Is it good to crave knowledge? Nietzsche vs. Buddhism
April 17th, 2008 by Erich ViethShould one actively crave knowledge? Here are two extreme opinions:
Oh, my greed! There is no selfishness in my soul but only an all-coveting self that would like to appropriate many individuals as so many additional pairs of eyes and hands—a self that would like to bring back the whole past, too, and that will not lose anything that it could possibly possess. Oh, my greed is a flame! Oh, that I might be reborn in a hundred beings!” –Whoever does not know this sigh from firsthand experience does not know the passion of the search for knowledge.
Nietzsche, The Gay Science, Aphorism #249
The second truth is that suffering is caused by craving and aversion. We will suffer if we expect other people to conform to our expectation, if we want others to like us, if we do not get something we want,etc. In other words, getting what you want does not guarantee happiness. Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting. Wanting deprives us of contentment and happiness.
April 17th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
#2 may be true, but if we don’t want *anything*, we’d die out within one generation I guess. Sounds boring too.
Probably it’s best to be realistic/practical about what we want and maybe create room to chase some dreams while we’re at it.
April 18th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Both quotes have value. Budda seems a bit to relaxed, for my taste. Neechie (sp?) probably would have been more comfortable in this day and age.
April 19th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
There is some validity to both views, The problem the confounds us most is the difficulty of recognizing the difference between want with need.
We need food, We need shelter. Most of all, we need to feel secure and safe.
Once the physical needs are met. we shoud be able to attain the emotional need for sense of security, but in a society that equates security with financial success, this cannot happen.
Why? Because financial success decreases security.