Nietzsche on the Discipline of Suffering

Nobody gets through life without suffering at least a little. Most of the time, most of us try to avoid suffering when we can. The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), however, thinks that suffering holds an important positive place in our lives; he claims that suffering is essential to forming humans into who we are, helping us grow as individuals and as a species.

“The discipline of suffering, of great suffering … has been the sole cause of every enhancement in humanity so far.”

(Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil trans. Judith Norman, Section 225)

Questions

• What counts as suffering?
• Think of a time where you suffered in your life. Do you think that experience made you better? How?
• Should the goal of society be to diminish as much suffering as possible? If we do so, do we miss out on how suffering “enhances” humanity?
• Are only some kinds of suffering beneficial? Or is there truly beauty in every experience of suffering? Is there something dangerous about recognizing the productivity of certain kinds of suffering? For example, could it make us less inclined to intervene to prevent or alleviate suffering?

Context

• Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most, Chapter 11: … And There’s No Fixing It and Chapter 7: The Recipe Test

Pairs Well With

• Certain versions of a “growth mindset”
• An emphasis on character formation as an important part of life (perhaps like what we find in Stoic philosophy)

Pairs Poorly With

• Any perspective (e.g., a Utilitarian perspective) that holds that suffering and displeasure are always bad
• A commitment to relieve the suffering of others