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Whoever despises himself nonetheless respects himself as one who despises.
Friedrich Nietzsche
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Self-despair can coexist with self-respect in one's ability to critique oneself.

This quote by Friedrich Nietzsche suggests that even someone who holds a negative view of themselves possesses a form of self-respect through their ability to acknowledge and critique their own flaws. The act of despising oneself indicates a reflection and awareness of personal shortcomings, revealing a complex relationship between self-perception and self-respect.

Themes

Self-RespectSelf-DespiseSelf-AwarenessPhilosophySelf-Critique

In practice

Example use cases

In a psychological discussion about the nature of self-esteem.

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Watch them clamber, these swift monkeys! They clamber over one another and thus drag one another into the mud and the depth. They all want to get to the throne: that is their madness β€” as if happiness sat on the throne. Often, mud sits on the throne β€” and often the throne also on mud. Mad they all appear to me, clambering monkeys and overardent. Foul smells their idol, the cold monster: foul, they smell to me altogether, these idolators.
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The anarchist and the Christian have a common origin.
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