Weltgeist

Stoic philosopher Seneca was notoriously rich. Yet, in his writings, he never has a good word to say about luxury or riches. This tension between word and deed has been noticed even in Seneca's own time, when Martial gave the philosopher the mocking nickname "Seneca Praedives", or "Super-rich Seneca". In this video we explore a few ways to deal with this accusation of hypocrisy. We take a look at Nicholas Nassim Taleb's chapter on Seneca in his landmark work "Antifragile", as well as Seneca's own defense. Of course, there is an overarching question to be answered too - should we even care about hypocrisy in philosophers? Is it ethical to judge their writings by their deeds?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support us & get access to exclusive videos:
▶ https://www.patreon.com/WeltgeistYT

Videos mentioned:
Why Nietzsche Loved the Renaissance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oi4NIYPzmQ

OUR ANALYSES:
▶ Beyond Good and Evil: https://youtu.be/WIHXZUltfqk
▶ The Antichrist: https://youtu.be/qej1Z8Qzq_c
▶ Genealogy of Morals: https://youtu.be/6PUx4cOfFcI
▶ Twilight of the Idols: https://youtu.be/YpVr_NEvWYA
▶ The Will to Power: https://youtu.be/He6ZC7ZFBt8
▶ Daybreak: https://youtu.be/cOL2z7nuXdA
▶ The Joyful Science: https://youtu.be/U0fTBOJ-C_I

In The Antichrist, Nietzsche speaks in raving terms about Cesare Borgia, the infamous Italian Renaissance warlord, ruthless conqueror, and, according to Machiavelli, brilliant strategist.

Nietzsche admired Cesare for his uncompromising morals, his will to power that saw him carve out his own path in life with no regard for conventional morality. Ruthless, ambitious, and living for the here and now, Cesare is mentioned both in The Antichrist as well as Beyond Good and Evil, with rare Nietzschean praise.

He dreams of seeing someone like Cesare Borgia in the papal seat, and in Nietzsche's alternative daydream version of history, that would've spelled the end of Christianity as we know it. A full frontal assault right in the center of the enemy: the most un-Christian man in the most Christian chair.

Instead, the Renaissance was destroyed, and Christianity was saved, by none other than Martin Luther. As Nietzsche quipped, he saved Christianity, and destroyed Europe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support us on Patreon, get access to exclusive videos:
▶ https://www.patreon.com/WeltgeistYT

WATCH:
▶ Ancient Greece Was a Lot More Violent Than You Think. Here’s Why. https://youtu.be/a4cbNXGOa24

OUR ANALYSES:
▶ Beyond Good and Evil: https://youtu.be/WIHXZUltfqk
▶ The Antichrist: https://youtu.be/qej1Z8Qzq_c
▶ Genealogy of Morals: https://youtu.be/6PUx4cOfFcI
▶ Twilight of the Idols: https://youtu.be/YpVr_NEvWYA
▶ The Will to Power: https://youtu.be/He6ZC7ZFBt8
▶ Daybreak: https://youtu.be/cOL2z7nuXdA
▶ The Joyful Science: https://youtu.be/U0fTBOJ-C_I

3D artwork of the shield of Achilles by Petros Haralampides - check out his work!
▶ https://www.artstation.com/petrosharalampides

Music:
"Shadowlands 3 - Machine"
"Oppressive Gloom"
by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WATCH: NIETZSCHE Explained: Beyond Good and Evil (all parts):
https://youtu.be/WIHXZUltfqk

On the Genealogy of Morals is considered by many to be Nietzsche's masterpiece. It certainly is one of the more accessible works, as it (largely) lacks the poetry and allegory of Thus Spoke Zarathustra and is not as aphoristic as Beyond Good and Evil. On the Genealogy of Morals consists of three essays which will be tackled each in their own, separate video. This introductory video aims to provide a solid understanding by first asking the question: "What exactly is Nietzsche's genealogical method?" and situating the relevance of the Genealogy in the bigger Nietzschean corpus (namely: the transvaluation of all values and setting humanity up for a philosophy and morality of the future.)

