Beyond Good and Evil #14: The Essence of Life (IX.257 - IX.267) 

00:00 📚 The final chapter of "Beyond Good and Evil" by Nietzsche, titled "What is Noble," explores the concepts of order of rank, pathos of distance, and the origins of civilization and morality. 01:38 🏛 Nietzsche emphasizes the importance of an order of rank and the pathos of distance in society, suggesting that hierarchies and differences in value between individuals are essential for human civilization. 09:48 🌍 Nietzsche presents a challenging truth: Civilization often emerges from conquest and domination by "barbarian" societies over weaker ones, with the noble cast being the conquering force, primarily defined by their strength of soul. 21:32 🌱 The concept of the "sepo Matador," a vine in the Brazilian rainforest, illustrates the struggle for resources, particularly sunlight, as an example of competition and hierarchy in nature. 23:08 🌱 The SEO Matador plant in the rainforest exemplifies the will to power in nature, prioritizing its own propagation over the life of a towering tree. 25:11 🌳 Nietzsche uses the SEO Matador as a metaphor for the aristocracy, highlighting the hierarchical order of rank and the idea that society exists to support a higher type of being. 26:51 💡 Nietzsche critiques the idea of wealth redistribution and social safety nets, emphasizing the belief that true genius should not be forced into labor and that division of labor is based on hierarchical thinking. 29:26 🔄 Nietzsche discusses the decline of society when the ruling class loses faith in its role as the foundation for society, leading to corruption and a breakdown of hierarchy. 30:19 🤝 Nietzsche explores the concept of good manners among equals and how it contrasts with the will to power, highlighting the irreducible individuality and differences between beings. 35:42 🔄 Nietzsche asserts that exploitation is an inherent aspect of life and a basic organic function, challenging the modern idea of removing exploitation from society. 38:56 🌍 Nietzsche criticizes the modern tendency to deny the brutal nature of life and the pursuit of a utopian society devoid of organic functions and exploitation. 40:17 ⚖ Nietzsche introduces the concepts of master and slave morality, highlighting the origins of moral ideas and the difference between affirming strength and reacting from weakness. 44:51 ⚖ Nietzsche explains how both master and slave moralities can coexist within individuals, influencing modern morality, and acknowledging the enduring influence of the master morality even in contemporary society. 45:57 🧐 Nietzsche sees an inner conflict within himself and believes that master and slave morality exist in every heart, with slave morality predominating in modern language. 47:20 🗣 Compassion and generosity are not inherently slavish traits, but they emerge differently in master morality where actions align with personal desires. 49:08 💡 Nietzsche connects the essence of life to the concept of "Will to Power," highlighting the spontaneous nature of stimulus and response in human behavior. 51:14 🤝 Nietzsche contrasts the values associated with slave morality (seeking external validation) with those of master morality (self-affirmation and self-valuation). 56:31 🪞 Vanity, as Nietzsche describes it, arises from an older instinct of submission and dependence on others' opinions and judgments. 01:02:04 🔄 Nietzsche sees the intermarriage of masters and slaves in democratic societies as potentially spreading the noble urge for self-valuation, but vanity remains a throwback to slave-like tendencies. 01:06:43 🌱 Nietzsche emphasizes that hardship and adversity strengthen species and life forms, while abundance and protection lead to variations, marvels, and monstrosities. 01:08:55 🏞 Nietzsche emphasizes that human strength and adaptability are products of the evolutionary battlefield of nature. 01:10:07 🏛 Aristocratic societies, like ancient Greek polis or Venice, prioritize breeding for the preservation of their species through virtues cultivated by hardship and discipline. 01:20:08 🔄 Civilization reaches a turning point when conditions become more favorable, leading to the proliferation of new ideas, growth, and decay. The individual begins to assert self-laws. 01:22:23 🌟 In times of decay, the mediocre become the dominant type, and mediocrity becomes the prevailing morality. 01:23:06 🏹 Morality is like a tension in the bow of the soul, creating the potential for great achievement and growth, but it can also limit human potential. 01:26:48 🔄 Nietzsche suggests that the uniqueness and distinctiveness of cultures are often lost over time, leaving only a mediocre type to continue the species. 01:30:50 🧠 Nietzsche views morality as a tool of the will to power, emphasizing that danger is the mother of morals and necessity drives the creation of moral values. 01:33:25 🏛 Nietzsche explores the instinct for rank as a sign of high rank, highlighting the nuances of reverence and the significance of maintaining reverence for sacred things. 01:43:05 🧬 Nietzsche discusses the heredity of acquired characteristics and the influence of ancestral qualities on an individual's body and soul. 01:51:51 🎓 Nietzsche criticizes the popular education and culture of his time, suggesting that they aim to deceive about one's origins and inherited traits, promoting a plebeian mindset. 01:52:17 🧠 Nietzsche criticizes popular education as a form of self-deception, promoting moral ideas about society. 01:53:26 💪 Nietzsche describes the egoism of a noble soul, believing that others should be subordinate by nature and sacrifice themselves, seeing it as Justice itself. 01:54:47 🎁 Noble souls engage in acts of generosity and repayment as part of their passionate instinct. 01:59:16 🧐 Nietzsche values those who do not seek themselves, emphasizing knowing who you are rather than searching for your true self. 02:01:29 😔 Nietzsche critiques modern civilizations for promoting mediocrity and making one's heart and ambition small, contrasting this with the ancient Greek perspective.

