1

Someone shared this quote with me, saying it's from Nietzsche, but I can't find a source for the translation:

Is it not the case that all human institutions are intended to prevent mankind from feeling their life, by means of constant dispersion of their thoughts?

I think it might be from page 235 of an English translation of Hadot's Philosophy as a Way of Life.

If that's the case, then it was translated from German to French and then to English, so it's rather indirect.

Improve this question
2
  • 3
    It's from the Untimely meditations /Considerations inactuelles, in French: "Toutes les institutions humaines ne sont-elles pas destinées à empêcher les hommes de sentir leur vie, grâce à la dispersion constante de leurs pensées ?" and what's more the site sends you to that book. The original is Schopenhauer als Erzieher ( § 4. Erste Veröff. 15/10/1874). but the translation seems to be a very loose paraphrase.
    – sand1
    Commented Dec 4, 2021 at 22:24
  • @sand1. Yeah... I was thinking that the word 'intend', is a bit suspicious - perhaps something lost in translation - unless 'intent' is meant to describe a subconscious kind of motive. Surely no competent philosopher would claim that a conscious motivator - a kind of clear-minded intent - behind all human institutions was the desire to distract us from the emotional experience of life and/or the intellectual examination of it. I can however conceive of this occurring out of some deep-seated, psychological, evolutionary imperative.
    – Futilitarian
    Commented Dec 5, 2021 at 14:08

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
6

The answer to the title question is: Yes (kind of)!

Well, I'd translate differently. Actually, the "quote" in that book is a very loose paraphrase:

The original in German from his Untimely Thoughts, Schopenhauer as Educator (§4) (cheers to @sand1 in comments) reads:

Sind doch alle Ordnungen des Menschen darauf eingerichtet, daß das Leben in einer fortgesetzten Zerstreuung der Gedanken [p. 318] nicht gespürt werde.

My translation would be:

As all orders of mankind are made so that life, in a continuous distraction of thought, shall not be felt.

Note that this is not stated as a question, but an assertion.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .