--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To avert the danger [posed by theory] to…" description: "\"To avert the danger [posed by theory] to life, Nietzsche could choose one of two ways: he could insist on the strictly esoteric character of the theore..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/leo-strauss-12446_adopted_to-avert-the-danger-posed-by-theory-to-l_1610746.jpg" --- # To avert the danger \[posed by theory\] to life, Nietzsche… ![“To avert the danger [posed by theory] to life, Nietzsche could choose one of two ways: he could insist on the strictly esoteric character of the theoretical analysis of life - that is, restore the Platonic notion of the noble delusion - or else he could deny the possibility of theory proper and so…” quote by Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/leo-strauss-12446_adopted_to-avert-the-danger-posed-by-theory-to-l_1610746.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/leo-strauss-12446_adopted_to-avert-the-danger-posed-by-theory-to-l_1610746.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/leo-strauss-12446_adopted_to-avert-the-danger-posed-by-theory-to-l_1610746.jpg) > “To avert the danger \[posed by theory\] to life, Nietzsche could choose one of two ways: he could insist on the strictly esoteric character of the theoretical analysis of life - that is, restore the Platonic notion of the noble delusion - or else he could deny the possibility of theory proper and so conceive of thought as essentially subservient to, or dependent on, life or fate... If not Nietzsche himself, at any rate his successors \[Heidegger\] adopted the second alternative.” [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nietzsche faced a choice: keep theory abstract or tie thought to life’s concrete realities; he leaned toward the latter, influencing Heidegger. **In simple terms:** Nietzsche chose practical thought over abstract theory. Key Takeaway Embrace ideas grounded in lived experience. Themes philosophy existentialism theory vs practice Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - academic discourse - personal worldview development Key Concepts ontological historical critical analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does theory serve life? - What risks arise when thought is too detached? A Different Perspective Pure abstraction can miss human nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Analysis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analysis/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Delusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delusion/) [Esoteric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/esoteric/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nietzsche/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [Platonic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/platonic/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) ## Related quotes > [“Woman, even more than man, is a fetich worshipper, and though her idols may change, she is ever on her knees, ever holding up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/woman-even-more-than-man-is-a-fetich-worshipper-and-though-her-idols/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [“In the later part of his creative life Nietzsche suffered acutely from loneliness. Like his alter ego, Zarathustra, he found himself alone on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-young/in-the-later-part-of-his-creative-life-nietzsche-suffered-acutely/) [Julian Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-young/) > [“Existentialism is a 'movement' which like all such movements has a flabby periphery and a hard center. That center is the thought of Heidegger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/existentialism-is-a-movement-which-like-all-such-movements-has-a/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [Every once in a while I feel despair over the fate of the planet. If you've been following climate science, you know what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/every-once-in-a-while-i-feel-despair-over-the-fate-of-the-planet-if/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) > [We cannot avert our eyes without staining our souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/we-cannot-avert-our-eyes-without-staining-our-souls/) [Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/) > [Sex cannot be understood because nature cannot be understood. Science is a method of logical analysis of nature's operations. It has lessened human anxiety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille/sex-cannot-be-understood-because-nature-cannot-be-understood-science/) [Camille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille/) > [We live in a very special time right now. At no other time in history has there been such mass disillusionment in terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/we-live-in-a-very-special-time-right-now-at-no-other-time-in-history/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [To survive, to avert what we have termed future shock, the individual must become infinitely more adaptable and capable than ever before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-toffler/to-survive-to-avert-what-we-have-termed-future-shock-the-individual/) [Alvin Toffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-toffler/) > [Can we reach biosphere consciousness and global empathy in time to avert planetary collapse?