The substantive truth about the world might be disturbing enough to demand some artistic salve that helps us cope. Nietzsche raises a more specific worry about the deleterious effects of the virtue of honesty—about the will to truth, rather than what is true—and artistry is wheeled in to alleviate them, as well
This is not just one more case of the world’s being inhospitable to our values, but a special instance where the cultivation of a virtue (honesty) itself leads to the unwelcome realization that we can never live up to its genuine demands. In the face of such results, Nietzsche suggests, the only way to escape pessimism is the recognition of another, quite different value, suitable to serve as a “counterforce” against our honesty by showing that there can be something valuable about remaining content with appearances. The cultural value of art
The basic conditions of cognition prevent our ever knowing things as they really are, independent of the epistemic case. We observe our Macro trains and planes, but we cannot observe the micro world that constitutes it, for this micro world is counter intuitive, 'things' being in two places at the same time et al.
Nietzsche insists on the value of bringing multiple perspectives to bear on any question and sometimes to oppose or limit one another, rather than being parts of a single, hierarchically ordered, systematic axiology.
This is not just one more case of the world’s being inhospitable to our values, but a special instance where the cultivation of a virtue (honesty) itself leads to the unwelcome realization that we can never live up to its genuine demands. In the face of such results, Nietzsche suggests, the only way to escape pessimism is the recognition of another, quite different value, suitable to serve as a “counterforce” against our honesty by showing that there can be something valuable about remaining content with appearances. The cultural value of art
The basic conditions of cognition prevent our ever knowing things as they really are, independent of the epistemic case. We observe our Macro trains and planes, but we cannot observe the micro world that constitutes it, for this micro world is counter intuitive, 'things' being in two places at the same time et al.
Nietzsche insists on the value of bringing multiple perspectives to bear on any question and sometimes to oppose or limit one another, rather than being parts of a single, hierarchically ordered, systematic axiology.
No comments:
Post a Comment