# 68 explained — Beyond Good and Evil

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

## What happens

A brief, aphoristic exploration of the internal conflict between memory and pride, where pride's refusal to accept a remembered action eventually forces memory to capitulate.

## Themes in this chapter

### Psychology as the Fundamental Science

Dissects a fundamental psychological mechanism—the conflict and hierarchy between memory and pride—as a key to understanding the self.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

The voice experiencing the conflict between memory and pride, using the first-person perspective.

## Key lines

> “I did that,” says my memory. “I could not have done that,” says my pride, and remains inexorable. Eventually⁠—the memory yields.

Memory presents a fact about the self, but pride, as a more powerful force of self-conception, denies it. In the end, the factual account of memory is overruled by the demands of pride.

_Illustrates the power of psychological drives (pride) over mere factual recollection, showing how the self is constructed and preserved._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters/68
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/beyond_good_and_evil_se/chapters