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/can-we-reach-biosphere-consciousness-and-global-empathy-in-time-to/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [The way to chastity is not to struggle directly with incontinent thoughts but to avert the thoughts by some imployment, or by reading, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/the-way-to-chastity-is-not-to-struggle-directly-with-incontinent/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [He who loathes war, and will do everything in his power to avert it, but who will, in the last extremity, encounter its perils,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stevens-cabot-abbott/he-who-loathes-war-and-will-do-everything-in-his-power-to-avert-it/) [John Stevens Cabot Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stevens-cabot-abbott/) > [What astonishing changes a few years are capable of producing! I am told that even respectable characters speak of a monarchical form of government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/what-astonishing-changes-a-few-years-are-capable-of-producing-i-am/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The childhood of the individual and the race is full of fears, and panic-stricken attempts to avert what is feared by placating the gods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/the-childhood-of-the-individual-and-the-race-is-full-of-fears-and/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Our courage is greater to dare a visible than an imagined danger. A visible danger rouses our energies to meet or avert it; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/our-courage-is-greater-to-dare-a-visible-than-an-imagined-danger-a/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## More by Leo Strauss > [A conservative, I take it, is a man who despises vulgarity; but the argument which is concerned exclusively with calculations of success, and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/a-conservative-i-take-it-is-a-man-who-despises-vulgarity-but-the/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [Men are constantly attracted and deluded by two opposite charms: the charm of competence which is engendered by mathematics and everything akin to mathematics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/men-are-constantly-attracted-and-deluded-by-two-opposite-charms-the/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [“But what is the core of the political? Men killing men on the largest scale in broad daylight and with the greatest serenity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/but-what-is-the-core-of-the-political-men-killing-men-on-the-largest/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [“Todo ser humano y toda sociedad es lo que es en virtud de su máxima aspiración. La ciudad, si es sana, aspira no a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/todo-ser-humano-y-toda-sociedad-es-lo-que-es-en-virtud-de-su-m-xima/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [“Only a great fool would call the new political science diabolic: it has no attributes peculiar to fallen angels. It is not even Machiavellian,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/only-a-great-fool-would-call-the-new-political-science-diabolic-it/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [We somehow believe that our point of view is superior, higher than those of the greatest minds either because our point of view is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/we-somehow-believe-that-our-point-of-view-is-superior-higher-than/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [ The emancipation of the scholars and scientists from philosophy is according to \[Nietzsche\] only a part of the democratic movement, i.e. of the emancipation… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/the-emancipation-of-the-scholars-and-scientists-from-philosophy-is/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [The most superficial fact regarding the 'Discourses,' the fact that the number of its chapters equals the number of books of Livy's 'History,' compelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/the-most-superficial-fact-regarding-the-discourses-the-fact-that-the/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [If the highest things are unknowable, then the highest capacity or virtue of man cannot be theoretical wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/if-the-highest-things-are-unknowable-then-the-highest-capacity-or/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [History teaches us that a given view has been abandoned in favor of another by all men, or by all competent men, or perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/history-teaches-us-that-a-given-view-has-been-abandoned-in-favor-of/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [No bloody or unbloody change of society can eradicate the evil in man: as long as there will be men, there will be malice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/no-bloody-or-unbloody-change-of-society-can-eradicate-the-evil-in-man/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [Liberal education, which consists in the constant intercourse with the greatest minds, is a training in the highest form of modesty. ... It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/liberal-education-which-consists-in-the-constant-intercourse-with-the/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [Education to perfect gentlemanship, to human excellence, liberal education consists in reminding oneself of human excellence, of human greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/education-to-perfect-gentlemanship-to-human-excellence-liberal/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [The contemporary rejection of natural right leads to nihilism — nay, it is identical with nihilism,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/the-contemporary-rejection-of-natural-right-leads-to-nihilism-nay-it/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [When speaking of a "body of knowledge" or of "the results of research," e.g., we tacitly assign the same cognitive status to inherited knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/when-speaking-of-a-body-of-knowledge-or-of-the-results-of-research-e/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) [Explore all 55 Leo Strauss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) ## More Adopted quotes > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/somehow-destiny-comes-into-play-these-children-end-up-with-you-and/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [Azerbaijan