NIETZSCHE: Living in Solitude and Dealing with Society
194,267 views - Premiered August 20, 2021
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Nietzsche recommends to spend some of our time in complete solitude. To reflect upon the inner voice that conditions our life which is the product of the common conscience of society.
Solitude is but a temporary matter. He also recommends to spend time with people who possess virtues of the love of life, these “higher men” allow for mental elevation. An individual who isolates himself without ever valuing external opinions will only have his conscience with himself and nobody to ever confront or challenge his views.
Solitude is thus not just a result of the contempt of the masses, but allows to forge a more profound longing for a community that allows one to explore the best version of oneself. Company is important, and if chosen well – can be mutually beneficial.
In this sense, solitude is compatible with life in community, but it is also necessary to retreat into complete solitude once in a while, in order to receive its fruits.
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"The solitary is he who challenges society's desire to turn the human being into an absolutely gregarious animal. There is great risk in wanting to live and think like a solitary, for he is expected to conform to culture and popular opinion. Yet it is the solitary who is free..."
--Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Of the Way of the Creator
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"Flee, my friend, into your solitude! I see you dazed by the noise of the great men and stung by the stings of the little. Forest and rock know well how to be silent with you. Be once more like the tree that you love, the broad-branching one: silent and listening it hangs over the sea. Where solitude ends, there begins the marketplace...."
-- 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' - Part I - 'One the Flies of the Marketplace'
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"By awakening, I suppose I mean moving towards a higher state of consciousness."
-- John Doe
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"I am in solitude quite a bit. I used to be married but she decided to separate. Now, once, there was life in my house, I am alone, in solitude. I used to be in solitude years ago before marriage. I loved it. Then, I got used to being with another, for over a decade--now, being in solitude again, i hated it but am now getting used to it again. I always try to think, regardless of what others might believe, that there is a higher consciousness watching over me, but never saying anything, at least, not with a voice we can understand in these bodies, with these ears, I am not sure if I invented this higher consciousness or it invented me.
"I sometimes wish I could find good company, that is, people not afraid to advance their personal views of morality and ethics or even whatever they choose to believe. More 'spokes' on a wheel makes a wheel stronger, and, if every human being is a wheel, and every new perspective and interpretation is a spoke, then we must absorb as many perspectives as we can to strengthen our own wheel or understanding."
-- drolgh8
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"I first was turned on to Nietzsche in 1972 when a friend gave me his book THUS SPOKE ZARATHUSTRA. It would be one of the most influential books I ever read. Over the years of my life it’s funny to see how unknowingly it would have been so much a part of my life.
"PS: something I find almost comical is there is a relatively new “trend” called Vipassana which people pay a lot of money to go spend 10 days in isolation, in order to to create a paid manufactured group experience of isolation with other paying members who are also in their own isolation. Odd that anyone would pay money to be disconnected and alone for 10 days when you could just stay home and disconnect all your electronic /communication devices. A contrived experience of being alone verses a life experience of solitude is like Tang to real fresh orange juice."
-- JVS 3
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"Solitude is the key if you do it right. There’s a realization when you’re out alone in the expansive silence of a mountain summit that you are never completely alone. Being away from society enables you to takes your mind back and truly connect with what’s around you. You uncenter to recenter. There’s too much in our smart phone culture that pats you on the back and reenforces petty ego attachments. That ultimately weakens people and makes them dependent on a very superficial form of tribal validation that can’t see much further than image. You can be popular or you can be interesting."
-- C.S. Hayden
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“Solitude is dangerous. It is addictive. Once you realize how much peace there is in it, you don’t want to deal with people”
-- Carl Jung
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Solitude is but a temporary matter" -- Nietzsche
I think throughout all of this, certain ideas get convoluted. This isn't about "introverts and extroverts," although introverts would more often have an easier time adapting to this concept. It's not exactly about having a "retreat," although some might feel it's something of that nature. The vast majority of people are actually afraid of "delving into their own being" as Nietzsche put it. The problem is worse today than ever, as a huge segment of society are so afraid to go against the grain that they literally censor their own mind! They develop something akin to "multiple belief system personalities" to coin a term. They've trained their minds to quickly observe their surrounding and then they choose which belief system pundit or political character they're going to play! This is related to cognitive dissonance, but not the same thing, as often the subject actually has a handle on what they're doing. They may be intelligent and have developed three or four different political characters that make sense to them, and are ready to project one outward at a moments notice.
In contrast, a person who is Authentic is someone who does not necessarily bend to the will of the established order, and is simply themselves. It's probably no longer possible to be like this 100% of the time, even if certain individuals may claim that they are. Everyone falls into the orbit of one of these two, and for the vast majority it's the former. I once had an old grammar school book of short stories in which one of the stories told of a guy who had, for his job and career, conformed into anything and everything that he observed would aid him in his upward path... a social climber. However, these were not things which were specifically related to the actual job itself. He wore the correct clothes, read the correct books, had the correct interests, said the correct things, had the correct opinions, and changed himself on a dime if and when any of those particulars themselves were changed by the establishment.
Then one day he woke up and in a moment of clarity, came to the realization that he wasn't even taking care of his job responsibilities! He was so busy "fitting in" that he had ignored his job duties. He went into work very worried. After he arrived, his boss called him into his office. The guy was fully expecting to be fired as the the text narration of his thought processes confirmed. In his mind, he told himself something like "well, I guess I deserve it." After the door to his boss' office slammed shut, and he slouched down in the chair waiting to be fired, his boss gave him a promotion and a raise! Although I highly doubt that such a short story would find its way into a public school classroom today, it made a powerful point to the reader of how societies actually operate. I tried to find that book, or at least that particular story, a number of times over the years with no luck.
