Life is NOT an Illusion, Nietzsche, and Here's Why... w/ Dr. Joseph Trabbic

In this clip, Matt and Dr. Trabbic talk about Nietsche's view of "being" and how it's an empty concept.

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[joeypuvel]

Matt, have you ever heard of Dr. Alasdair Macintyr? He he’s an Aristotelian and had a conversion from what I take it. His famous work “After Virtue” speaks to this conversion which heavily involves Aquinas.

This book helped my brother in law (a brilliant guy) convert from atheism to Catholicism. I have a feeling you would be interested in having him on the show.

[tomprovoenzano]

To paraphrase Mike Tyson: everybody thinks reality is an illusion until they get punched in the face.

[garygrant]

Solipsism and An Illusory existence is very common in New Age Teachings. The Course in Miracles is heavily based in Solipsism… and nihilism and narcissism.

[MaterDolorumOraProNobis]

My brain tends toward existentialism and nihilism. When I read Nietzsche I am compelled to think similarly. However, I have this not-simple-problem where I have had a mystical experience in which God has spoken directly to my spirit. I didn’t hear and audible voice but rather God seemed to “speak” to my consciousness and I felt as though I was given a glimpse of the beatific vision. It was indescribable and I cannot explain it away through scientific means. I believe it was Christ, the Logos. I was forced to convert at that point but it doesn’t mean I still am not tempted by nihilism and the concept of the übermensch. I think there is something of a battle of ego involved in this concept. To think that existent precedes essence and I must overcome my nihilism and create my own “meaning” has failed in my opinion and is vanity.

[rudya.hernandez]

kinda weird opening a can of 'liquid death' at the end there. just saying. thanks Matt.

[rolandovelasquez]

Sadly, Nietzsche, at the end of his life, was stark raving mad. Totally bonkers. "A tree is known by its fruit."

[kafeltz]

Can I add a Portuguese translation for this video? I couldn't find the option to do it, so I guess the owner must enable it. Right?

[LostArchivist]

Revised to make it clear I am not against philosophy or intellectualism.

There is a poison of doubt in modern philosophy that stems from corrosion that formed by making human reason the sole and ultimate arbiter of all, even of the divineness of divinity and itself. I do not mean philosophy is bad obviously it is not, but there is a strain of skepticism that break our understanding of reality. Nihilism, moral relativism, atheism, solipsism, volunterism etc. These are largely the product of as I said, making sheer human reason the sole arbiter and judge of all, even God and itself.

Without solid ground, life is pillars of sand. Reason is good but it is not meant to work alone and some ultimate truths require faith in higher things than us. Refusal to trust is the issue here.

We can not go it alone. We can not be gods, our souls and our minds are not made for that. I think there was a reason many ancient cultures made atheism a capital offense, not merely as superstition but because deep down our souls knew the consequences of a vacant throne, something will always take its place, or without a king, the entire kingdom crumbles. Of course these societies also were more brutal and familiar with death than we are, so thank God we do not see a need to proceed this was now. Eliminating everything that is properly higher than us, we find none left is worthy to wear the crown. We rejected the True King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So our kingless kingdom crumbles under the weight of its hubris.

As a further matter of disclaimer I do not believe we ought to bring this practice regarding atheists back, just that we have gotten ourselves into very hot water trying to experiment with being our own bosses. Needless to say, if there is a Creator Who did not make us to be on our own, it is no surprise we are crumbling under our own management due to our finitude, fallibility, and myopia, bias, and wickedness.

We are not meant to be unquestioning automatons or merely instinctual animals, nor angels of pure intellect, nor God Who rules from the Highest Heaven. We are human for all the ups and downs of that.

[kravitzn]

You should do a response video to Nietzsche's Antichrist. Has no one read this book?

[mariog]

Nietzsche actually doesn’t like Kant. Nietzsche is part of what is called “the hermeneutics of suspicion”. He believes that appearances are deceiving. And so we must break through and realize that everything is will-to-power.

[caleb.lindsay]

I miss your beard. and my face misses mine. let's go back to them.

[OpEditorial]

It's a philosophy that invariably comes from men who've never done a hard day's work in their lives.

[snappycenter]

Nietzsche's views changed from book to book, it's surprising he has followers. His understanding of human psychology was good, but his understanding of faith, God and spirituality was woeful.

[etincardiaego]

Kant did not reject the idea of the thing in itself. Nietzsche rejected metaphysics. I think that he was right in that, with modern views of logic and epistemology, no metaphysics are sound

[talionthe.ranger]

If only Nietzsche was alive and could actually defend his points....honestly I think he is a pretty good thinker.

[markpatterson]

There are real objects we sense, ie, objective reality. Our sensory perceptions are a reflection not a projection of the objects we perceive. Our sensory perceptions must be relatively accurate when they demonstrate to be functional. Afterall, a team of NASA aeronautical engineers can predict the location of a moon of Jupiter and send a satellite to revolve around it, and send pictures of it back to them.

It is when we impose our emotional dispositions onto our perceptions, and add our subjective feelings, judgements, and concepts that our more objective sensory perceptions get distorted. The closer our perceptions are to the object of our perception, the more objective they are. The more we embellish our perceptions by our emotions and judgements, the further away they are from the object of perception, and the more subjective they become.

[rumrunner]

Lord Buddha told this parable: *a prince was walking in his garden when an assassin shot him with a poison arrow and ran* *off before the guards could catch him. The prince fell ill, but fortunately for him a doctor was nearby. The doctor was called* *to the prince's side and sure enough, he could heal the prince. But the prince pushed the doctor away and said "before you* *heal me I want to know the name of the assassin, why he attacked me, what poison was used and who sold the assassin* *the poison." The doctor's jaw fell to the floor. He said "my prince, are you out of your mind? By the time we figure all that* *out you will be dead. I can ease your suffering now, the rest is pointless."*
He saw the pointlessness of questioning the origin of our suffering. If life is an illusion, the illusion sucks because we suffer within it. Whatever the origin of the reality our species finds itself is, it does not matter. All that matters is that sentient beings suffer and we should focus on ending our suffering and the suffering of all sentient beings. Whether we're in the Matrix or our lives are a crappy reality show for some interdimensional couch potatoes, it makes no difference.