# 141 explained — Beyond Good and Evil

> Chapter companion for Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche.

## What happens

A brief aphorism highlighting the physical, bodily nature of humanity as a fundamental limitation on grand self-conceptions, such as seeing oneself as divine.

## Themes in this chapter

### Psychology as the Fundamental Science

The aphorism grounds a psychological observation (the human tendency for self-deification) in a basic physiological fact, exemplifying a psychological and materialist analysis of human nature.

### Critique of Traditional Philosophy

Implies a critique of philosophical or religious ideals that ignore or deny the fundamental, limiting conditions of the physical body.

## Key lines

> The belly is the reason why man does not so readily take himself for a God.

Our physical needs and animal nature prevent us from easily believing in our own divinity.

_A concise statement linking human embodiment to a limitation on spiritual or intellectual arrogance._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/141
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters