Why then does man prefer the true to the untrue in this secret struggle with idea-persons […]? For the same reason as he practises justice in traffic with real persons: now out of habit, heredity and training, originally because the true – as also the fair and just – is more useful and more productive of honour than the untrue. For in the realm of thought, power and fame are hard to maintain if erected on the basis of error or lies: the feeling that such a building could at some time or other fall down is humiliating to the self-conceit of its architect; he is ashamed of the fragility of his
...more
The pursuits of truth, fairness and justice are more useful and more productive of honour than the untrue.
Men search for truth, fairness and justice out of their own vanity, out of their pride, out of their quest for fame, their quest for validation, for immortality
“Drive to Knowledge: Nietzsche suggests that the pursuit of truth and knowledge isn’t an innate human drive in itself. Instead, the preference for truth over falsehood arises from its utility and the social esteem it grants. In the realm of thought, establishing oneself on truth (or what is perceived as truth) offers stability and a sense of enduring accomplishment.”
