“'I have done that,' says my memory. 'I cannot have done that,' says my pride, and remains inexorable. Eventually, memory yields.”Friedrich Nietzsche · Dincolo de bine și de rău · 1886 · Dincolo de bine și de rău, § 68
Our pride rewrites our memory to protect our self-image.
Nietzsche describes an inner conflict between what we did and what we want to believe about ourselves. Pride refuses to accept an action that might tarnish our self-image, and memory, instead of resisting, gives in and rewrites the past. For example, someone who betrayed a friend may come to sincerely believe they acted out of loyalty, because the truth is too painful. This is not conscious lying but a psychic mechanism of self-preservation.
Why it matters It helps us recognize when our own mind deceives us to protect itself, and teaches us to be more honest with ourselves instead of yielding to pride.