The Nietzsche Podcast

Nietzsche explores the artist as an alchemist of the psyche, emerging from religious restrictions. However, art deceives with its incompleteness and devotion to passion. The podcast delves into Nietzsche's fascination with the artist's ability to unleash dangerous forces and discusses the role of art in preserving the past. It also explores the contrasting perspectives on technology and the illusion of artistic inspiration. The ongoing conflict between art and intellect is examined, revealing Nietzsche's inner turmoil.

Back in season one, we teased the idea of Nietzsche looking for some way to elevate mankind beyond the natural world. While Nietzsche is celebrated for his uncompromising critique of Christian values and otherworldly metaphysics, the advantage of these ideas was that they showed man an ideal which was beyond the cynical view that human beings are simply "clever animals who invented knowledge". Nietzsche floats the idea of the saint, the artist, and the philosopher in the essay, "Schopenhauer as Educator", as figures that showed forward a way beyond nature: a leap into something above mankind. Perhaps the most complex figure to examine in this formulation is the saint. Those of you who have been listening along since the beginning of the podcast, or who have read The Antichrist, may wonder how it is that Nietzsche ever offered a positive assessment of the life-denying holy men of the world at all. But Nietzsche, in his early writings, expresses an admiration for the power of the saint - the ascetic priest, the sage, the arahant, or whomever we might consider from world-history - as one in whom the "I" has melted away and power over the desires has been obtained. Unfortunately, all great things in the world, it seems, come from prolongued spiritual and physical torture, and the saint is no different. Beneath his power is a dark desire to set himself above the world by refuting the physical in favor of the abstract. Even though the priest offered the ideal to mankind, it was the ideal of nihilism - of seeking after nothingness. Why was this type tolerated among ancient societies at all, Nietzsche wonders? Because of the saint's remarkable power to strike fear into the hearts of men, and his utility for redirecting the destructive drives of the weak and the botched of every society. Join us for the first of several episodes examining these candidates Nietzsche entertained throughout his career for "higher people" - the type who is "too good for this world", the saint.

Andrei Georgescu is a writer, a poet, an artist, and an insightful mind. He has grappled with the complexities of the human physiology for years, out of necessity if for no other reason, and it was because of an essay on the topic of diet that I first ran across Andrei's work. Our discussion centers around this topic, which was a concern shared by Friedrich Nietzsche: how diet affects one's mood, mental state, and overall emotional and physical health; how to fine-tune one's diet to their own needs; how to assess the effect of a given diet. Andrei reflects on how this became a central issue for him, how he felt abandoned by the health system in his quest, and how writing about the many attempts - ancient and modern - to solve the deep questions of "Belly Alchemy". Of course, we could not limit our discussion to just this topic, and ended up discussing other complex systems - such as political and economic systems, another topic that Andrei has written about in his essay on "Romanian Communism and American Capitalism". And, of course, those old questions about the meaning of life always come up. First episode of Andrei's new podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XssA7Ta1DMI Andrei Georgescu's website: https://andreigeorgescu.ca/ On Behance: https://www.behance.net/georgescu

The ugliest man of Athens? Or the most beautiful soul of all? A mere intellectual? Or the finest fencing-master? The central focus of our episode today, in part two of our analysis of Plato's Symposium, is Nietzsche's interpretation of the text. Nietzsche argues that Socrates rounds off the discussion on the attributes of love in his speech, and that the image he gives of the power of love is then demonstrated to be manifested by Socrates himself, in his living character, by the final, drunken speech of Alcibiades. In today's lecture, we will examine the final three speeches of the symposium, including those of Agathon, Socrates, as well as the impromptu, drunken praise of Socrates that Alcibiades gives. Episode art: Marcello Bacciarelli - Alcibiades Being Taught by Socrates (1776-77)

You don't need money, don't take fame Don't need no credit card to ride this train It's strong and it's sudden and it's cruel sometimes But it might just save your life That's the power of love Today, we discuss Nietzsche's lieblingsdichtung, or favorite work, from the time of his graduation at Schulpforta: Plato's Symposium. The Symposium is one of the most popular Platonic dialogues, which considers the topic of love, and the nature of the god Eros, who represents love as a metaphysical or divine force. While those who have only a passing familiarity with Nietzsche may be surprised to hear that the pitiless philosopher was enamored with a conversation about the finer points of love and romance, in fact, Plato's Symposium is rich with insights that had a profound impact on Nietzsche. Central to the conversation in the Symposium is the understanding of the power of love - for love, as with all things the Greeks perceived as forces within the psyche that pushed or motivated mankind, is evidence of a divine influence that grips human beings and makes its will upon us felt. In part one, we'll consider the background of the work, why Nietzsche would have read such a work, and the importance of Plato to the classicists at that time. We'll also briefly discuss the social institution of the symposium as a place for competition, or intellectual "sparring" - or else, for the prominent men to outdrink one another. Then, we'll break down the first three speeches of the work: Phaedrus, Pausianus, Eryximachus. Next week we'll consider the final four speeches, and Nietzsche's interpretation of the work.

