Been looking at Nietzsche (1844-1900), digging into his life. (He was born in October.) Finding lots of interesting stuff there. Not only did he say many thought-provoking things, but he was also a fascinating character (.. if not a bit of an @sshole). Remarkably perceptive.
His quotes are more easily weaponized than those of most other philosophers.
I'm considering doing a Rad bit on him .. trying to figure out how to keep it short-n-sweet. (The bit I did on Che grew rather long.) Nietzsche short & sweet .. could be a challenge.
Reading Nietzsche makes my brain/mind feel like it did on Calculus (.. fit, trim, strong, surplus of intellectual energy) which is probably the most finely tuned it has ever been.
Does this suggest that Nietzsche (& his ideas) employ a larger portion of your brain than normal?
If not careful here I could easily slip into Nietzsche-mode and get carried away. But Nietzsche deserves a well-planned entry.
It will be fun. Nietzsche is a trip. I like to play Freud and try to figure out what makes a person tick (.. even if I'm totally wrong) .. what motivates a person to do & say the things they do.
Tell me about your childhood, Friedrich. Was it happy?
Nietzsche is intellectually stimulating. He has a sense of humor and is not afraid to offend. That's sorta the price you pay to do Nietzsche.
Controversy surrounding his ideas .. cuz he said many controversial things. He had a nervous breakdown and was basically toast his last 10 years, so some feel he was always a bit of a lunatic.
The dividing line on opinions about Nietzsche, I feel, falls along whether or not a particular reader takes offense to his ideas. I mean, cuz he can pretty offensive.
But there's no denying he was remarkably perceptive & insightful, and dedicated to things like truth & knowledge .. to a ruthlessly admirable degree. [ He begins BG&E with 'truth'. ]
••• today's entry continues here below •••
Nietzsche was only 24 when he became a professor. To this day, he is still among the youngest of the tenured Classics professors on record. So there were obviously people impresed with him early on. He wasn't always crazy (.. which some imply).
But yes, he does say some wild, crazy-sounding stuff. Everything he wrote by age 44 or 45, so you can find youthful vigor in his writings & ideas. I wouldn't call him 'conservative'.
If you're a member at the Rad Forums, you'll note that (Nietzsche's) 'Übermensch' is one of the highest ranking member categories, right below 'Demigod'. [ Those are fun to make up. See the bottom-right part of the page, beginning with 'N00b'. ]
Best thing about Nietzsche is that he bases his positions on experience, rather than theory.
If you've been radiified any length of time, you know how I value firsthand experience. Learn by doing. Practical experience always trumps theorectical concepts.
I get the impression he's a real thinker. That he does it naturally. That he doesn't need to try. That he can't turn it off .. which might be why he went crazy. (Or maybe it was syphilis.)
He was playing with some potent ideas. It's not totally surprising that he went nuts. In a way, you might even use this fact as a way of validating his ideas. But I need to explain that .. later.
I am reading Beyond Good & Evil, a book I was assigned in college (for Philosophy 101), but never read. It's subtitled » Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future, which is actually a more descriptive title.
The main title gives some people trouble .. as does his declaration that » God is dead. Nothing subtle about that. Tho I didn't read the introduction cuz I didn't want to prejudice my opinions.
Nietzsche's father was a Lutheran pastor, as was his father before him. So it's surprising that Nietzsche is most famous for taking issue with (attacking) the Christian model of morality (.. which he calls a slave mentality). Consequently I feel a little naughty reading Nietzsche.
Who me? No, I wasn't actually reading, Mother Superior. I was just, uh .. looking at the pictures.
Do you recall that old Seal song? .. with lyrics that say » We're never gonna survive unless we get a little .. crazy.
Nietzsche would qualify there.
All FN's online works posted » here.
» Yoga
I started doing YOGA last week. (Ouch.) If you are stiff, yoga is hard, If you are very stiff, yoga is very hard.
I hate Down Dog. My version is more like » Grunting Gorilla.
Can't figure out why my biceps are so sore, cuz I don't recall any asanas that target them.
Powerful stuff, yoga .. and not just physically. Can be emotional. (Ooh, where did *that* come from?
) Interesting how long-lost memories are free to wander the corridors of your mind when you're busy stretched like a pretzel. Thought I had that dude locked away in a closet.
Yoga can also be both spiritual & unifying (.. unifying or synchronizing » body, mind, spirit with breath). Anything that lasts 5 thousand years is impressive.
During the warm-up phase, where they have you connect with your breath .. I sometimes get so relaxed that I no longer feel like working out. Makes me feel like lying down & napping.
Began my program on the hottest day here - ever. If I was gonna wuss out, that woulda been a great excuse. Withering heat. Welcome to autumn in SoCal.
Nietzsche for the head. Yoga for the body. Strong medicine.
