Beyond Good and Evil · Chapter
88 explained
A single, aphoristic observation on the suspicion that arises when clever people display embarrassment, suggesting a potential disconnect between their intellect and their character or honesty.
What happens
A single, aphoristic observation on the suspicion that arises when clever people display embarrassment, suggesting a potential disconnect between their intellect and their character or honesty.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The passage reveals the Wanderer's ultimate psychological exhaustion with seeking truth, climaxing in his desp…
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Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Psychology as the Fundamental Science
The excerpt is a psychological insight, analyzing the significance of an emotional reaction (embarrassment) in supposedly intelligent people as a potential sign of dishonesty or weakness.
Key passages
“One begins to distrust very clever persons when they become embarrassed.”
When highly intelligent people show embarrassment, it naturally makes one suspicious of them.
A concise psychological maxim linking emotional display to a judgment of trustworthiness, implying that true intellectual mastery should not be accompanied by such social awkwardness or guilt.
