Beyond Good and Evil · Chapter
217 explained
A warning against those who pride themselves on their moral discernment, arguing that they become unforgiving detractors when their judgment is proven wrong, even among friends.
What happens
A warning against those who pride themselves on their moral discernment, arguing that they become unforgiving detractors when their judgment is proven wrong, even among friends. It contrasts this with the blessedness of forgetfulness.
Themes in this chapter
Psychology as the Fundamental Science
Analyzes the psychological mechanism of resentment and the instinct to slander in those whose moral self-conception is wounded by a mistake.
Critique of Modernity
Implies a critique of modern moral sensibilities and the vanity inherent in those who claim refined moral judgment.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Issues a cautionary aphorism about human psychology, using the collective 'us' to draw the reader into the observation.
Key passages
“They never forgive us if they have once made a mistake before us (or even with regard to us)—they inevitably become our instinctive calumniators and detractors...”
When people who value their moral insight are wrong about someone, they cannot forgive that person for exposing their error and instinctively turn to slandering them.
Highlights the reactive, vengeful psychology behind a facade of moral refinement.
“Blessed are the forgetful: for they “get the better” even of their blunders.”
Those who can forget are fortunate, as they overcome their own mistakes.
Posits forgetfulness as a healthier, more powerful alternative to resentful moral accounting.