The topic for this week is... The Truth. The Nietzschean view of truth is one of the most difficult positions to convey, because the nature of the topic requires pushing language to its limits. To question the value of truth-seeking seems antithetical to the very activity of philosophy. Is Nietzsche just being obstinate? Is he an irrationalist? Is he a postm ... Show More
Sep 16
The Gay Science #19 (IV.311-327)
More aphorisms concerning drives, the way that impulses appropriate thought for their own ends, "moral pluralism", means of finding happiness, pleasure and pain as means rather than ends, and experimentation as method.Episode art: The Two Crowns (1900) by Frank Dicksee
2h 14m
Nov 2021
Ep. 282: Alain Badiou: What Is Philosophy? (Part One)
On Conditions (1992), Ch. 1 "The (Re)turn of Philosophy Itself." Against post-structuralists who deny Truth, Badiou argues that truths are generated by the truth conditions (politics, art, love, and science/math) which philosophy then thinks into a unified vision. Part two of thi ... Show More
49m 41s
Mar 2021
Twilight of the Idols | Friedrich Nietzsche
Twilight of the Idols or How to Philosophise with a Hammer is one of Nietzsche’s last books, written in 1888.
As Nietzsche was starting to become recognised, he felt that he needed a short text that would serve as an introduction to his thought. In a letter, he wrote: “This ... Show More
10 m
Feb 2021
Ep. 262: Nietzsche on Self-Denial (Part One)
On Friedrich Nietzsche's The Genealogy of Morals (1887), "Third essay: what do ascetic ideals mean?" Self-regulation, where we tamp down certain aspects of our personality, is necessary for disciplined action, but it can clearly go too far. Nietzsche uses this concept of ascetici ... Show More
46m 6s