This is a planned four-part series. If you want to be notified when the other parts are released, please consider subscribing. Leaving comments and liking the video is also greatly appreciated as it helps out the channel a lot.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WATCH: Nietzsche Explained: Beyond Good and Evil (all parts):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIHXZUltfqk

Stoicism is becoming increasingly popular as a philosophy of life in the 21st century. Yet, another popular philosopher, Nietzsche, seems to take a big stand against Stoicism most notably in a famous passage in Beyond Good and Evil. The Stoic is accused of hypocrisy, of arguing in circles, and of denying life itself.

Yet this is not the whole picture. Aside from the famous passage in Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche is more nuanced in other works, most notably The Gay Science (The Joyous Science) and his little-known work Daybreak.

In this video we take a look at Nietzsche's writings on Stoicism. We take a deeper look at a disturbing passage in Epictetus's Enchiridion, and we try to clear the fog a little bit: did Nietzsche hate the Stoics, or not? It will be seen that Nietzsche's view is more nuanced although he does have big problems with the Stoic philosophy.

Would Nietzsche prefer Caesar over Marcus Aurelius? Probably. Did he HATE Marcus Aurelius? Probably not.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support us on Patreon, get access to exclusive videos:
▶ https://www.patreon.com/WeltgeistYT

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction
04:36 The Antichrist
06:46 The Quest for the Historical Jesus
17:23 The Buried Jesus
24:57 The Evasive Jesus
34:02 The traditional view
41:43 Nietzsche’s view

READ: Balthasar Gracian's Pocket Oracle and Art of Worldly Wisdom: https://amzn.to/3CdvRUk

OUR ANALYSES:
▶ Beyond Good and Evil: https://youtu.be/WIHXZUltfqk
▶ The Antichrist: https://youtu.be/qej1Z8Qzq_c
▶ Genealogy of Morals: https://youtu.be/6PUx4cOfFcI
▶ Twilight of the Idols: https://youtu.be/YpVr_NEvWYA
▶ The Will to Power: https://youtu.be/He6ZC7ZFBt8
▶ Daybreak: https://youtu.be/cOL2z7nuXdA
▶ The Joyful Science: https://youtu.be/U0fTBOJ-C_I

Nietzsche's The Antichrist is a provocative book in many ways. Among its many controversial and heretical claims, there is one that stands out: Nietzsche says Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who oversaw the trial of Jesus and his crucifixion, is the only character in the New Testament worthy of honor.

Why is that? Because in Nietzsche's view, he enriched the New Testament "with the only saying that has any value"; his famous question to Jesus: "what is truth?"

For Nietzsche, this sentence is at once the destruction of Christianity. And in light of Nietzsche's later philosophy, it is also an indictment of philosophy itself.

First, Nietzsche has an idiosyncratic view of the person of Jesus and the composition of the Gospels. In short, he believes that much of the Gospels consists of additions and mythologizations by the disciples of Jesus, who, in their quest for revenge against those who crucified their Master, ascribed to Jesus attitudes and ideas that were absent in Jesus himself. Most notably, Jesus never speaks in terms of absolute truth but always exists in the strange space between yes and no, such as when he says to render undo Caesar what is Caesar's. But it's with the Apostles that terms like reward, punishment, saved versus damned, sinfulness versus blessedness... truth versus lie come into the fold. It's Nietzsche's conviction that Jesus never intended to start a religion or to relay dogma, but to bequeath to mankind a new way of life. His disciples however, greatly misunderstood him.

Hence Pilate's question, is at once a kind of pre-emptive destruction of what Christianity became under the influence of the Apostles: a new religion was created, with a set of dogmas to follow. Pilate pre-emptively sowed the seeds of its destruction with his quip, asking would-be Christians "what is truth?"

Second, Nietzsche sees in Pilate a fore-runner for himself. Pilate took a local, historical, political quarrel ("should I sentence this Jesus fellow or not?") and turned it into a philosophical quarrel. What is truth? For Nietzsche, this is a deeply profound statement, as Nietzsche more and more starts to question the value of truth itself, just like Pilate seemed to do 2000 years ago. For Nietzsche, the "will to truth" is the last "prejudice of the philosopher", the last unquestioned presupposition that we all uncritically accept as self-evidently true. It's worthwhile to pursue truth, that's what all philosophy tries to do, after all. But Nietzsche asks: is it really? Why do we prefer truth? Why not rather untruth? In this, he sees a kindred spirit in Pilate, who utters the only "philosophical phrase" in the whole New Testament, and for added dramatic effect, he asks the question to the personification of Truth himself: Jesus Christ.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Try Brilliant's tutor for free: https://brilliant.org/Weltgeist/ . You’ll also get 20% off an annual Premium subscription.

