Our culture is sick. Here's why.

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In The Genealogy of Morals, Nietzsche spends the entire final third of the book answering a single question: what is the meaning of ascetic ideals?

The ascetic ideal in Nietzsche's philosophy is the form that nihilism takes, it is that which promotes a movement away from the world, from the body, from the flesh, from our humanity. He sees this principle at work in every realm of human endeavor, from art to religion to philosophy and even modern science.

In this video we provide an overview of how the ascetic ideal - nihilism - finds its way into the artistic world through Wagner's Parsifal, into the religious domain through Christianity, in philosophy with Schopenhauer, and finally how even modern science, through Darwin and Copernicus and the like, provides a feeding ground for nihilism.

[Jack-lgn]

Imagine fighting against Nihillism youre entire live just to be called "Nihillistic"

[spambot_gpt]

If people don't have a useful fight to fight, they will fight themselves.

This really gives clarify to current politics.

[zaedrah]

“Our culture is sick. This video is brought to you by square space.” Lmfao

[konberner]

Has taken 4 decades to find someone who not only understands Nietzsche, but is able to convey key points. Well done!

[ericknudten]

Ive read Nietzsche for over 30 years and this is a great summary of his whole philosophy. The Madman aphorism in the Gay Science has always been something I return to again and again. The United States is pretty much ground zero for everything that he warned about.

[Walter-gibz]

Scientist here. I believe I can speak for many of my colleagues when I say: we are not seeking the truth. This is a common misconception. We are seeking to understand nature. In my opinion, Bertold Brecht described it best: “The aim of science is not to open the door to infinite wisdom, but to set a limit to infinite error”.

[rumplstiltztinkerstein]

Buddhism cooked so much back then. A lot of what is discussed here can be summarized by humanity's endless search for the very source of their own suffering.

[scaringclaring]

Well in paleolithic times, fasting would have been inherent to living and therefore not required as an imposed ritual.

[darthdiabetes]

i find it odd that nietsche was so anti substance use (alcohol, narcotics etc) but is so pro dionisian

[ciucinciu]

i feel like Nietzsche would understand the Percival situation if he hadn't been a virgin simp all his life. Yes, sex and instinctual behavior is very life affirming, but that can easily take everyone s life in a dark and destructive zone. Ask any sex addict or people who only sleep around how meaningful is their behavior. And you won t have to look for long for people with lives ruined by decadent lifestyles, be it from unprotected sex, or protected but emotionally detached sex. Nietzsche simply couldn't comprehend how destructive sex and fun can be, because he probably never had any. While Wagner most likely understood that since he was basically a Rockstar (i don't know if he fucked around with his fans, i bet he did but it's just reasonable speculation) and probably came to realize, to some degree or merely unconsciously, that too much of a good thing, like sex, desire and intense passion, can be detrimental to one's life.

[miophx]

Did i miss the conclusion of why our culture is sick?

[Meggey]

Humans have the special ability to stop and admire a sunset with colors blending and bursting into every single visible piece of the sky. Followed by the moon and the stars and the shooting stars. We get the best of it we get to experience art and music and to have a separate world that we can go to just by deciding to. We are so fortunate to have an emotional connections, mixed with opinions, and we get the chance to see something positive about each other instead of dog passive behavior or seeing the other people as a potential meal for later.

[niccoloflorence]

John Mearsheimer has made the point that Europe is a great museum; and I think his analysis is correct: the nihilistic wave has already destroyed what was once the land that believed one can know God through self-perfection.

[ideologybot]

I'm actually kind of moderate on the question of the aecetic versus the embraced desire for power and unrestrained self that Nietzsche characterizes as his good. That really can go too far, and some restraint, self-discipline, ethical boundaries, and so forth are necessary to live in human society and maintain trust. Nor do I buy Nietzsche's belief that people eat themselves to balance the scales that human and animal sacrifice once balanced. People are opportunists first.

But we are absolutely going too far with the Judeo-Christian concept of innocence, and we desperately need another meta-ethical change in this culture. A little bit back towards hierarchy and master morality, a little more shame in one's own helplessness, a little more encouragement to be stronger and refuse self-pity. I don't know exactly how to rationalize it with the people, or hold them accountable to it - religion really is over, spilled milk - but I know civilization will not withstand a culture of people who weaponize empathy and draw self-righteous anger for feeling that everything is others' fault. There are some really decayed core ideals in the West that are rotting us from the inside, and if we don't fix them over the next couple of generations, we're done.

On the boundary between sciences and humanities, this all comes together in economics, sociology, and psychology. When you start to believe that you can medicate happiness, or that our middle class, bourgeoisie way of life is normal and you can categorize disorders based on that as your foundation, you objectify the subjective and the complexity becomes overwhelming. You use science to, in strictly humanist and utilitarian terms, create what we know to be good, create welfare and love as a lifestyle phenomenon that we can measure. That's our meager hoard of truth, a materialist reduction. As an approach, the project has clearly failed, but we are desperately trying to salvage what we can from it and a lot of our political and cultural malaise comes from refusing to accept that we can't use an algorithm or productivity numbers to overcome our self-awareness. Hell of a time to be alive... but it has been for centuries, right?

Great video, as always. It feels like a culmination of something you want to say, and I understand and appreciate it.

[robertabrahamsen]

I'm only 13:30 minutes in so far, so forgive me if this comes up again later.... Chastity as a virtue or aspirational social ideal long predates Christianity in the pagan world. It's embodied in virginal goddesses like Athena and Artemis, and in organizations such as the Vestal Virgins of Rome. Family limitation--that is, inhibitions to procreation--have been recorded in primitive societies, such as the Inuit, and was also practiced by Greeks (esp. the Spartans) and Romans. If these practices are nihilistic, then nihilism precedes Christianity in history, probably by many millennia.

[goobytron]

I teach middle school. There isn’t much hope on the horizon.

[TuxedoTalk]

I was at the park the other day and someone wrote "fuck bitches. Get money" on the pavilion. This sage took four words to summarize will to power.

[oiausdlkasuldhflaksjdhoiausydo]

oh man, I can't wait for your Zarathustra summary. Your videos are incredible. Thank you so much!!

[ozpiroglu]

After seeing the thumbnail I was expecting a 40 min Bad to the Bone meme montage

Not disappointed though

[NihilRuina]

This whole suppression of violent impulse in favor of civil cooperation makes sense when you look at personality. Specifically trait agreeableness, which includes cooperation as a part of its structure. For a while now I've speculated that we are experiencing a rise in agreeableness and the demonization of disagreeableness. We are faced to argue against compassion; and believe me, compassion when unchecked by reason is absolutely catastrophic. Corrolated with compassion, or trait agreeableness, is naivety. The lack of skepticism. The proclivity to take things at face value. Naivety aids the compassionate person by not having them coming off at judgemental, cold, or critical when attempting to be there for someone in need of comfort like a more disagreeable, skeptical, person would. However, it also creates a huge blind spot. Leaving them vulnerable to manipulation. Especially emotional. Like how a baby manipulates its mother that gets the baby what it wants but doesn't necessarily mean that it is good for the baby. The best example of this publically seen is the transgender movement. The left, being more agreeable, welcomes them with open arms without question. The right, stops them and demands we take a moment to think about this before taking any action. The left blames the right of being transphobic or bigoted, and the right blames the left of being dumb or insane. When the reality is simply a difference of perception at the level of personality. Trait agreeableness.