsche's quote reflects on the idea that strength and perfection are not the only determinants of survival or success in nature. He argues that the majority, often perceived as weaker, can outsmart the strong through their numbers and intellectual abilities. This challenges the traditional notion of survival of the fittest and highlights the importance of adaptability and cunning over brute strength.
Themes
SpeciesStrengthIntelligenceSurvivalCleverness
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about evolution and survival, one might say, 'As Nietzsche observed, the weaker can often outsmart the strong.'
More from Friedrich Nietzsche
All quotes →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 — 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.
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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.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
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