Support us on Patreon, get access to exclusive videos:
▶ https://www.patreon.com/WeltgeistYT
▶ Follow us on X for updates: https://x.com/WeltgeistYT

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction
02:25 Zarathustra’s Context
06:38 The Tropical Monster
18:07 The Hammer and the Sculptor
25:07 The Sipo Matador
34:54 Conclusion

MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO:
▶ Nietzsche's Warning to Scientists: https://youtu.be/Qy8Xof92OYQ
▶ Nietzsche on Cesare Borgia: https://youtu.be/V8PtXOEbnQo

OUR ANALYSES:
▶ Beyond Good and Evil: https://youtu.be/WIHXZUltfqk
▶ The Antichrist: https://youtu.be/qej1Z8Qzq_c
▶ Genealogy of Morals: https://youtu.be/6PUx4cOfFcI
▶ Twilight of the Idols: https://youtu.be/YpVr_NEvWYA
▶ The Will to Power: https://youtu.be/He6ZC7ZFBt8
▶ Daybreak: https://youtu.be/cOL2z7nuXdA
▶ The Joyful Science: https://youtu.be/U0fTBOJ-C_I

A puzzling passage in Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra speaks of the need for mankind to "become more evil." Did Nietzsche write this purely for shock value, or is there more to it? And how do we square this strange demand with Nietzsche's broader philosophical project of going BEYOND good and evil?

We go through three aphorisms from Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil in order to answer these questions. Each illuminates a different aspect of what Nietzsche meant by the word "evil."

First, The Tropical Monster. Nietzsche argues that nature, morality and mankind are fundamentally misunderstood so long as we seek a defectiveness or morbidness in the "tropical growths", in the constitution and lives of so-called great men of action. He singles out Cesare Borgia as the prime example of what in his day was regarded as an evil man, possibly alluding to Jacob Burckhardt and his influential Civilization of Renaissance Italy, where the historian highlights the cruelty of Cesare's methods, cruelty that far exceeded the degree necessary for the achievement of his aims. Rather than viewing good/evil in a simple dichotomy, where the presence of one necessitates the absence of another, Nietzsche argues for a view where good and evil go together, as in the final analysis they are both about capability and power. Cesare Borgia is a "tropical growth", a force of nature. Those historians and contemporaries who call Cesare a monster, Nietzsche argues, are in favor of the "temperate zones" - in favor of mediocrity. Morals as timidity.

Second, the Hammer and Sculptor. The human being, for Nietzsche, is a conglomeration of different instincts and drives, always seeking their own expression. Becoming more evil (cruel) also implies being cruel towards your own lesser instincts, like how a sculptor fashions a statue from marble. Only in mankind's case, we are both marble and sculptor. We must sculpt away at our lesser instincts and seek to overcome them.

Third, tying both visions together, is the metaphor of the Sipo Matador, a strangler fig. A plant that grows by wrapping around a tree, climbing upwards, and using its host for support. Nietzsche urges his reader to confront the "hard truth" about the origin of so-called noble societies, saying that any aristocratic class has depended for its own sake upon the labor and existence of lower classes. Rather than talking about economics he analyses these societies psychologically; where the emergence of an aristocratic class necessitated a psychological mindset of those would-be nobles, the so-called pathos of distance, the ability and self-confidence to issue commands and wield power. Cultivating this type of power, from the outside looking in, will inevitable look cruel or evil, but if human society is to flourish, like the blooming flower of the Sipo Matador, such a mindset will be necessary.

