Beyond Good and Evil · Chapter
43 explained
The chapter describes the coming philosophers as lovers of truth who will reject dogmatism and the desire for universal agreement.
What happens
The chapter describes the coming philosophers as lovers of truth who will reject dogmatism and the desire for universal agreement. They will possess a pride that their truths are not for everyone, valuing rarity and an aristocratic order where great things belong to the great.
Themes in this chapter
The Philosopher of the Future
Describes the non-dogmatic, proud, and rare nature of the coming philosophers who reject common truths.
Nobility and Order of Rank
Explicitly states that great things remain for the great, abysses for the profound, and everything rare for the rare, establishing a hierarchical view of value.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Speculates on the nature and values of the coming philosophers, contrasting them with past dogmatists.
Key passages
“It must be contrary to their pride, and also contrary to their taste, that their truth should still be truth for everyone”
Future philosophers will find it distasteful and prideful to have their truths be universally applicable.
Rejection of dogmatic universality.
“"My opinion is my opinion: another person has not easily a right to it"”
A philosopher's personal truth is not readily available or appropriate for others.
Emphasis on personal, non-common truth.
“In the end things must be as they are and have always been—the great things remain for the great, the abysses for the profound, the delicacies and thrills for the refined, and, to sum up shortly, everything rare for the rare.”
A natural, eternal order exists where value and experience are stratified according to the rank and nature of individuals.
Core statement of aristocratic order and the value of rarity.