Quote by Friedrich Nietzsche
No one is accountable for existing at all, or for being constituted as he is, or for living in the circumstances and surroundings in which he lives. The fatality of his nature cannot be disentangled from the fatality of all that which has been and will be. He is not the result of a special design, a will, a purpose; he is not the subject of an attempt to attain an 'ideal of man' or an 'ideal of happiness' or an 'ideal of morality'--it is absurd to want to hand over his nature to some purpose or other. We invented the concept 'purpose': in reality purpose is lacking...One is necessary, one is a piece of fate, one belongs to the whole, one is in the whole--there exists nothing which could judge, measure, compare, condemn our being, for that would be to judge, measure, condemn the whole...
Summary
This quote argues that no individual is accountable for their existence, how they are constructed, or the circumstances in which they find themselves. The fatalistic nature of their being cannot be separated from the fate of everything that has occurred and will occur. The notion that an individual is the result of a deliberate plan, will, or purpose is considered absurd. The concept of purpose is a human invention, and in reality, purpose does not exist. The quote further suggests that individuals are interconnected, inseparable from the whole, and there is nothing that can judge, measure, compare, or condemn their existence, as doing so would require judging, measuring, condemning the entire universe.
Topics
Existentialism
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