Finally, all of this ties into Nietzsche's broader project of confronting ex

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support us on Patreon, get access to exclusive videos:
▶ https://www.patreon.com/WeltgeistYT

WATCH:
▶ Why Nietzsche Hated Socrates: https://youtu.be/DM78nStythg

OUR ANALYSES:
▶ Beyond Good and Evil: https://youtu.be/WIHXZUltfqk
▶ The Antichrist: https://youtu.be/qej1Z8Qzq_c
▶ Genealogy of Morals: https://youtu.be/6PUx4cOfFcI
▶ Twilight of the Idols: https://youtu.be/YpVr_NEvWYA
▶ The Will to Power: https://youtu.be/He6ZC7ZFBt8
▶ Daybreak: https://youtu.be/cOL2z7nuXdA
▶ The Joyful Science: https://youtu.be/U0fTBOJ-C_I

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support us on Patreon, get access to exclusive videos:
▶ https://www.patreon.com/WeltgeistYT

READ: Balthasar Gracian's Pocket Oracle and Art of Worldly Wisdom: https://amzn.to/3CdvRUk

OUR ANALYSES:
▶ Beyond Good and Evil: https://youtu.be/WIHXZUltfqk
▶ The Antichrist: https://youtu.be/qej1Z8Qzq_c
▶ Genealogy of Morals: https://youtu.be/6PUx4cOfFcI
▶ Twilight of the Idols: https://youtu.be/YpVr_NEvWYA
▶ The Will to Power: https://youtu.be/He6ZC7ZFBt8
▶ Daybreak: https://youtu.be/cOL2z7nuXdA
▶ The Joyful Science: https://youtu.be/U0fTBOJ-C_I

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To try everything Brilliant has to offer—free—for a full 30 days, visit https://brilliant.org/Weltgeist/ . You’ll also get 20% off an annual premium subscription.

Support us on Patreon, get access to exclusive videos:
▶ https://www.patreon.com/WeltgeistYT

OUR ANALYSES:
▶ Beyond Good and Evil: https://youtu.be/WIHXZUltfqk
▶ The Antichrist: https://youtu.be/qej1Z8Qzq_c
▶ Genealogy of Morals: https://youtu.be/6PUx4cOfFcI
▶ Twilight of the Idols: https://youtu.be/YpVr_NEvWYA
▶ The Will to Power: https://youtu.be/He6ZC7ZFBt8
▶ Daybreak: https://youtu.be/cOL2z7nuXdA
▶ The Joyful Science: https://youtu.be/U0fTBOJ-C_I

Nietzsche: Why Complaining is for Weak People

Suffering and Human Nature:
* Nietzsche acknowledges the ubiquity of suffering in human life, a theme central to many philosophical and religious doctrines. He critiques how different worldviews interpret suffering — from Christianity's promise of an afterlife for salvation to the pessimistic views of philosophers who see life as fundamentally negative.

The Strong vs. The Weak:
* For Nietzsche, the strong see suffering as a challenge to be overcome, a test of their will. They affirm life, embracing both joy and pain as part of existence. Conversely, the weak succumb to suffering, often by complaining or seeking solace in narratives that justify or blame external factors for their plight.

Resentment and Complaining:
* Nietzsche introduces the concept of "resentment" (or ressentiment), where the weak, unable to change their circumstances, resort to complaining as a form of imaginary revenge. This act of complaining provides a temporary sense of power, alleviating but not solving the underlying issues. He specifically critiques Christians and anarchists, seeing their ideals of equality as masks for this resentment.

Psychological Analysis:
* He argues that the weak invent value systems (like religious doctrines or social equality ideals) to cope with their powerlessness. These systems often preach equality not out of genuine belief in justice but as a way to level the playing field by pulling down the strong. This is a form of psychological self-deception, where the weak pretend to desire equality while secretly wishing to possess the power they criticize.

Life Affirmation vs. Complaint:
* Nietzsche contrasts complaining with his ideal of life-affirmation. He introduces the thought experiment of eternal recurrence from "The Joyful Science," where one must imagine living every moment of life, including its suffering, over and over. Affirming life in this context means loving every aspect, even the suffering, which requires immense psychological strength — an attribute of his concept of the Übermensch (Overman).

Conclusion:
* Nietzsche's philosophy suggests that complaining does not solve problems but rather reveals one's inability or unwillingness to face life's challenges head-on. Instead, he advocates for an active overcoming of obstacles, embracing life's hardships with a "Yes" to existence in all its forms, which he sees as the path to true power and self-mastery. This perspective is intended to push individuals towards a higher form of living, where one does not merely endure life but celebrates it.

In essence, Nietzsche's critique of complaining is not just about stopping the act but about transforming one's approach to life, from one of passive acceptance or resentment to active engagement and affirmation.

This video was sponsored by Brilliant.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices