The whole collection · No. 15 of 36

Nietzsche’s hammer

For sounding out what you believe.

1888 · Twilight of the Idols

Where it comes from

Nietzsche’s hammer isn’t for smashing things. In the preface to Twilight of the Idols he taps old idols the way you’d strike a tuning fork, listening for the ones that sound hollow.

How to play it

Tap each idol with the hammer, and listen to what it sounds like.

Pick it up

What it teaches (try it first)

Most of us inherited our philosophy. Tap a belief and you’ll often find somebody else living inside it. Some ring true, and those are worth keeping.

Ask yourself. Which belief runs your diary that you’ve never tapped?

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