Explore Nietzsche's perspective on memory and consciousness, the contradiction between Freud and Nietzsche, reactive forces and resultima, memory as a remembrance of the future, resentment and its role in revenge, Nietzsche's concept of parallelism and the resentful consciousness, the ascetic ideal and negative nihilism, the difference between Christianity and Buddhism in Nietzsche's view, and Nietzsche's ideas and Deleuze's interpretation.
Nietzsche emphasizes the active nature of forgetting and questions the reliability of memory.
Deleuze explores the origins of resentment and its transformation into bad conscience.
Reactive forces lead to the development of negative, reactive, and passive nihilism, impacting culture and history.
Deep dives
Exploring Nietzsche's views on memory and consciousness
Nietzsche argues that forgetting is an active and positive force, while memory is questionable. He connects the origins of memory to the origins of consciousness, stating that life normally exists in an unconscious state. Nietzsche also discusses Freud's topological theory of the human psyche, influenced by Nietzsche's ideas. Freud's theory separates conscious and unconscious systems, suggesting that the unconscious plays a significant role in human behavior. Nietzsche's view aligns with Freud's concept of memories being stored in the unconscious. Forgetfulness enters as an active force that allows individuals to experience the present moment, while preventing overwhelming past sensory experiences. Nietzsche distinguishes between reactive unconscious and reactive conscious forces, emphasizing the importance of reaction to present stimuli. The second kind of reactive forces accompanies consciousness, allowing for new experiences and reactions. Nietzsche reminds consciousness of its need for modesty, highlighting its reactive nature and function. Overall, Nietzsche's exploration delves into the origins and nature of memory, consciousness, and the interplay between reactive and active forces.
The development of resentment and the rise of bad conscience
Deleuze analyzes Nietzsche's concept of resentment and its effects on human behavior and moral evaluation. Resentment, fueled by reactive forces, stems from the invasion of consciousness by mnemonic traces, which leads to accusations and blame towards external objects. The resentful consciousness experiences discomfort and blames external circumstances for its suffering. This state limits one's ability to truly love, admire, or actively engage with the world. Deleuze explains how resentment gradually takes the form of bad conscience, where suffering becomes a form of punishment and guilt is internalized. Bad conscience, shaped by the ascetic ideal and institutionalized by priests, creates a constant sense of guilt and debt that cannot be fully resolved. Deleuze argues that this internalization of suffering and moral responsibility is motivated by reactive forces, leading to the negation and devaluation of higher values. This process results in a collective herd mentality and the suppression of the active and creative super moral individual.
The transition from negative nihilism to reactive nihilism
Deleuze distinguishes between negative nihilism, characterized by the will to nothingness, and reactive nihilism. Negative nihilism devalues life in the name of higher values, while reactive nihilism devalues higher values themselves. Reactive nihilism develops from the complicity between the will to nothingness and reactive forces. The will to nothingness allows reactive forces to triumph, but as they gain power, they become less tolerant of this leader. Reactive forces break their alliance with the negative will and aim to rule alone. Passive nihilism emerges as the final outcome, characterized by a fading away and a lack of will. Deleuze points out the connection between reactive nihilism and the rise of the herd mentality, where stagnant herds are favored over a strong leader. The development from negative nihilism to reactive nihilism to passive nihilism reflects the triumph of reactive forces and their rejection of external influence.
Understanding the historical effects of reactive forces on culture
Deleuze explores Nietzsche's concept of reactive forces and their impact on culture and history. He argues that reactive forces divert the course of culture and turn it towards preserving and propagating the reactive life. This diversion leads to the creation of hierarchical institutions such as states, churches, and social organizations. These institutions utilize training procedures to mold and shape the reactive forces within individuals, ultimately producing gregarious, docile, and domesticated beings. Culture, which aims to create active and self-legislative individuals, is subverted by the triumph of reactive forces. This shift from culture to reactive nihilism represents a historical degeneration, resulting in the emergence of the mediocrity and herd mentality prevalent in contemporary society. History becomes the manifestation of the triumph of reactive forces, leading to a negation of life and a deterioration of culture and human potential.
The Tragedy of Becoming Reactive
The podcast explores the concept of becoming reactive and its ultimate culmination in passive nihilism. The speaker highlights the role of reactive forces in forming self-preservative social structures, leading to the desire for peaceful existence and extinction. The last man, a symbol of passive nihilism, represents the complete overthrow of the active will. The podcast compares Christianity and Buddhism, with the former being a religion of ascetics and the latter characterized by passive doctrine. The importance of active nihilism is emphasized, which involves using the power of negation to affirm and create a new form of life.
The Path to Active Nihilism
The podcast discusses how reactive forces can become active and transform passive nihilism into active nihilism. It suggests that the transvaluation of values and the transmutation of the negative into an affirmative power are essential in this process. The concept of the overman, who turns the will to nothingness against the reactive forces, is explored. The podcast highlights the significance of the child as the symbol of true affirmation and the post-moral way of being. It emphasizes the need for a joyful and active approach to life, which recognizes the value of suffering and affirms life itself.
In this second part of our exploration of Deleuze, we go straight into the Deleuzian understanding of ressentiment, and the significance of Nietzsche's distinction between ressentiment and the bad conscience. Deleuze's interpretation is predominantly psychological/physiological, and he sees the origins of ressentiment in the "inverted image" produced by reactive forces. Ressentiment therefore does not emerge from a historical power relationship, but from the disruption, degeneration or failures of the active force of memory to regulate the reactive consciousness and unconsciousness. Deleuze describes four forms of nihilism in Nietzsche: negative, reactive, passive and active, and we'll examine how they progress and relate to one another. Towards the end of the talk, we'll consider the camel, lion and child but with fresh eyes, given all that Deleuze has established. Of chief concern is how the triumph of reactive forces can be reversed, and the great becoming-reactive that characterizes human history turned into a becoming-active. This episode will not make much sense unless you've listened to the first part, in episode #79, as the concepts contained here depend on an understanding of active and reactive, sense and value, genealogy, and differential metaphysics, all of which are covered in that episode.
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