Spinoza: Nietzsche’s Precursor (The Nietzsche Podcast #83)

#nietzsche #philosophypodcast #thenietzschepodcast #history #philosophy #historyofphilosophy #spinoza #pantheism #atheism #freewill #determinism

In the tradition of the great theistic philosophers, Baruch Spinoza presents us with a metaphysical vision of the cosmos, as ordered by God. But in sharp contrast with thinkers such as Pascal, Spinoza's arguments for God are crafted with an attempt of logical precision. In fact, Spinoza structures his arguments as geometric proofs, and considers the only serious philosophy to be a truly mathematized philosophy. In his Ethics, Spinoza gives us a comprehensive system that describes God, Nature, everything.
Nietzsche says of Spinoza, "I have a precursor! And what a precursor!" While he was critical of Spinoza, Nietzsche acknowledged the ideas of Spinoza as profoundly influential on his thought. And yet, Spinoza's work remains famously difficult. Where he fits in to the Western philosophical canon is not readily apparent. Rarely is he portrayed as a great opponent of any one philosopher or school, and it seems that he lacks true antipodes. He is grouped among the three great rationalists, along with Descartes and Leibniz - even though these three come to radically different metaphysical conclusions, and bear little resemblance to one another aside from this one classification of their epistemological stance. And since Spinoza's philosophy is so voluminous, its ideas interrelated and comprehensive, approaching Spinoza and having some idea of where he stands within the discourse is difficult for the average reader. In this episode, we'll consider Spinoza's life and work, and then consider the ways in which his life parallels Nietzsche, and the ways in which his life influenced Nietzsche.

Episode Art: Samuel Hirszenberg - Excommunicated Spinoza

[claironaut]

Man, I don't even attempt to watch other channels for interpretations on Nietzche and other philosophers, it's just not needed with how brilliantly you explain things. I am very grateful.

[lewisalmeida]

Spinoza has given me a life of happiness and peace. I have learned his method of improving my ‘UNDERSTADING.” The “UNDERSTANDING, ” is an awakened state of being and is crucial to comprehend his Ethics. His Ethics is more than an intellectual debate but a way to live and be free from one’s childhood traumas and adult fears. Gaining courage, being authentic, honest, having clarity of mind, and living from one’s higher intelligence.

[ottolehto]

Excellent episode! Spinoza and Nietzsche are among my favorite philosophers. You managed to elucidate their relationship in a clear and informative way. One major misreading of Spinoza is the failure of Nietsche to acknowledge that Spinoza's Will has an active and indeed transformative component. The striving to persevere includes the striving to actively increase one's power. Book 5 of the Ethics can therefore be read as a proto-transhumanist tract that urges people to modify their bodies and minds in order to live better.

[Souljahna]

Beautifully written and narrated. I've loved Spinoza since reading him for the first time at 14, (what a struggle). Although I undoubtedly did not understand the full implications of his philosophy until more mature readings, nevertheless, at that time I still found in him a comfort and a guide to my understanding of life and the universe. The comparison with Nietzsche and others helped tremendously in the clarification of certain concepts and painted a satisfying portrait of his relationship to other thinkers of the time. Thank you!

[rodhathhorn]

I must thank you for these episodes. I hadn't read these texts in 40 years and you bring them to life. Grateful for your work & insight.

[markoslavicek]

Very nicely summarised and elaborated, especially the later part with Nietzsche's critique of Spinoza. I do have a remark though, in regard to the statement that there aren't really philosophers for whom Spinoza is the primary influence - I think Deleuze qualifies for this category and I cannot come up with a figure who made a stronger impression on him than Spinoza (Nietzsche, Bergson, and Leibniz included).

[JessicaCooper-mi]

This is a great lecture. Thank you for your insights on, Spinoza.

[michaelflynn]

Fantastic episode!! Your knowledge of Spinoza has helped me better understand his philosophy, I still have work to do.

[txikitofandango]

Maybe the best critique of Spinoza is to doubt the ontological completeness of reality. To call into question whether the word "everything" has a referent

[yeyohuevonhassassin]

This podcast is awesome, for philosophy channels I always go to Michael Sugrue, Nietzche podcast, Weltgeist and other latino channels since I am Puerto Rican and see a lot of mexican youtubers that love philosophy too.

[THEMOSTGODLESSGGR]

39:40
I like THAT god, the one that is the SUBSTANCE of reality, depends on nothing and it is everything.  It is the most logical description of a god of the Bible.

I like that description of a god, even though I am a non believer.

[staxstirner]

6:00 I would like to see you discuss the possible influences of Stirner on Nietzsche

[berizont]

Nice, thanks! Gonna enjoy this one.
I'd appreciate an episode on Georges Bataille's reading of Nietzsche! And Foucault, while we're on it.

E: sade would be interesting too

[mohamedmilad]

Same views as earlier mystic Sufi from Murcia in Spain. Ibn Arabi wrote about unity of being but I believe he put god outside that but the mystic Ibn Sab’in put god inside the universe… most likely influenced by Murcia school of Sufism.

[blueoak]

Brilliant analysis. Best explanation of Spinoza and the most rational appreciation of nature.

[faiz.shaikh]

Any plans on making an episode on Dostoevsky?

[myshadow]

I have been subscribed to your channel for a while now and have derived a great deal of personal motivations and introspection from your channel. I have only read two books from Nietzsche The Geneology of Morals and Beyond Good and Evil. So i wouldn't exactly call myself a Nietzsche buff nor a philosophy buff. But out of all the philosophers i have been exposed to, there is something about Nietsche's ideas that seem awe inspiring in the sea of philosophy which is mostly arguing for one's own perspective or ethics. Not that Nietzsche doesn't do that but there seems like a greater goal beyond our reach in his ideas.

So to come to the point. I have recently started using your videos to research Nietzsche a lot for my own content(which isnt philosophy but rather anime haha) but watching an hour long podcast without subsections on the video timeline really takes away from the researching when lets say I'm trying to correlate anime or modern media with philosophy. Where for the most part a brief 10-20 minute video essays on key ideas would provide much more value and i believe many others would share this sentiment. I understand that you want to clear up a lot of misconceptions in people's perceptions from his writings by breaking it down in depth. But to reach a greater audience with this gospel, i do believe content that are more shorter in format would yeild more followers to the religion. Which then would later translate into people who are interested in knowing these ideas in depth. And i would not trust anyone else on this platform to do something like that more so than you. I just had that on my mind and wanted to let you know. Just food for thought you know.

[sudhirpatel]

Nature goes on forever for everyone and everything to return as everyone and everything an infinite number of times through evolutionary processes. 🌌

[johng]

Everything is necessary => no praise, no blame

[zerotwo]

17:09 oh, Now I understand horizon zero dawn outcast law.