--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How foolish it would be to suppose that…" description: "\"“How foolish it would be to suppose that one only needs to point out this origin and this misty shroud of delusion in order to destroy the world that c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c24/friedrich-nietzsche-15_long-run_how-foolish-it-would-be-to-suppose-that_685084.jpg" --- # How foolish it would be to suppose that one only needs to… ![“How foolish it would be to suppose that one only needs to point out this origin and this misty shroud of delusion in order to destroy the world that counts for real, so-called 'reality.' We can destroy only as creators. -- But let us not forget this either: it is enough to create new names and…” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c24/friedrich-nietzsche-15_long-run_how-foolish-it-would-be-to-suppose-that_685084.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c24/friedrich-nietzsche-15_long-run_how-foolish-it-would-be-to-suppose-that_685084.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c24/friedrich-nietzsche-15_long-run_how-foolish-it-would-be-to-suppose-that_685084.jpg) > ““How foolish it would be to suppose that one only needs to point out this origin and this misty shroud of delusion in order to destroy the world that counts for real, so-called 'reality.' We can destroy only as creators. -- But let us not forget this either: it is enough to create new names and estimations and probabilities in order to create in the long run new 'things.”” [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. Reality is a construct; true change comes from creating new frameworks, not just exposing falsehoods. **In simple terms:** Changing ideas reshapes reality. Key Takeaway Create new concepts, not just critique. Themes philosophy creativity truth construction reality Mood thoughtful provocative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic discourse - artistic innovation - social movements - policy reform Key Concepts existentialism constructivism creative destruction Questions to Reflect On - How can we turn critique into constructive creation? - What new frameworks can replace outdated realities? A Different Perspective Critique alone may not alter entrenched systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [We can destroy only as creators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-can-destroy-only-as-creators/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“It takes no genius to destroy. The creators, the givers, the lovers, the healers - these are the heroes who know - the building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-overmire/it-takes-no-genius-to-destroy-the-creators-the-givers-the-lovers-the/) [Laurence Overmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-overmire/) > [To make abstractions hold in reality is to destroy reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/to-make-abstractions-hold-in-reality-is-to-destroy-reality/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Reality can destroy dreams. Why shouldn't dreams destroy reality?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-moore/reality-can-destroy-dreams-why-shouldn-t-dreams-destroy-reality/) [George Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-moore/) > [Reality can destroy the dream; why shouldn't the dream destroy reality?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-moore/reality-can-destroy-the-dream-why-shouldn-t-the-dream-destroy-reality/) [George A. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-a-moore/) > [All are called to be what in the reality of God they are already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/all-are-called-to-be-what-in-the-reality-of-god-they-are-already/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [What is important to me in my work is the identity that is hidden behind so-called reality. I search for a bridge from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/what-is-important-to-me-in-my-work-is-the-identity-that-is-hidden/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [Imaginations and illusions are always so much more powerful and bigger than this mediocre and boring thing called reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-helnwein/imaginations-and-illusions-are-always-so-much-more-powerful-and/) [Gottfried Helnwein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-helnwein/) > [I believe that reality TV should be called 'not reality' TV; it's fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hill-harper/i-believe-that-reality-tv-should-be-called-not-reality-tv-it-s-fiction/) [Hill Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hill-harper/) > [Our own intuition of what we're called to is reality speaking to us individually and perfectly. We have to listen to how the Infinite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/our-own-intuition-of-what-we-re-called-to-is-reality-speaking-to-us/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [“When a metaphor gets big, it is called “tradition”; when it gets bigger, it is called “reality”;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dominic-crossan/when-a-metaphor-gets-big-it-is-called-tradition-when-it-gets-bigger/) [John Dominic Crossan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dominic-crossan/) > [What I want to show in my work is the idea which hides itself behind so-called reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/what-i-want-to-show-in-my-work-is-the-idea-which-hides-itself-behind-2/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [Contrary to what I once thought, scientific progress did not consist simply in observing, in accurately formulating experimental facts and drawing up a theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-jacob/contrary-to-what-i-once-thought-scientific-progress-did-not-consist/) [Francois Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-jacob/) > [“Who you are is shaping your so-called reality. When you change — the world changes with you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/who-you-are-is-shaping-your-so-called-reality-when-you-change-the/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [Visa for Avalon is a testament to the power of fiction. It illuminates the truth at the heart of what is commonly called reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/visa-for-avalon-is-a-testament-to-the-power-of-fiction-it-illuminates/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) ## 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 Long run quotes > [“Polarization (and Trumpism) is in itself a kind of political crisis. But all of this would be fine in the long run, if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanzi-freinacht/polarization-and-trumpism-is-in-itself-a-kind-of-political-crisis-but/) [Hanzi Freinacht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanzi-freinacht/) > [There are few husbands whom the wife cannot win in the long run, by patience and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-of-valois/there-are-few-husbands-whom-the-wife-cannot-win-in-the-long-run-by/) [Margaret of Valois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-of-valois/) > [ \[U\]nless oppressed groups stick together, and on alliances of self interest rather than do-goodism; nothing can be accomplished in the long run to dismantle… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/u-nless-oppressed-groups-stick-together-and-on-alliances-of-self/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) > [IMMORAL, adj. Inexpedient. Whatever in the long run and with regard to the greater number of instances men find to be generally inexpedient comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/immoral-adj-inexpedient-whatever-in-the-long-run-and-with-regard-to/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“And in the long run, research shows that the mistakes we regret are not errors of commission, but errors of omission. If we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-m-grant/and-in-the-long-run-research-shows-that-the-mistakes-we-regret-are/) [Adam M. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-m-grant/) > [“Stop spending money to be nominated for worthless awards with no substance and no worth to your career. If you have to spend money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-weisman/stop-spending-money-to-be-nominated-for-worthless-awards-with-no/) [Loren Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-weisman/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Reification, the essential tendency of capitalism, can never be wholly realized. If it were, if the system were actually able to change individuals into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-castoriadis/reification-the-essential-tendency-of-capitalism-can-never-be-wholly/) Cornelius Castoriadis > [“And it was then that the things I've never liked to talk about began. Not that they were particularly terrible; I've no wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-it-was-then-that-the-things-i-ve-never-liked-to-talk-about-began/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Joy is something you can experience even when life is not pleasurable. Even in the midst of a long run, when your legs are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-achor/joy-is-something-you-can-experience-even-when-life-is-not-pleasurable/) [Shawn Achor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-achor/) > [An obstacle is often a stepping stone... Things that appear to be obstacles are often helpful in the long run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/an-obstacle-is-often-a-stepping-stone-things-that-appear-to-be/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [For many oppositional movements, the Internet, while providing the opportunity to distribute information more quickly and cheaper, may have actually made their struggle more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/for-many-oppositional-movements-the-internet-while-providing-the/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-cost-of-a-thing-is-the-amount-of-what-i-will-call-life-which-is/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This is perhaps as good a place as any to point out that what distinguishes many reformers from those who cannot accept their proposals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/this-is-perhaps-as-good-a-place-as-any-to-point-out-that-what/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [“Same old Caleb who wanted to love and be loved. Same boring Caleb who wanted a serious relationship. A live-in boyfriend. A guarantee, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santino-hassell/same-old-caleb-who-wanted-to-love-and-be-loved-same-boring-caleb-who/) [Santino Hassell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santino-hassell/) Browse all 1,390 Long run quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How foolish it would be to suppose that one only needs to point out this origin and this misty shroud of delusion in order to destroy the world that counts for real, so-called 'reality.' 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