--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: His (the theologian) basic instinct of…" description: "\"His (the theologian) basic instinct of self preservation forbids him to respect reality at any point or even to let it get a word in.\" — Friedrich Niet..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/550/friedrich-nietzsche-15_instinct_his-the-theologian-basic-instinct-of-sel_1189093.jpg" --- # His (the theologian) basic instinct of self preservation… ![“His (the theologian) basic instinct of self preservation forbids him to respect reality at any point or even to let it get a word in.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/550/friedrich-nietzsche-15_instinct_his-the-theologian-basic-instinct-of-sel_1189093.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/550/friedrich-nietzsche-15_instinct_his-the-theologian-basic-instinct-of-sel_1189093.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/550/friedrich-nietzsche-15_instinct_his-the-theologian-basic-instinct-of-sel_1189093.jpg) > “His (the theologian) basic instinct of self preservation forbids him to respect reality at any point or even to let it get a word in.” [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He avoids confronting reality because his instinct to protect himself overrides honest engagement. **In simple terms:** Self‑preservation blocks honest truth‑seeking. Key Takeaway Challenge your defensive instincts. Themes psychology truth defense mechanisms Mood reflective critical skeptical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - personal introspection - therapy - debates on truth - critical thinking Key Concepts existentialism self‑deception cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - What truths are you avoiding? - How does self‑preservation shape your beliefs? A Different Perspective His instinct may protect ego but can blind growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Preservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preservation/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self preservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-preservation/) [Theologian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theologian/) ## Related quotes > [“For me, the heart of Christianity is, a sincere respect of reality in God's creation, purpose and redemptive work in Christ.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-o-ryan/for-me-the-heart-of-christianity-is-a-sincere-respect-of-reality-in/) Barry O'Ryan > [I've learned how to look at things and not judge them, but respect them and use it in a way that people understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-e-fresh/i-ve-learned-how-to-look-at-things-and-not-judge-them-but-respect/) [Doug E. Fresh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-e-fresh/) > [“Self respect and reality is tough rival when it comes to balance it honestly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankit-samrat/self-respect-and-reality-is-tough-rival-when-it-comes-to-balance-it/) [Ankit Samrat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankit-samrat/) > [“Appreciate her beauty, love her uniqueness and respect her reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/appreciate-her-beauty-love-her-uniqueness-and-respect-her-reality/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [The reality is that if you want to be in a reality-based community, you've got to respect reality and that means calling it bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/the-reality-is-that-if-you-want-to-be-in-a-reality-based-community/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [I don't have a great respect for reality or getting the 'facts' as a means of putting together a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/i-don-t-have-a-great-respect-for-reality-or-getting-the-facts-as-a/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [Physiologists should think before putting down the instinct of self-preservation as the cardinal instinct of an organic being. A living thing seeks above all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/physiologists-should-think-before-putting-down-the-instinct-of-self/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The great human being is a finale; the great age — the Renaissance, for example — is a finale. 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Even when 'Basic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/it-felt-like-i-d-been-playing-second-string-football-for-a-long-time/) [Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/) > [Thirteen years after Basic Instinct, Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) is now in London, and is going out with a footballer played by Stan Collymore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bradshaw/thirteen-years-after-basic-instinct-catherine-tramell-sharon-stone-is/) [Peter Bradshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bradshaw/) > [To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another- that is surely the basic instinct! Time to move out into the glorious debris. Time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/to-be-hopeful-to-embrace-one-possibility-after-another-that-is-surely/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [It's funny, but I never knew I was hot or could be beautiful until I saw 'Basic Instinct,' and I was so shocked when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/it-s-funny-but-i-never-knew-i-was-hot-or-could-be-beautiful-until-i/) [Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/) > [I could make Basic Instinct 16. If guys will keep thinking I'm hot, I might turn it into a TV series.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/i-could-make-basic-instinct-16-if-guys-will-keep-thinking-i-m-hot-i/) [Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/) > [“But really, they did it because every human being has a basic instinct to help each other out. It might not seem that way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-weir/but-really-they-did-it-because-every-human-being-has-a-basic-instinct/) [Andy Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-weir/) ## More by Friedrich Nietzsche > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written in his own blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-all-that-is-written-i-love-only-what-a-man-has-written-in-his-own/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More Instinct quotes > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Imitation is the first instinct of the awakening mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/imitation-is-the-first-instinct-of-the-awakening-mind/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [I will follow my instincts, be myself for good or ill, and see what will be the upshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/i-will-follow-my-instincts-be-myself-for-good-or-ill-and-see-what/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Empires fall, ids explode, great symphonies are written, and behind all of it is a single instinct that demands satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/empires-fall-ids-explode-great-symphonies-are-written-and-behind-all/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [I never think of things rationally or intellectually. I swear, every single decision I make is just instinct and my instincts tend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neill-blomkamp/i-never-think-of-things-rationally-or-intellectually-i-swear-every/) [Neill Blomkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neill-blomkamp/) > [You don't think. It's all instinct. If you stop to think, you're gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugar-ray-robinson/you-don-t-think-it-s-all-instinct-if-you-stop-to-think-you-re-gone/) [Sugar Ray Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugar-ray-robinson/) > [The dog is guided by kindly instinct to the man or woman whose heart is open to his advances. The cat often leaves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/the-dog-is-guided-by-kindly-instinct-to-the-man-or-woman-whose-heart/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [As a kid, in the Runaways, I would see the interviewers start to ask about our personal lives and what we did — and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/as-a-kid-in-the-runaways-i-would-see-the-interviewers-start-to-ask/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [How could they say that they truly loved each other? They had simply grown up together, been children together, and the proximity of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/how-could-they-say-that-they-truly-loved-each-other-they-had-simply/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [You have to follow your instinct, and that's what I've tried to do all my life, whether in music or anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erol-alkan/you-have-to-follow-your-instinct-and-that-s-what-i-ve-tried-to-do-all/) [Erol Alkan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erol-alkan/) > [A man may quarrel with himself alone; that is, by controverting his better instincts and knowledge when brought face to face with temptation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/a-man-may-quarrel-with-himself-alone-that-is-by-controverting-his/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is opposed to every instinct in my body. But as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/i-have-never-been-a-quitter-to-leave-office-before-my-term-is/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [All men have an instinct for conflict: at least, all healthy men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/all-men-have-an-instinct-for-conflict-at-least-all-healthy-men/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [There was the natural human survival instinct to be optimistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-demick/there-was-the-natural-human-survival-instinct-to-be-optimistic/) [Barbara Demick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-demick/) > [The combative instinct is a savage prompting by which one man's good is found in another's evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-combative-instinct-is-a-savage-prompting-by-which-one-man-s-good/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) [Browse all 2,940 Instinct quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "His (the theologian) basic instinct of self preservation forbids him to respect reality at any point or even to let it get a word in.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/his-the-theologian-basic-instinct-of-self-preservation-forbids-him-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Instinct" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/his-the-theologian-basic-instinct-of-self-preservation-forbids-him-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/550/friedrich-nietzsche-15_instinct_his-the-theologian-basic-instinct-of-sel_1189093.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/550/friedrich-nietzsche-15_instinct_his-the-theologian-basic-instinct-of-sel_1189093.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/550/friedrich-nietzsche-15_instinct_his-the-theologian-basic-instinct-of-sel_1189093.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“His (the theologian) basic instinct of self preservation forbids him to respect reality at any point or even…” — Friedrich Nietzsche", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "His (the theologian) basic instinct of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/his-the-theologian-basic-instinct-of-self-preservation-forbids-him-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/his-the-theologian-basic-instinct-of-self-preservation-forbids-him-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```