Afraid to be alone with ourselves as Nietzsche

Nietzsche and Freud both believed that we are afraid to be alone with ourselves because we fear what we might find there. Nietzsche believed that the human being is a "crooked animal" who is full of contradictions and self-deception. He argued that we often hide our true selves from others and from ourselves in order to conform to the expectations of the herd.

Freud, on the other hand, believed that we are afraid to be alone with ourselves because we fear our own unconscious desires. He argued that our unconscious is full of repressed thoughts, feelings, and impulses that we find unacceptable. We are afraid to face these desires because we fear that they will overwhelm us or lead us to do something that we will regret.

Both Nietzsche and Freud believed that the herd mentality is a way of avoiding these fears. By conforming to the expectations of the herd, we can avoid facing our own contradictions and our own unconscious desires. However, they also argued that the herd mentality is ultimately self-destructive. By denying our true selves, we become alienated from ourselves and from others.

In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche writes:

"The herd animal lives for the herd and, as the saying goes, gives its life for it. But the individual wants to live for himself alone, and not just for himself, but for the sake of the most high."

And in Civilization and Its Discontents, Freud writes:

"The individual is too weak to stand up to the might of society. Society tells him what he has to do and what he must not do, and he obeys, because he fears the consequences of disobedience. But he also rebels against society, because he feels that it is suppressing his true self."

Nietzsche and Freud's insights into the fear of being alone with ourselves can help us to understand why we are often drawn to the herd mentality. However, they also show us that the herd mentality is ultimately self-destructive. If we want to live a truly fulfilling life, we need to be willing to face our fears and to embrace our true selves.

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