The second part of a two-parter we began near the beginning of this season. The completion of our analysis of Ecce Homo. In this episode, we consider Nietzsche's reviews of his own books, and argue that it presents a creative narrative of Nietzsche's life: Nietzsche as a tragic figure. Nietzsche mythologizes himself and the circumstances of his great works, ... Show More
Aug 19
The Gay Science #16 (IV.276-288)
Continuing with The Gay Science, and beginning with book IV, "Sanctus Januarius". Here, we encounter some of the most famous aphorisms: For the New Year, Preparatory Men ("Live Dangerously!") and Excelsior. Exciting times!Episode art: View of Genoa under the Snow - Eugenio Olivar ... Show More
1h 56m
Aug 12
120: Erich Heller, The Disinherited Mind, pt 2 - Burckhardt, Nietzsche & History
The conclusion of our two-parter on Erich Heller, and the conclusion to season five! We discuss Nietzsche's friendship with Jacob Burckhardt, and how Burckhardt's view of history can inform our understanding of Nietzsche's divergence from him. We also consider Goethe's four ages ... Show More
1h 44m
Aug 5
119: Erich Heller, The Disinherited Mind, pt 1 - Goethe, Schiller & The Symbol
Something happened to the human mind around the birth of modernity: the divorce of reality and the symbol. Once unified in eucharist, the symbolic and the real are now separate spheres of the human mind, and while it initially seemed that art and science might benefit by this sep ... Show More
1h 39m
Jul 2021
Human All Too Human | Friedrich Nietzsche
Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits was published by Friedrich Nietzsche in 1878 and represents a “monument of a crisis” for Nietzsche, a critical turning point in his life and thought.
The book marks the beginning of a second period in Nietzsche’s philosophy, his perio ... Show More
10 m
Nov 2020
Genealogy of Morals | Friedrich Nietzsche
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 ... Show More
9m 59s
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
Feb 2024
Class 6: Nietzsche and the Death of God
“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we, the murderers of all murderers, comfort ourselves?”—Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science.
HIST 271/HUMS 339: European Intellectual History since Nietzsche is a survey course designed to introduce students to th ... Show More
50m 59s