Anna Steiner

October 3, 2002

Phil. 2200 T,Th 11:00am

Dr. Rouse

It is very possible that Friedrich Nietzsche is one of, if not the most contentious philosophical writer to ever live. His writings are often hard to understand without carefully dissecting everything that he says. His writing, ‘On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense’, seems to contradict itself many times. But it is this cleverness and skillful writing that makes Nietzsche so fascinating to read. His views are sometimes difficult to distinguish in the cryptic descriptions he often gives, however this much is apparent: Nietzsche doesn’t believe so much in truth as he does the power that the concept of truth holds. Ultimately, he believes that truth is an illusion and we are all guilty of falling victim to this false idea of truth.

Nietzsche begins this particular writing by describing what we perceive truth as being. He states that we as humans are very vain creatures. We use words to describe ourselves that could very well be the exact opposite of how we actually are. The way in which one might go about describing themselves could be the truth according to that person. However the rest of the world may see you in a different light, therefore disproving your perception of truth about yourself. This is where Nietzsche begins to contradict himself. By saying that what we perceive isn’t necessarily the truth, he is essentially saying that truth is a lie. While we may see something in a certain way, that’s not to say that it is the way that it actually is. We as humans sometimes cloud things with our own perceptions that we don’t see what is actually there.

Nietzsche describes truth as being the false perceptions we have of ourselves. He believes that there is no absolute truth. In ‘On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense’, Nietzsche states that “truths are illusions”. The illusion is that people believe that the illusion is the real truth. This is often where people get confused by Nietzsche. By saying that truth is an illusion, then nothing can be true. That very statement, ‘truth is an illusion’, cannot be true because according to the statement, it is false. This theory that truth is an illusion causes much discussion because it is widely refutable. Personally, I believe that absolute truth does exist. While what we may perceive at times may not be the truth, that shouldn’t mean that there is no truth. Certain things still hold to be true no matter what. Perhaps the most obvious response to this question of what is absolutely true, is that nothing is absolutely true. Therefore making it the one absolute truth. But I think the answer goes much further than that. I believe that other examples of absolute truth include the fact that we exist. Because we are thinking for ourselves, we are living, which is not refutable at all.

In Nietzsche’s writing, he gives us an example to help describe his theory of truth. He uses a leaf to show what he means. He states that no two leaves are ever the same. Every single leaf is different. This relates to truth in that our perceptions can be similar looking but that doesn’t make them true. The leaves, he says, might give rise to something that could be confused for a leaf. This is to say that perception could be confused for truth but that doesn’t make it reality. I think that Nietzsche’s theory of truth isn’t one that coincides with many people’s beliefs only because many people haven’t really taken the time to evaluate their own beliefs. The contradictory nature of his thoughts tend to lead people to confusion if they aren’t careful. However, his ideas and thoughts are very provocative and original, allowing people to glimpse inside themselves to reveal things they never would have thought about without Nietzsche.

Nietzsche is one of philosophy’s most cryptic writers. His incongruous ideas sometimes confuse readers, but his thoughts are fascinating and this is what keeps people reading. Nietzsche places more power in the concept of truth rather than in truth itself. He believes that that power that truth can hold is far more effective than the actual truth. It is true that Nietzsche’s writing is some of the most captivating philosophical works of the 19th century, but the power that Nietzsche holds by conveying such ideas is far more effective than his writings themselves.