Athens Corner

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Continuing the brief digression on the meaning of 'God is dead' in Nietzsche, here I give a broad, chronological account of science, madness, and nihilism in Nietzsche's publications to follow the much more focused discussion from the previous addendum on the madman in Joyous Science 125.  Again, due to the topic, this discussion also supplements the series on Nihilism and Technology.  At issue here is the meaning and history of nihilism for Nietzsche iNietzsche's own various 'histories' of man

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This is my first in a series devoted to the close reading of Nietzsch'es masterpiece 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra.'  Here I introduce the text and provide a number of reasons for why reading it is so crucially important to understanding Nietzsche's understanding of philosophy.  I go through the first section of the Prologue and examine the various images the reader immediately encounters and what they indicate about the teaching Nietzsche is suggesting regarding the history of Western philosophy and religion, particularly Plato and Christianity.

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At issue here is what we do not find in the story of Samson, namely, the relationship between a father and son wherein the son journeys to know his father while making true friendships along the way, manly friendships which could have greatly helped Samson avoid becoming the easy prey to women that was his downfall.  In this first part of a multi-part series on Homer's Odyssey for fathers seeking to share the great books with their sons for the cultivation of excellence of virtue, I discuss everything from (1) the proper understanding of the relationship between man and the divine along with its all-too common tendency toward misunderstanding attendant upon man's hubris, to (2) the proper meaning of education by way of the proper reading of the great books, to (3) the relationship and possibly great tension between the just, the beautiful, and the good in the full life of man as he attempts to pursue not simply any life but the good life.

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Here we continue the reading and discussion of Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra with section two of Part 1 of Zarathustra.  The issue here is twofold.  On the one hand there is the world that Zarathustra left behind when he absconded to the mountain to convalesce.  On the other hand is what has happened in that world during the ten years he has been gone.  Both of these issues speak to the meaning of nihilism as it first comes to sight in Zarathustra, and this means first and foremost the tension between Christianity and nihilism.

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Here I discuss a way in which Aristotle's Poetics can provide an invaluable tool for understanding the role of great literature in our lives.  This is especially important for our project here of fathers sharing great literature with their sons.  Specifically, I discuss the way in which a very important passage from the Poetics is a kind of skeleton key for opening up all great literature in a way that makes it most relevant for our lives.  At issue here is the way in which we understand just how invaluable the role of imagination is for the ethical and political life of man, especially the lives of young boys seeking to grow into good men.

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This is my second discussion on Homer's Odyssey for the Fathers & Sons series.  This discussion consists in showing how an education from reading the Odyssey translates into everything involved in the following constellation of overlapping themes: 

(1) The meaning of justice in the life of man and the divine

(2) The unmanliness of gossip in the becoming of a man from adolescence and, just as importantly, the effeminacy of men regressing into adolescence by trafficking in gossip

(3) The importance of the element of experience for knowledge to properly be called knowledge, with emphasis upon Achilles in Hades

(4) The meaning of "nature" and, in particular, "natural right"

(5) The relevance of poetry for Aristotle as a helpful lens through which to understand the opening scene with Odysseus's son Telemachus

(6) The meaning of the imagery of the bow and the lyre in Homer

(7) The relevance of Glaucon and Socrates from Plato's Republic for understanding Telemachus and Athena in the absence of Odysseus

(8) The meaning of fathers and sons amid nihilism

(9) The meaning of all these things for what we call "life" and "education"

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We begin the first text in the Fathers and Sons series with Samson.  Here I read the entirety of Judges 14-16 and provide extensive commentary on the rich teachings to be found in the text

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Here I speak on the question of why it's so important to read Aristotle and, in particular, his Nicomachean Ethics. In order to emphasize the relevance, I approach reading Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics from its incredibly fascinating relationship to Martin Heidegger's masterpiece Being & Time. This approach has the added benefit of bringing to the foreground of discussion the possibility of ethics and political philosophy within the very controversial subject of Heidegger and politics.

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This is my introductory discussion of Aristotle's Physics for the Technology & Nihilism series on my website (AthensCorner.com).

I introduce the importance of Aristotle's Physics by way of its enormous importance for Martin Heidegger, particularly his claim that Aristotle's Physics constitutes the foundation and wellspring of the entirety of the Western philosophical tradition. 

Through a very meticulous reading of the introductory section of Aristotle's Physics, I emphasize the significance of "nature [phusis]," "logos," and "art [techne]" for the thought of both Aristotle and Heidegger and what we come to know as "science" and "technology."  Along the way, I also discuss the significance of Descartes, Nietzsche, and the appearance of nihilism in Western civilization from the emphatically philosophical concepts at hand which Heidegger understands as the pre-conditions for why an urgent return to the thought of Aristotle is required of us in Postmodernity.

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This is the third in a series of four X/Twitter spaces where I discuss the rise of the Modern university and its relationship to Biblical interpretation.  Here I discuss its origin in biblical interpretation, language leading to “hermeneutics," which then leads to “culture,” ultimately undercutting itself in everything encompassed in the word “worldview — all oriented around the greatest professors of history and philosophy who were attempting to define the purpose of the university.

At issue is the history, philosophy, and legacy of what created and sustained the most influential achievement of education in human history: the Modern research university by way of the rise of “history” and “philology” and their influences on “culture.”  Entailed in this includes, among other things, a meticulous articulation of what— philosophically —is specifically meant by our conceptual phrase “the Modern Enlightenment.”

Further, the combination of this recording along with my previous recordings of (1) "Hermeneutics and Philology," (2) "Intro to Hegel," and the subsequent recording entitled "Reason, Science, Truth, and the Bible" complete the introductory examples of an entire series I will be releasing soon for subscribing customers entitled "The Reception of German Philosophy in America."  In that series, I go into much more extensive depth on all the thinkers and texts mentioned, as well as many more, for my subscribers.