Notes from the Underground is a novel published by Dostoevsky in 1864. It remains as one of the most important works of existentialist literature. In this work Dostoevsky attempts to justify the existence of individual freedom as a necessary part of humankind.   The novel consists of two parts. The first one, titled simply “Underground” is told through an unnamed narrator, known as the Underground Man. This part serves as an introduction into the mind of the Underground Man. The second part of the novel is called "Apropos of the Wet Snow”, where he begins to recount his troubled past experiences when he was 24 years old. His inability to interact with other people causes his attempts to form relationships and participate in life to end in disaster and drives him deeper underground.   Notes from the Underground launches an attack on all ideologies of social progress which aspire to the elimination of suffering (which cannot be eradicated), solving one problem and directing our nature to become unhappy in other ways. It is a novel against Utilitarianism, Utopianism & Rational Egoism. ☕ Donate a coffee ⭐ Support on Patreon ━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⌛ Timestamps (0:00) Introduction (1:18) Part I. Underground (6:14) Part II. Apropos of the Wet Snow

This episode summarises Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morals in 10 minutes. It is among Nietzsche’s most sustained and cohesive works consisting of three essays: “Good and Evil, Good and Bad”, “Guilt, Bad Conscience and the Like” and “What is the Meaning of Ascetic Ideals?” In the first essay, Nietzsche sets up a contrast between what he calls “master” morality and “slave morality” and shows how strength and actions have often been replaced by passivity and nihilism as well as that the revolt of slaves in morals begins in the principle of ressentiment.   The second essay looks into the origins of guilt and punishment, it shows how the concept of justice was born and how internalisation of this concept led to the development of what people called “the soul”.    In the third and final essay, Nietzsche dissects the meaning of ascetic ideals.  It is not Nietzsche’s intention to reject slave and master morality, internalised values out of hand or ascetic ideals; his main concern is to show that culture and morality, rather than being eternal verities, are human made.   ☕ Donate a coffee ⭐ Support on Patreon ━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⌛ Timestamps (0:00) Introduction (0:56) Preface (1:18) Essay I. “Good and Evil”, "Good and Bad” (3:57) Essay II. “Guilt”, “Bad Conscience”, and the like (6:56) Essay III. What is the Meaning of Ascetic Ideals?

Zen is a form of Buddhism. It originated in China, when Buddhism spread from India to China and was strongly influenced by Taoist philosophy.    Zen literally means “meditation”. Zazen or “seated meditation” is the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. Unlike religion, Zen does not mention God, it does not try to explain how the world was created and what happens after death.   It highlights meditation as a way of experiencing basic reality. Sitting quietly, going deep  and asking the question: What am I? That is the fundamental question in Zen. It begins with the curiosity and wonder of who you are.    Be present and see what is happening, not your fantasy about what is happening but seeing what’s actually happening and then responding. That in a nutshell, is Zen practice, and Zen life. To be really present in this moment.    ☕ Donate a coffee ⭐ Support on Patreon

This episode explores Dostoevsky's Raskolnikov presented in Crime and Punishment and Nietzsche's concept of the Ubermensch.   Raskolnikov’s pride separates him from society, he sees himself as a sort of “higher man”, indeed an ubermensch, a person who is extraordinary and thus above all moral rules that govern the rest of humanity, and so he cannot relate to anyone of the ordinary people "the herd", who must live in obedience and do not have the right to overstep the law. Although it is almost sure that Dostoevsky, who died in 1881, had never even heard the name of Nietzsche. Nietzsche on the other hand, not only knew some of Dostoevsky’s principal works, but actually acknowledged that he regarded him as the only psychologist from whom he had anything to learn. Nietzsche and Dostoevsky together both had strikingly similar themes, both were haunted by central questions surrounding the human existence, especially ones concerning God. They were both keen questioners and doubters.  Both were “underworld minds” unable to come to terms either with other people or with the conditions they saw around them and both of them desperately wanted to create truth. However, Nietzsche and Dostoevsky take separate paths at the crossroads of illusion. But both understood reality in the same way; both faced reality with the courage of despair. Survival for one meant the embracing of illusion; survival for the other meant ultimately the rejection of illusion. ☕ Donate a coffee ⭐ Support on Patreon ━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⌛ Timestamps (0:00) Introduction (1:57) Nietzsche’s Ubermensch (4:02) Dostoevsky’s Raskolnikov (7:00) Conclusion Nietzsche and Dostoevsky