Was Nietzsche influenced by the Lutheran idea of pietism? Is there a clear parallel between the ideas of Ecclesiastes and the idea of Nietzsche? Did Nietzsche intend a degree of comedy to his work? Are some of his ideas even to be taken as 'tongue-in-cheek', as not entirely serious, as mere thought experiments, as something to be taken with a dash of irony & a wink and maybe even a complementary nod? And can we perhaps dare to suggest that in Nietzsche, the most Anti-Christian of all philosophers, there sits at the center of his ideas a recapitulation to the Biblical idea of providence? Karl & I discuss all of these fascinating questions which he raises, as well as the Roman pagan origins of the concept of providence, and how the great writers of antiquity conceived of virtue and fortune. We consider how our view of ourselves and our own luck can be affected by the underlying worldview we hold. Machiavelli, Seneca, Turchin, and many more of your favorite writers from antiquity and modernity make appearances in the discourse. Amor Fati - let that be my love henceforth!

In part two, we look at eternal return in its full implications - the eternity of all that is low and contemptible in human beings, contrasted with the eternity of all that is great and has great potential in human beings. The depressing fact that mankind's smallness and Christian weakness is written into infinity is what Zarathustra calls his "most abysmal thought". He is also tormented by his own faults, his own human-all-too-human nature, and taunted by the "Spirit of Gravity" - who tells Zarathustra that whatever goes up must come down, and that his own downfall is inevitable, even from the great heights into which he has cast himself... perhaps even especially so. Zarathustra's answer to this is courage and the Nietzschean demand for life-affirmation. After exploring Zarathustra's many visions, and his need to return to solitude in order to "ripen" and prepare himself to preach the terrible doctrine of eternal recurrence, we conclude this in-depth analysis of eternal recurrence with a reading of two sections (or perhaps "verses") of The Drunken Song, which is a cheerful celebration of eternity and of the willingness to take all of life with all its joys and sorrows, set near the very end of Thus Spoke Zarathustra. In a nice parallel to season one, after our inaugural episode - which focused on a central idea of Nietzsche's upon which the entire next season is an elaboration - this second episode returns to the mythos of Nietzsche (or in this case Zarathustra) as a "Wanderer",  with the mountains to himself. This episode is about taking the eternal return idea and taking it to higher and more deadly vistas. From the edge of this cliff, looming over the great depths of human experience whilst glimpsing the highest and farthest things, Zarathustra must learn to overcome his nauseau, and dare to still carry out the task of elevating our individual human lives. Nietzsche and Epicureanism (previous of a paper available on Academia.edu): https://www.academia.edu/49101903/Great_Politics_and_the_Unnoticed_Life_Nietzsche_and_Epicurus_on_the_Boundaries_of_Cultivation Episode art: Lena Hades - Gemälde "Zarathustra und Zwerg" + An Oroborous (all courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Kevin Rogers, musician and co-host of the Knot Zen Podcast, joins the host to talk about Zen, its origins in China and its impact in Japan. They discuss the idea of lingering moments, direct experience of reality, metaphysical implications of Zen realization, and the influence of Daoism. The conversation also includes the host's personal misgivings with Zen and the potential for future episodes on music

Welcome to Season Two, my beautiful, free spirits! We ended the last season on a "cliffhanger"... the lead-up to the new mythology forged within the pages of Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Today, we discuss the basis of that new myth. The eternal return, also known as the eternal recurrence, is one of the most famous ideas of Nietzsche, but one of the most difficult to comprehend. How could this philosopher who made it his business to attack every provisional truth, point out the perspectival nature of our world-picture, and dare to suggest that we abolish the metaphysical world beyond... make the proclamation that our lives, exactly as we live them, are eternal? There are many interpretations of this doctrine - ranging from the classification of eternal return as a thought experiment, all the way into mystical territory - but one thing is made crystal clear by Nietzsche's own words: he held that it was the hardest challenge one could put before themselves, akin to facing the greatest stress, or fighting the toughest opponent. Embracing eternal return means the ultimate revaluation of life and the natural world as imminently good and worthwhile. Those who are unable to do so will find this doctrine crippling, or so Nietzsche predicts. Thus, he puts this mysterious teaching into his work in the form of fables and in the teachings of his prophet, Zarathustra. Nietzsche founds his answer to the "problem of life" - that is to say, the problem of the value of a human life, within a mortal, human existence finding some kind of transcendental value - upon the basis of this central idea, of the eternal return. Forgive the couple of times my voice cracked, for I have a bit of a cold. Episode art: George Bellows - Stag at Sharkey's (1909)

Season two is coming soon! This is the last episode in the interim - or what we might call the afterbirth of season one (if we wanted to be a little gross with our metaphors) - and I'm very excited to begin with some of the gargantuan topics of our next series of episodes. Truly, the episodes to follow are on the ideas that stand like magnificent, granite pillars, upholding the beautiful frescoes of Nietzsche's grand ideas.  This is the second time I’m answering questions from the audience. This was a patron Q&A that the small group of people who donate to the show got some time ago, so all the questions are from patrons. Nevertheless, I thought all of you might enjoy it. I retread a little ground from the first season, and cover some questions about issues I’ve delve more deeply into during season two. Please join me next week for the inaugural episode of season two!