''On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense'' (, also called ''On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense'' Walter Kaufmann's translation, appearing in ''The Portable Nietzsche'', 1976 edition. Viking Press.) is a philosophical essay by

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

. It was written in 1873, one year after '' The Birth of Tragedy'', but was published by his sister Elisabeth in 1896 when Nietzsche was already mentally ill.

Summary

Nietzsche's essay provides an account for (and thereby a critique of) the contemporary considerations of

truth Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...

and

concept A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs. Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, ...

s. These considerations, argues Nietzsche, arose from the very establishment of a

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

: According to Paul F. Glenn, Nietzsche is arguing that "concepts are metaphors which do not correspond to reality." Although all concepts are

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

s invented by humans (created by common agreement to facilitate ease of communication), writes Nietzsche, human beings forget this fact after inventing them, and come to believe that they are "true" and do correspond to

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

. Thus Nietzsche argues that "truth" is actually: These ideas about truth and its relation to human language have been particularly influential among postmodern theorists, and "On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense" is one of the works most responsible for Nietzsche's reputation (albeit a contentious one) as "the godfather of postmodernism." Raymond Geuss has compared Nietzsche's view of language, as expressed in this essay, to be similar to that of the later Wittgenstein's, in its de-emphasis of "the distinction between literal and metaphorical usage." A few decades prior Erich Heller had similarly noted a comparison between Nietzsche's thoughts on language and Wittgenstein.

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Original text in German

(English)
On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense
(English) *Also: ''About Truth and lie in the extra-moral sense (''pages 119-128). In '' Nietzsche’s seven notebooks from 1876.'' New translation (2020) by Daniel Fidel Ferrer. Free online. {{Authority control Books about metaphors Essays by Friedrich Nietzsche

Summary

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External links