Don't Gaze Into The Abyss: Philosophical Base Jumping

Why is staring into the abyss dangerous? Perhaps Nietzsche places a warning sign for those who venture to the edges of philosophical reasoning. Philosophy might seem an innocuous activity without real consequences, but being a philosopher has some pretty high occupational health and safety risks. I know from experience that intensely studying philosophy can detach you from common-sense. Philosophers explore the world of humans, but to do so, they place themselves outside it. Only by viewing the world from outside it can you glance it from a meaningful perspective.

Nietzsche was a victim of his success as he philosophised himself into madness. Perhaps he stared too intensely into the abyss of the human condition. Or maybe it was not his philosophy but rather a severe case of syphilis that caused his madness, but that is beyond the point.

Does Nietzsche's aphorism imply that there philosophical boundaries beyond which one should not venture? What happens when you do stare too intensely into the abyss? What is at the bottom of the abyss?

Nietzsche's aphorism reminds me of God's warning to Adam and Eve not to eat the apple in Genesis 3:3. This aphorism is also reminiscent of Prometheus' theft of the fire of Mount Olympus or Morpheus' invitation to swallow the red pill. These ancient and contemporary mythologies share a common thread of forbidden wisdom, or in the words of Kevin Solway, they are Venom Crystals.

These mythologies suggest that obtaining knowledge can have negative consequences. Advanced knowledge dissolves our innocence and dislodges us from a presumed state of ignorant bliss. With great knowledge comes great responsibility and Nietzsche warned us of the perils of such knowledge. Gazing into the abyss becomes a metaphor for the kind of knowledge that God did not want Adam and Eve to possess, the kind of secret knowledge that Prometheus stole from the gods of Mount Olympus. Staring into the abyss has the same effect as eating the red pill because you might find an uncomfortable truth that forever changes the way you view the world.