“Whoever knows he is deep strives to appear shallow to himself.”Friedrich Nietzsche · Dincolo de bine și de rău · 1886 · Aforismul 38
Whoever suspects they are deep chooses to believe they are simple, because seeming shallow is a defense.
Nietzsche describes a paradoxical form of self-protection. Whoever feels contradictory forces in himself, uncomfortable desires, thoughts he would not admit in public, has a good reason to deceive himself lightly: the appearance of shallowness is a defense. It is calmer to believe yourself simple than to live daily with your own depth. A person who suspects hidden motives behind his choices may prefer the most banal explanation, precisely to avoid digging further.
The next step: this self-deception is not an active lie, but a passive choice of explanations. When we ask ourselves why we did something, we don't invent an answer — we pick the first one that leaves us in peace. Someone buys something expensive and says it was practical, not that they wanted to impress. Someone avoids a hard conversation and says they lack time, not that they're afraid. The banal explanation isn't entirely false; it's just the most comfortable among the true ones. That way the depth stays untouched, without any conscious effort. The question that opens up: how would you tell a comfortable explanation from an honest one, when comfort is exactly what it imitates?
Why it matters It speaks to anyone avoiding honest introspection: sometimes we believe we are simple precisely so we never have to bear what we would find.