unleashed the war, and was defeated in that war; Azerbaijan asked for truce (including from the Commander of Karabakh's forces) and later started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serzh-sargsyan/azerbaijan-unleashed-the-war-and-was-defeated-in-that-war-azerbaijan/) [Serzh Sargsyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serzh-sargsyan/) > [I'm not at all against white people adopting black children, because we're all human beings who need to give love and be nurtured in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/i-m-not-at-all-against-white-people-adopting-black-children-because/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [Susan, an only child who never had any roots, and I, a lone wolf who got married 20 years to late, were adopted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harpo-marx/susan-an-only-child-who-never-had-any-roots-and-i-a-lone-wolf-who-got/) [Harpo Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harpo-marx/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [A son or daughter in any human family is either born to or adopted by the parents. By definition, a child can't be both.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bridges/a-son-or-daughter-in-any-human-family-is-either-born-to-or-adopted-by/) [Jerry Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bridges/) > [. . . by natural selection our mind has adapted itself to the conditions of the external world. It has adopted the geometry most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/by-natural-selection-our-mind-has-adapted-itself-to-the-conditions-of/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [I was adopted my black Americans, I feel that I'm a 'Hybrid'. When I'm around Africans'I suddenly feel very black American. And when I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/i-was-adopted-my-black-americans-i-feel-that-i-m-a-hybrid-when-i-m/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [I did this one movie with a great director named Wayne Kramer. It was 'Crossing Over,' and Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd and Ray Liotta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-chon/i-did-this-one-movie-with-a-great-director-named-wayne-kramer-it-was/) [Justin Chon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-chon/) > [I had severed relations with the Romanian exiles who had become politically conservative and even extremely right wing; I was giving chess lessons to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dumitru-tepeneag/i-had-severed-relations-with-the-romanian-exiles-who-had-become/) [Dumitru Tepeneag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dumitru-tepeneag/) > [People, the common people, can genuinely see what I'm doing. Moreover, people know that I have adopted four principles in living my life: simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-sattar-edhi/people-the-common-people-can-genuinely-see-what-i-m-doing-moreover/) [Abdul Sattar Edhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-sattar-edhi/) > [To a large extent, the American church has become merged with the world. It has adopted so many of the world's ideals and standards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/to-a-large-extent-the-american-church-has-become-merged-with-the/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [When you're adopted, no matter what, you've got issues with unconditional love. And you find out you're the product of the worst situation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-atkins/when-you-re-adopted-no-matter-what-you-ve-got-issues-with/) [Rodney Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-atkins/) > [Capitalism justified itself and was adopted as an economic principle on the express ground that it provides selfish motives for doing good, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/capitalism-justified-itself-and-was-adopted-as-an-economic-principle/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) Browse all 735 Adopted quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To avert the danger [posed by theory] to life, Nietzsche could choose one of two ways: he could insist on the strictly esoteric character of the theoretical analysis of life - that is, restore the Platonic notion of the noble delusion - or else he could deny the possibility of theory proper and so conceive of thought as essentially subservient to, or dependent on, life or fate... If not Nietzsche himself, at any rate his successors [Heidegger] adopted the second alternative.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leo Strauss" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/to-avert-the-danger-posed-by-theory-to-life-nietzsche-could-choose/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adopted" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/to-avert-the-danger-posed-by-theory-to-life-nietzsche-could-choose/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/leo-strauss-12446_adopted_to-avert-the-danger-posed-by-theory-to-l_1610746.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/leo-strauss-12446_adopted_to-avert-the-danger-posed-by-theory-to-l_1610746.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dd/leo-strauss-12446_adopted_to-avert-the-danger-posed-by-theory-to-l_1610746.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To avert the danger [posed by theory] to life, Nietzsche could choose one of two ways: he could insist on…” — Leo Strauss", "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": "Leo Strauss", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To avert the danger [posed by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/to-avert-the-danger-posed-by-theory-to-life-nietzsche-could-choose/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/to-avert-the-danger-posed-by-theory-to-life-nietzsche-could-choose/#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 } } ] } ```