“ Wherever men try to trace responsibility home to anyone, it is the instinct of punishment and of the desire to judge which is active. ”
Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols (1889). copy citation
| Author | Friedrich Nietzsche |
|---|---|
| Source | Twilight of the Idols |
| Topic | responsibility punishment |
| Date | 1889 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Anthony M. Ludovici |
| Weblink | https://www.gutenberg.org/files/52263/52263-h/52263-h.htm |
Context
“in a theological manner,—that is to say, to make mankind dependent upon theologians. I will now explain to you only [Pg 42] the psychology of the whole process of inculcating the sense of responsibility. Wherever men try to trace responsibility home to anyone, it is the instinct of punishment and of the desire to judge which is active. Becoming is robbed of its innocence when any particular condition of things is traced to a will, to intentions and to responsible actions. The doctrine of the will was invented principally for the purpose of punishment,—that is to say, with the intention of tracing guilt.”
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