Misinterpretations and Misquotation

 Greetings,

We have all seen someone take a quote from the Bible or the Koran and use it to their particular purposes, to push their particular cause ahead. Most often this particular verse has been cherry-picked among others that the writer or speaker does not want to hear about. The same thing happens with more secular texts as well, a piece of text is examined, a quotation is removed from its context and the individual then uses it completely removed from this context to make a particular point that they are driving at regardless of what the original intent of the writer was, most often it is evident that the quote has been lifted from popular culture and the individual has not read the works of the individual.

Facebook strikes again...

The quote from Friedrich Nietzsche's 1895 book Twilight of the Idols is "Out of life's school of war: What does not destroy me, makes me stronger." Dr. Jen Wolkin has clearly not read the entire text by Nietzsche, nor does she know anything about the author of the piece or she would not have had such a superficial understanding of this common misquoting from his book. It is not glorifying trauma but encouraging the individual to use the trauma as fuel to spur them on in life rather than letting the trauma destroy them. 

The assumption that Nietzsche is glorifying trauma means that Dr. Wolkin has taken the common misquote, the popularised version of the quote, from Nietzsche and then used it for her convenience without doing the decency of doing the research to find out the background of the author or the material around it. The result being that she has reversed the meaning of what Nietzsche wanted to say, not a glorification of trauma, but that the individual can survive, and spur themselves on.

Nietzsche follows this maxim in his book with the following, "Help yourself, then everyone will help you. Principle of brotherly love." Once again, encouraging the individual to stand on their own two feet and help themselves out of their current tribulations, so then others can help them. For is it not the case that only until we ask for help that we can gain help? This will be turned to say that people should help one another without being asked. How can we if we don't know help is required, especially on a personal level?

About Nietzsche...

Nietzsche went to war as an orderly. He also suffered from various chronic physical and mental conditions which altered his life. The result of which, caused him to become the "freelance" writer that he became, living off a pension from the University of Basel. His writings come from his trials and tribulations with these chronic conditions, from his traumas and his fighting with them. He comes from a position of first-hand experience of trauma, so is a person who speaks from experience when speaking about it.

Do the research first, then quote it...

If you are going to quote something, at least do the author the service of doing the research and finding our where the quote came from, and what they actually said not the popularised, often mangled, version of what is assumed that they said. Do some research about the person who said it, find out about the individual and the reason they might have been influenced to say it; certainly a person's life has a lot of influence on what they write. I certainly would not have begun a blog on fibromyalgia without a diagnosis or being affected by the condition.

I can say that I did my research and had a look at you Dr Wolkin. I would say that while we both have some things in common, in regard to chronic pain, there are some things about us which are quite different. I would suggest you have a closer look at Friedrich Nietzsche, you will find more in common with him than you might see on the surface. Have a look at his life before you read, like the rest of us it explains how he writes and explains what he writes about. He was, after all the one who said amor fati - love your fate. For who better to live your fate, or your life, than you? The concept which has been linked to the Stoic philosophers Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. Clearly this is not one of the quotes of his that makes it into the mainstream. Let me leave you with one last quote from Nietzsche to think about...

“You are willing to assume responsibility for everything! Except, that is, for your dreams! What miserable weakness, what lack of consistent courage! Nothing is more your own than your dreams! Nothing more your own work! Content, form, duration, performer, spectator - in these comedies you are all of this yourself!” Nietzsche, F. (1997) Daybreak: Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (Translated by R. J. Hollingdale), p78 - 128

There are many different interpretations which one might make of this quotation. The one that I find most appealing is not about controlling your dreams while asleep. The one that I find most appealing is about living your dreams while you are awake; for no one knows your dreams, what you want to do and what you want to be, better than you. Who better than you to live those dreams?

Cheers,

Henry.