Essence of life is to headbang away the Forms of the Platonic and become a Lover of Fate

Over the past 7 days, i have listened to about 20 hours of this guy's channel... Everyday I listen to about 3 hours of him'

Thank you so very much for what you do.

Well done

Oops! So sorry that I kept forgetting to “like” your videos. Great work analyzing the greatest philosopher.

Great stuff 🎉

Top notch!

The problems with rank ordering people are that their value to others, to society, to themselves change over time, that the valuable person must be picked out of his or her group effectively and realistically, we have trouble doing this. Consider the dreaded 21st century isms, racism, sexism, etc. That the group as such cannot in any sense be valued accurately over another group. Groups being far too varied within. That's three. There's got to be a whole lot more problems with rank ordering. For example, the fluidity of what passes for class structure in America struck European visitors forcibly in the 19th and 20th centuries, they even accused America of being an anarchy. I conclude from this that Nietzsche was far more European and German than he would've ever fessed up to.

Great explanation

There are many many more parasitic plants in the amazon. some you cannot remove from the host or both die, you can't even save them depending on the infestation. The Cipó becomes the supporting structure, not the tree. I also wanted to save the tree. Other parasites will stay for years. I guess in english you would call it 'ivy' Others people will drink or consume, or use as decoration. the smaller ones, ofc. nice reading.

I think it's so awesome how you linked those ideas - the 'spray and pray' version of wealth redistribution shows the exact same lack of pragmatism as the cipo-matador - its adherents presuppose distribution of wealth *from* the more productive members of society to the less-so would 'balance out' somehow by some genius individual springing up out of nowhere from the poor people, but a much more effective approach of wealth redistribution is by meritocratic means, i.e. toward individuals outperforming their peers and/or colleagues that have been denied the due rewards of merit, and on that note, it's even more effective to simply remove the artificial (and 'legal') barriers on meritocratic incentives and have such hypothetically hidden geniuses be better able to earn their own way up in terms of status and resources to use their superb ability for the good of society at large.

Thanks

This was my first time reading this. I’m of the opinion that it’s a rather difficult, but rewarding experience, and having the podcast to correspond with my own effort was most helpful, for that I must thank Keegan. However, given recent events, which I will refrain from elaborating on in order to preserve an online space that I consider unique and holy, I do have one objection to this work by Nietzsche, and it’s a single word contained in the title. The word is “Beyond”. Sorry to bum everyone out, but I doubt our flawed, multifaceted, and super weird species will ever achieve that. I know, totally groundbreaking take super duh take. Anyway, stay good, and say a prayer to Saint Socrates for the restoration of some semblance of sanity in this fucked up realm of human tragedy.

I don't see this changes how we make judgements about the world (morally speaking or not). Taking off the rose-tinted glasses of our moral sentiments forces us to acknowledge the reality of the world, but it doesn't make one to embrace Nietzsche's moral nihilism that he ultimately finds no higher principle than Might makes Right. "To the perceptive eye the depth of their degeneration was clear enough, but to those whose judgment of true happiness is defective they seemed, in their pursuit of unbridled ambition and power, to be at the height of their fame and fortune." (inb4 Platonist detected, opinion discarded)

Essentialsalts if you see this comment please answer, so the conclusion of life is The Will to Power, does Machiavelli political power would necessarily count as Will to Power? i love your channel, it really helped me understand FN philosophy more than his books

Whats the name of the art on the background?

Sir can you guide me on German idealism

❤

Political thought in classical Muslim philosophy

Your name is Keegan? Didn’t know that.

I disagree with Nietzsche on the part concerning the nature of life as valuing, and I would dispute whether hierarchy really arises from valuation. I would argue instead that life is about acting (expressions): our valuations largely concern our actions, thereby, action first, valuation second. secondly, concerning hierarchy: for what do we make these explanations that favour sentiments that we never consented to? Do we create meaning for the sake of creating meaning: creation for creations sake? Then why the plethora of affect: the joy, vexation and glee of the artist. It may be these affects that condition the thinker. furthermore: regarding the affects that condition the thinker there also exist the emotions of shame and guilt both of which are troublesome affects because they are painful and may proceed any given action: life is about action. we act or think about how to better act. life is also about memory and the thing that holds it together (this noble posterior). If not for the concept "i" this posterior would not exist. Thereby we create these dividing lines, these hierarchies; this posterior seeks pathos of distance so that we can self identify with it (it makes itself known to us?). And so if this process of familiarising ourselves with this concept of "i" necessitates that we make distinctions concerning ourselves and others then the hierarchy that emerges was never the intended product merely a serendipitous consequence: it was never made with intention: all that ever concerned the thinker was their own overcoming, they were just offering up thoughts with no concern with what the thoughts were being used for.

😊

Can a master be a slave or can a slave become master? 😅

. 😅😂😅

@36:30, Nietszche leaves out an irrefutable, and crucial fact about the more "whole" human beings or "beasts", is that...all of these societies were very religious and abhored Atheism. Atheism is a symptom societal decay.