As I take it, this isn't really about being a loner, enjoying nature, taking a retreat, or rebelling against society---although some could add those ingredients if they liked---but it's at the very least about being Authentic to yourself. Who are YOU? We can all think of times in our lives when we were firmly on the "wrong side" of an issue, from our own general perspective. "Solitude is but a temporary matter," and can range from a lifestyle to something of a personal slow moving think tank or brainstorming session. A conversation with yourself about all matters. During this time, you're free! You should not censor your mind at all. If you feel uncomfortable with a reoccurring thought or interest, then maybe that's something you can change? It's a chance to at least examine it privately without judgement.
Part of one Nietzsche quote from the video read "Where solitude ends, there begins the marketplace...." I take that as perhaps meaning something like a marketplace of ideas for yourself. Just as a collective could share a marketplace of ideas, an individual should put all of their ideas down and decide how they should fit together in their own life. What do they want? What are your values? What are their goals? How do all of these aspects of our life or ideas that we are drawn to, all work together? Some of these elements are in conflict, and that should be worked out in your own mind at least. If a solitude would take a person into a remote area to gain a self perspective for a time, that has been a timeless human ritual for ages; coming back and applying the newfound clarity of purpose. Any purely spiritual part of this process can be as small or large as you see fit, and would naturally be a big added bonus as I see it. For me that would be something that would be fully integrated.
"It's More Difficult To Rule Yourself Than To Rule A City" -- Jordan Peterson
We basically have free will, but most people seldom exercise it to the extent that they could, and I'm as guilty as anyone. This is about who you really are, an organizational process, and your own Will to apply it. This is a transformative process for the Self. This is about your chance to get your own ideas and interests out there, both for yourself and the society at large. Sleep is a process in which the individual's mind can relax and make sense of, and work through, everything in their own life; a solitary process does the same, except in a more explicit way. Some people may say something like "I know my faults," but often don't do anything about them. Just "knowing" isn't enough. This is about finding and discovering oneself.
Think of an example from the workplace, where once in a blue moon a particular subject will come up. The workplace big mouth has a lot to say about that subject, even though they actually know very little about it. The person who follows that subject closely and knows everything about it backwards and forwards; their eyes light up. However, they barely get a word in, and soon the subject goes away. As the old saying goes: "That what we think about most, we talk about least." It's up to you to formulate your life to change that; to incorporate important things into your life in creative ways. 'Think and Grow Rich' ties into that concept, especially since the "economic you" should be an important part of this whole process.
"It is what one takes into solitude that grows there, the beast within included." -- Nietzsche
I think this is why some say that solitude can be dangerous. It's only dangerous if you've lost your grip on reality maybe. Getting lost in your own head is just a temporary process, but it is something to consider. "Feeding your inner wolf" could be a good or bad thing. In my way of thinking, it can only be a positive thing, but maybe a weaker person could take some fantasy or gripe too far.
"The solitary is he who challenges society's desire to turn the human being into an "absolutely gregarious animal." Thus Nietzsche not only advocated solitude as a psychological utility or even a life-style but perceived solitude as the logical position of anyone who had unmasked society.
-- Hermatery.com - 'Friedrich Nietzsche on Solitude'
"Solitude can become much more beneficial when you allow yourself to feel the emotions that come with it." -- Jessilyn Callioux
"Truth reveals itself in silence." -- Marius lordache
"Surrender; Faith; Patience" -- Mohana
"Surrender" in this instance could mean surrendering oneself to the process. "Faith" could mean to have faith in yourself. "Patience" is of the essence; the process can't be hurried. I've long noticed that many people who work in restaurants are always in a big hurry, even outside of work; "I gotta go!" In contrast, when you connect with hikers out on the trail, they're the polar opposite of that; always having the time to talk to you. It's very beneficial to at least train one's mind to take time outs to balance the energy.
"What's done in darkness always comes to light"
To sum this up, "self-discovery" in solitude" is not suddenly becoming a loner, although it could be a type of lifestyle. It could be interpreted as temporarily retreating from the hurried crowd that flies up and down the freeways and highways like it was a Formula One race, and engage in self-examination and the bigger picture for yourself in simple solitude. To learn about yourself, as strange as that may sound. To engage in this self-think tank in the shadows, then take what you have learned and breathe life into it; to take this essence of yourself and bring it out into the open!
To try to put a metaphor to this, there are always athlete's who are very consistent, steely, and predictable... a little bit like all of those very hurried people we see flying around bends along the highways. Not that there is anything wrong with that in particular, but in contrast I've always admired the athlete who maybe wasn't so consistent or steely, but who could rise to the occasion! The one who could explode and sour like an eagle. I've always found that to be more exciting and meaningful, and maybe could be related to the person who takes the time to know themselves and what they want.
The steely individual is much more common, and also like most people are like dreamers of the night. In contrast, the self-reflective individual is not as common, and are more like dreamers of the day.
"All men dream; but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds Awake to find that it was vanity; But the dreamers of day are dangerous men. That they may act their dreams with open eyes to make it possible."
-- T. E. Lawrence, 'Lawrence of Arabia'
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