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I empathize with Nietzsche, I seem to exhibit the same mental traits that he did. I thought I enjoyed solitude but I'm starting to see that I'm slowly but surel

I empathize with Nietzsche, I seem to exhibit the same mental traits that he did. I thought I enjoyed solitude but I'm starting to see that I'm slowly but surely going mad all by myself (I have no constant friend circle). By being a hermit you lose touch with reality and the cultural/social learnings that everyone takes for granted become lost to you. That's not a good thing because you need others to function in life.

gnosis 17y ago
Despite your empathy for Nietzsche, if you actually read the article you'll see that Nietzsche had the opposite view of solitude from the one you have. Nietzsche thought solitude's effect was positive, and something to be cultivated, not something that will "drive you mad" or make you "lose touch with reality". In fact, it might not be going too far to say that for Nietzsche, it is society (not solitude) that "drives you mad". And solitude is part of the antidote.
- kirse 17y ago
  Nietzsche thought solitude's effect was positive, and something to be cultivated, not something that will "drive you mad" It's funny how easily self-deception takes over the mind, while a single external perspective would easily have pointed out the error in his ways. It always amazes me how much people frequently hail and agree with the life perspectives of a man who was, for all purposes, clinically psychotic and mentally unstable most of the time. I'm a fan of occasional philosophical thinking in private to ensure that the way I'm doing things lines up with my conscience, otherwise I've long since concluded that the maximum potential to create change in this world is not by thinking about it, but by doing (especially in the company of others).
  - gnosis 17y ago
    "It always amazes me how much people frequently hail and agree with the life perspectives of a man who was, for all purposes, clinically psychotic and mentally unstable most of the time." He was only "mentally unstable" towards the very end of his life. Virtually everything he wrote he wrote before that period, when he was as sane as anyone else. In any event, even if he was as mad as a hatter his whole life (which he wasn't), that would not necessarily mean that what he wrote was worthless. What a person writes should be judged on its own merits, not on those of its author.
ardit33 17y ago
try to read about "schiziod" personality. It is basically the extreme version of a loner. People that are happy with themselves, don't like contact with other people, and like to keep the human relationships in minimum as possible. Seems ok in surface (and many schiziod people are happy withe themselves), but in few people it is a precursor of schizophrenia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoid_personality_disorder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoid_personality_disorder

gnosis 17y ago

Despite your empathy for Nietzsche, if you actually read the article you'll see that Nietzsche had the opposite view of solitude from the one you have. Nietzsche thought solitude's effect was positive, and something to be cultivated, not something that will "drive you mad" or make you "lose touch with reality". In fact, it might not be going too far to say that for Nietzsche, it is society (not solitude) that "drives you mad". And solitude is part of the antidote.

kirse 17y ago
Nietzsche thought solitude's effect was positive, and something to be cultivated, not something that will "drive you mad" It's funny how easily self-deception takes over the mind, while a single external perspective would easily have pointed out the error in his ways. It always amazes me how much people frequently hail and agree with the life perspectives of a man who was, for all purposes, clinically psychotic and mentally unstable most of the time. I'm a fan of occasional philosophical thinking in private to ensure that the way I'm doing things lines up with my conscience, otherwise I've long since concluded that the maximum potential to create change in this world is not by thinking about it, but by doing (especially in the company of others).
- gnosis 17y ago
  "It always amazes me how much people frequently hail and agree with the life perspectives of a man who was, for all purposes, clinically psychotic and mentally unstable most of the time." He was only "mentally unstable" towards the very end of his life. Virtually everything he wrote he wrote before that period, when he was as sane as anyone else. In any event, even if he was as mad as a hatter his whole life (which he wasn't), that would not necessarily mean that what he wrote was worthless. What a person writes should be judged on its own merits, not on those of its author.

ardit33 17y ago

try to read about "schiziod" personality. It is basically the extreme version of a loner. People that are happy with themselves, don't like contact with other people, and like to keep the human relationships in minimum as possible. Seems ok in surface (and many schiziod people are happy withe themselves), but in few people it is a precursor of schizophrenia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoid_personality_disorder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoid_personality_disorder