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Beyond Good and Evil · Chapter

Chapter 112 explained

The narrator contrasts the solitary, contemplative individual with the noisy, intrusive nature of believers, asserting the need for the former to protect their intellectual space.

What happens

The narrator contrasts the solitary, contemplative individual with the noisy, intrusive nature of believers, asserting the need for the former to protect their intellectual space.

Themes in this chapter

  • The Philosopher of the Future

    Describes the solitary, contemplative nature required of the new philosopher, who must guard against the 'noisy' dogma of believers.

  • The Role of Religion

    Implies a critique of religious belief as 'noisy and obtrusive,' an active force that the contemplative mind must resist.

Characters to notice

  • The Narrator

    Articulates the perspective of one 'preordained to contemplation,' defining a stance against the intrusiveness of belief.

Key passages

  • To him who feels himself preordained to contemplation and not to belief, all believers are too noisy and obtrusive; he guards against them.

    The person destined for deep thought, rather than faith, finds all religious believers disruptively loud and must actively shield themselves.

    Establishes a fundamental opposition between the contemplative philosopher and the communal believer.