Do you agree with Nietzsche? Is the human race aimless within nature?

[dust1n]

"Once upon a time, in some out of the way corner of that universe which is dispersed into numberless twinkling solar systems, there was a star upon which clever beasts invented knowing. That was the most arrogant and mendacious minute of "world history," but nevertheless, it was only a minute. After nature had drawn a few breaths, the star cooled and congealed, and the clever beasts had to die. One might invent such a fable, and yet he still would not have adequately illustrated how miserable, how shadowy and transient, how aimless and arbitrary the human intellect looks within nature. There were eternities during which it did not exist. And when it is all over with the human intellect, nothing will have happened."

Nietzsche

 

[Willamena]

I agree that Nietzsche looked, in this quote, at the bigger picture. But the smaller picture has some merit.

 

[.lava]

IMO we are not where we trully belong. it is like we are taken away and put here. if one feels like this planet is where he belongs he might feel aimless because at the end everyone dies and everything you do just goes away and would be forgotten soon. for next generations it would be like we never existed before. i am not aimless because i don't accept this life as real one. everything gets old, dirty and corrupted by nature of this existence. i get older physically but can't say the same for my mind. i define myself with what i think and feel. it feels like my mind and my physical body don't really belong to same place. also, i don't have just one aim. there are daily aims, general aims and future aims

.

 

[Sunstone]

"Once upon a time, in some out of the way corner of that universe which is dispersed into numberless twinkling solar systems, there was a star upon which clever beasts invented knowing. That was the most arrogant and mendacious minute of "world history," but nevertheless, it was only a minute. After nature had drawn a few breaths, the star cooled and congealed, and the clever beasts had to die. One might invent such a fable, and yet he still would not have adequately illustrated how miserable, how shadowy and transient, how aimless and arbitrary the human intellect looks within nature. There were eternities during which it did not exist. And when it is all over with the human intellect, nothing will have happened."

Nietzsche

That's basically it. Only how many people have had the courage to speak of it, like Nietzsche did?

 

[Kenaz]

There are a few points which I agree with that I personally took from this quote:

1. We are just a speck of dust (might be too generous of a statement actually) among the vast Universe.

2. While our aims and doings are quite important and critical among our collective existence on planet Earth, outside of this it means nothing and "nevertheless, it was only a minute...And when it is all over with the human intellect, nothing will have happened."

All speculation of course, who truly knows how much our actions on Earth effect the rest of the Universe? The one who claims they know all, knows nothing; and the one who knows nothing, knows all.

 

[bobhikes]

But in the big picture nothing really matters.

 

[Baydwin]

I voted yes and no.

Everything he said is true, but equally human cognition is something very special indeed and the fact that it is only a temporary manifestation doesn't detract from that specialness. IMO.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

That's one way of looking at it. We do have this way of using our intellect in absurd ways. I think this can be an uplifting point of view, though; our chance at observing and understanding the universe is unique, so let's live it up.

From down here, in our minute little lives, we have eternity.

 

[Werden]

This is interesting. I'll post later in regard to your specific question and in regard to what Nietzsche seems to present in "On Truth and Lies in a [Non|Extra]moral sense".

On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense | filepedia.org if anyone wants to read the entire translation of the piece.

Xeper!
- Werden -

 

[reloadthis]

We are aimless as long as we don't have a goal. Humans as a whole, don't really have a goal. Some say they want world peace, some say world domination, most of them just get by day to day and only have goals for themselves and for their family.