Nietzsche frequently laughs and he especially recommends laughing at oneself. He does not speak of just any laugh, but of a laugh that comes from the depths of man. It is from that depth that one must learn to laugh the superhuman laugh. This laughter arises from the state of anguish and suffering.    Indeed, comedy must be included within the very art that Nietzsche proclaims is: “the highest task and the true metaphysical activity of this life.” This is important for those who want to ask clear-eyed questions about the values, phenomena, institutions, and people that they cherish. Laughter makes it possible – if only briefly – to achieve some distance from things one loves, thereby enabling a less biased evaluation of their true worth. It enables one to take oneself less seriously and admit that some of one's cherished beliefs are most likely false. Perhaps best expressed in his masterpiece Thus Spoke Zarathustra, where the prophet Zarathustra, talks about the “laughter of the herd” and the “laughter of the height”. Other books worthy of mention are: The Gay Science, Beyond Good and Evil and The Will to Power. Zarathustrian laughter highlights the sense of humour's potential to make your world bigger from your childlike “new beginning” of being amenable to seeing things in a new way, or from a new perspective, and to realise that there are more ways of looking at the world than you previously acknowledged or of which you were even aware of. It is closely tied to the figure of the child (the final metamorphosis) and amor fati. For Nietzsche, it is vitally important to understand that the tragic and the comic are not polar opposite, but inter-linked modes of experience. ☕ Donate a coffee ⭐ Support on Patreon ━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⌛ Timestamps (0:00) Introduction (1:50) Laughter of the Height and Laughter of the Herd (5:06) The Three Metamorphoses (8:10) Becoming Who One Is (11:20) Social aspects of Humour (12:26) Tragedy and Comedy (14:41) Conclusion

This episode explores the concept of The Absurd of Camus, Kierkegaard, and Dostoevsky as well as the differences between these three existentialists.    Camus defined the Absurd as: "The conflict between the human tendency to seek inherent value and meaning in life, and the human inability to find any meaning in a purposeless, meaningless, and irrational universe, with the ‘unreasonable silence’ of the universe in response.”  However, this world in itself is not absurd, what is absurd is our relationship with the universe, which is irrational.  He contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as Absurdism.  Most famously expressed in The Myth of Sisyphus, which begins with the following thought-provoking statement: “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide.”   Camus argued against the “leap of faith” of Kierkegaard and Dostoevsky considering it as “philosophical suicide”. His response to the absurd is to revolt, which he considers as the only coherent philosophical position. ☕ Donate a coffee ⭐ Support on Patreon ━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⌛ Timestamps (0:00) Camus' view (1:53) Kierkegaard’s view (4:20) Dostoevsky’s view (6:57) The Absurd Man - Camus (7:57) Revolt – Camus (10:13) An Example of Rebellion: The Drowned and The Saved

This episode focuses on the four stoic virtues: courage, justice, temperance, and wisdom. Stoicism is a philosophy most popularly associated with Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius.    The supreme goal being “living in agreement with nature”, allowing us to flow through life smoothly and with inner peace, flourishing as individuals and fulfilling our own human nature, achieving eudaimonia, commonly referred to as “happiness”, although a better translation would be “fulfilment”. ☕ Donate a coffee ⭐ Support on Patreon ⌛ Timestamps (0:00) Introduction (1:27) What is Virtue? (3:09) Courage (3:50) The Stoic in a Storm at Sea (5:38) Justice (6:42) Temperance (7:42) Dichotomy of Control (8:00) Wisdom

This podcast explores Nietzsche's interest in Eastern philosophy, particularly Buddhism and Hinduism. Nietzsche saw these philosophies as alternative positions to attack Christianity. Despite considering them nihilistic, he studied and appreciated them. The podcast discusses Nietzsche's views on Buddhism, including its non-nihilistic nature and similarities to his ideas. It also explores Nietzsche's opinions on Hinduism, comparisons to Schopenhauer's views, and connections between Zarathustra and Shiva. The podcast emphasizes Nietzsche's admiration for Eastern philosophy and its potential future influence.

Albert Camus was a prolific French-Algerian philosopher and author who contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as Absurdism. He is also considered to be an existentialist. This video explores his main ideas: The Absurd, Revolt and Rebellion, as well as his most notable works: The Stranger (or The Outsider), The Myth of Sisyphus, The Rebel, The Plague, and The Fall. In the Greatest Philosophers In History series we do an in-depth exploration of the most fundamental ideas and views on life of the greatest philosophers in human history. ☕ Donate a coffee ⭐ Support on Patreon ━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⌛ Timestamps (0:00) Introduction (4:58) Concept: The Absurd (5:51) The Stranger (1942) (8:06) The Myth of Sisyphus (1942) (13:21) Concept: Revolt (14:10) Camus’ similarities to Nietzsche & Stoicism (15:09) The Rebel (1951) and the concept of Rebellion. (17:39) The Plague (1947) (19:07) Camus and Sartre (19:54) Camus and Dostoevsky (20:36) The Fall (1957) (22:47) Why You Should Read Camus

Jean Paul Sartre is one of the key figures in the philosophy of Existentialism, which emphasises the existence of the individual or human subject who faces existential angst in an apparently absurd world.    This episode explores his main ideas including: Nausea, the Absurdity of the World, Existence precedes Essence, Freedom, Bad Faith and The Look, among others.  Sartre had a great influence on many areas of modern thought. A writer of prodigious brilliance and originality. He worked in many different genres: as a philosopher, a novelist, and a cultural critic.    Sartre is credited for revivifying and popularising Existentialism to the world after it had remained quite stagnant since the death of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.    ☕ Donate a coffee ⭐ Support on Patreon ━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⌛ Timestamps (0:00) Introduction (3:50) Nausea (5:08) The Absurdity of the World (5:57) Existence precedes Essence (8:31) Freedom and Responsibility (11:35) Bad Faith (13:08) Being and Nothingness (14:42) The Being For-itself and The Being In-itself (16:27) The Being For-Others (16:53) The Look (18:31) Hell is Other People (19:19) Why You Should Read Sartre