Anyone who despises himself will still respect himself as a despiser.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Self‑despising people still respect themselves in the role of the despiser.
- In plain terms
- Even when you despise yourself, you still value that role.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize that self‑contempt still grants a form of self‑respect.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do we cling to negative self‑roles?
- How can we replace despise with healthier self‑views?
Another view
The statement may oversimplify complex self‑esteem dynamics.
More from Friedrich Nietzsche
The sage as astronomer. - If you still experience the stars as something 'over you,' you still don't have the eyes of a knower.
Permalink to quote #135 One seeks a midwife for his thoughts, another someone to whom he can be a midwife: thus originates a good conversation.
Permalink to quote #137 One has only seen little of life, if one hasn't also seen the hand that mercifully - kills.
Permalink to quote #134
Related quotes
It is terrible to destroy a person's picture of himself in the interests of truth or some other abstraction.
Doris LessingDoris Lessing quote #1 Meanings are not determined by situations, but we determine ourselves by the meanings we give to situations.
Alfred AdlerAlfred Adler quote #3 I'm an egomaniac with an inferiority complex.
Eric ClaptonEric Clapton quote #7