Intellectual conscience. – Again and again I am brought up against it, and again and again I resist it: I don’t want to believe it, even though it is almost palpable: the vast majority lack an intellectual conscience; indeed, it often seems to me that to demand such a thing is to be in the most populous cities as solitary as in the desert. Everyone looks at you strangely and goes on working his scales, calling this good, that evil; nobody blushes for shame when you remark that the weights he is using are giving short weight – but nobody is annoyed with you either: perhaps they laugh at your
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The vast majority does not care to question their beliefs
CHATGPT
In this passage, Friedrich Nietzsche is discussing the concept of "intellectual conscience," which can be understood as a commitment to rigorous, honest thinking and the quest for truth. Here's a breakdown of his key ideas:
1. **Lack of Intellectual Conscience**: Nietzsche starts by expressing his repeated astonishment and resistance to the fact that most people lack an intellectual conscience. This means that they don't feel a moral obligation to ensure their beliefs are well-founded or critically examined.
2. **Indifference to Truth**: He observes that many people don't find it objectionable to hold beliefs without having examined the strongest arguments for or against them. Even if you point out the inconsistencies in their beliefs, they neither feel ashamed nor confront their own lack of rigorous thinking. They might even find amusement in someone who does question.
3. **The Exception is not the Rule**: Nietzsche notes that even among the most gifted or noble individuals, this lack of intellectual conscience is prevalent. The presence of other virtues (like good-heartedness or genius) doesn't necessarily correlate with a rigorous intellectual conscience.
4. **The Craving for Certainty**: What differentiates higher individuals from the lower, in Nietzsche's view, is the profound need for certainty and the demand for it in their beliefs. He respects those who have a "hatred of reason" if they at least recognize and admit this limitation in themselves.
5. **Contempt for the Unquestioning**: Nietzsche feels a deep contempt for those who exist amidst the complexities and uncertainties of life without the urge to question. For him, not questioning or not being disturbed by someone else's questions is a sign of intellectual complacency.
6. **Nietzsche's Own Bias**: He concludes by admitting that he often wrongly assumes that everyone has this inherent desire to question, which he acknowledges as his own form of injustice.
Overall, Nietzsche is emphasizing the importance of rigorous thinking and the moral obligation to question one's beliefs. He criticizes complacency in intellectual matters and values those who constantly seek clarity, understanding, and truth.
