Forgetfulness Quote by Friedrich Nietzsche
““Forgetfulness is not just a vis inertiae, as superficial people believe, but is rather an active ability to suppress, positive in the strongest sense of the word, to which we owe the fact that what we simply live through, experience, take in, no more enters our consciousness during digestion (one could call it spiritual ingestion) than does the thousand-fold process which takes place with our physical consumption of food, our so-called ingestion. To shut the doors and windows of consciousness for a while; not to be bothered by the noise and battle which our underworld of serviceable organs work with and against each other;a little peace, a little tabula rasa of consciousness to make room for something new, above all for the nobler functions and functionaries, for ruling, predicting, predetermining (our organism runs along oligarchic lines, you see) - that, as I said, is the benefit of active forgetfulness, like a doorkeeper or guardian of mental order, rest and etiquette: from which can immediately see how there could be no happiness, cheerfulness, hope, pride, immediacy, without forgetfulness.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: “On Forgetfulness,” 1881
He argues that forgetting is an active, necessary process that clears mental space for higher functions, not merely a passive loss.
In simple terms: Forgetting actively clears the mind for new thoughts.
Embrace intentional forgetting to refresh cognition.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- learning
- creative work
- stress reduction
- meditation practice
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- Can you identify what you need to let go of?
- How does forgetting aid creativity?
Active forgetting may also discard useful memories unintentionally.