The “Nietzsche Thesis”: Why we don’t really care about truth

Image credit: Onderkokturk via Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 4.0 (no modifications). Article by Jonny Thomson. Big Think – updated March 22, 2025.

Key Takeaways

The notion of “epistemic vigilance” argues that humans are naturally equipped to detect lies and gauge the reliability of others.

Studies and philosophers like Joseph Shieber challenge this idea, indicating humans are not as adept at deception detection as once thought.

Shieber’s “Nietzsche Thesis” posits that our true aim in conversation is self-presentation and social standing, not necessarily truth-seeking.

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