Nietzsche and Madness - A Descent into the Depths 

Support our work and access our membership videos/courses: academyofideas.com/members

"No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.” -C.G. Jung

Maybe for a philosopher, going mad would be the equivalent of a rapper going to jail to push some record sales. 😂

The Creator of Academy of Ideas discovered the alchemist trick of turning the Filth of RU-vid into Gold.

"I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity." ~Edgar Allan Poe

To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering." - Friedrich Nietzsche

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. Friedrich Nietzsche

My man Nietzsche was too metal for his own good, RIP to that thinking lad.

When he said " it hurts me frightfully that in these 15 years not one single person has discovered me, has needed me, has liked me" i was so damn upset that i couldn't just hug the man, goddamn how smart he was and how saving he is to brilliant minds, i can't believe someone like this felt so deeply a lack of love, it burns me to think about this, he died thinking he's alone...

Youre never naked when you have a mustache like that...even when playing the piano...

There is a false saying: “How can someone who can’t save himself save others?” Supposing I have the key to your chains, why should your lock and my lock be the same?

In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule. Friedrich Nietzsche (uttered before he himself went insane)

What a pleasure it has been to have followed your channel through the years. Allow me to express my utmost gratitude for your contribution to enrich all of our lives. To my fellow seekers of truth, within and without, I salute you. May your courage triumph over you doubt, and may all pains and difficulties be transformed into strength and vitality

"Without music, life would be a mistake." - Friedrich Nietzsche

As someone who has been fascinated by Nietzsche's philosophy since teenage years, thanks a lot for this video

I guess madness is an everpresent cloud hanging over everyone who dare to tread on the dark domains of philosophy

as a schizophrenic , my first psychosis my sister thought i was acting. its hard to believe people you know go mad or delusional

Great minds seem to be the most susceptible to madness

What if... this treasure we all seek to achieve is the very madness itself?

there is no in between in life ; either you use your full potential or not

I'm no psycologist or philosopher, but what I think happened is that he had a mental breakdown due to chronic pain, depression, stress and drugs and he never recovered.

Everyone else thought him mad, he was just becoming a shaman. Sounds like he had a spiritual awakening and didn't want to live in the "world" anymore. It's also evident that the medical professionals of the day poisoned him good and proper

Truly a man who went his own way.

The most challenging aspect of existence is facing the void of existence. We try and fill it with religion or constantly chase pleasure. It seems that we developed a level of self-awareness that made us question our own existence and ponder over it but we're also faced with the limits of our thinking and that leaves us confused and lost.

“The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head. And it is his head that splits.” -Chesterton

To be honest, I've waited for this for a long time.

If I could say one thing to Friedrich Nietzsche, it would have to be: "I understand you."

Hearing this makes me wish to go back somehow, wrap my arms around him and give him a big hug. Powerful, tragic and emotional.

Suffering in my experience could be seen as the ultimate driving force on the path, which supposed to lead the human psyche into subjectively higher truths about the existence and oneself. The more the suffering, the potentially deeper and clearer the individual's soul is.

Few stories will ever hit me as heavily as Nietzsche’s has. Every time I hear it it’s like raking up old wounds.

I was introduced to Nietzsche thru a witty t-shirt in the 80's. "God is dead" Nietzsche "Nietzsche is dead" God

A friend of a friend was once locked up in an asylum for 2 weeks, he had been admitted by the cops after they found him wandering around on a pretty strong trip. When he came back around and explained himself they completely believed him yet still had to hold him for 2 weeks. That and this remind me of that quote "The shaman delights in the same waters where the schizophrenic drowns"

I've had a dream some time ago, but I ponder on it every once in a while still trying to understand what it means. I don't remember the whole dream but the most important part went like so: I was in a big house, just roaming around (I have a feeling like it was my house, or I was looking into buying it or something like that, but it wasn't the house I actually live in). I went down to the basement, and there I found a room where there was a big black hole in the middle, it was so deep it was like looking into an abyss. And there were people gathered there, they took turns sort of bungee jumping into it. They acted all wierd and crazy, I don't think I was scared, just found everything a bit odd. And then I remember there was this old man with long grey beard cloked in white robes standing beside the deep black pit. I asked him what this was all about, and he said that these people were jumping into the abyss so they can heal their mental illnesses. Nothing much happened after that and I soon woke up, feeling like I figured out something really important, but still can't quite tell what it is. As I am interested in philosophy, most recently in Eastern philosophy, tradition and religion, I stumbled upon a Sadhguru video in which he talks about tantric yoga and the awakening of the Sahasrara, or the seventh chakra. If I remember correctly, he said that in theory and in practice there is no way to "move" consciousness from the 6th to 7th chakra, in other words it happens suddenly and it has to be done as sort of a leap of faith, there are no methods to do it. He also said that there is a very thin line between madness and enlightenment. Now, the man's integrity can be questioned of course, I just found it very interesting the way he described enlightenment as basically something that cannot be controlled voluntarily. Alan Watts also said that "awakening" happens when you are ready, not by your choice. More and more as I contemplate these questions and let my mind roam free, I feel that there is 'something' that is not intelligible to us, and that all these people are right in their own way. Maybe Nietzsche was finally liberated in a way by going mad (mad from our perspective at least). Maybe once we get a glimpse of that which is unintelligible we either become insane and lose all sense of self, or we manage to integrate it into our already established reality. To descend to the depths of ourselves we must already be mad, or we will become mad during the journey. Disclaimer: I am aware that dreams are heavily influenced by our day to day life and our thoughts, certainly my dream was a reflection of my thinking, but at that time I know I never thought about madness and it's connection with exploration of the mind. The ways of the subconscious are mysterious at best. Thank you for the amazing content!

Thus spoke Zarathustra is one of my favorite books.

Sometimes life feels like teetering on a tightrope with madness on one side and enlightenment on the other...

Teacher: The test isn't that hard The test: _And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you_ (a) Free (b) Mad

Ahhhh. Madness. I’m almost there.

“Woman is at best, a cow” - Nietszche, Thus spoke Zarathustra 🤣

“There is no joy equal to that of being able to work for all humanity and doing what you're doing well.” R. Buckminster Fuller, Critical Path

For anybody interested in the topic of insanity, I would highly suggest listening to Beethoven's 29th piano sonata, especially considering Nietzsche was very fond of Beethoven and played the piano.

Neitzsche descent into the abyss is fascinating

This channel has never once failed to stretch and educate me. Thank you.

Philosophy brings you enlightenment, and madness, once you've reached the bottom it's impossible to come back to the top.

I instantly click, like, and share whenever you upload

I didn’t know there was video footage of Nietzsche! How horrifying!

I will always appreciate the dry humour in his writings. Don't fret, Freddy, people are still looking for the Lapis Philosophorum, and none of those who are looking think that it will be "fun" nor "easy." Whomever has undertaken the journey as well, I wish a solid Godspeed.

My lesson from nietzsche is, going into the ultimate depth of life will lead you astray and leave you a state of deprivity...

This is incredible. One of your best ones yet. Can't wait for pt 2

Haven't watched an upload in awhile. Still putting out bangers everytime.

I was wondering how I have not watched this Academy of Ideas video yet, then I saw this video was posted today, good stuff

This is fantastic! I am really looking forward to the next part in this series.

Perfect timing. Thank you

Uncanny, I was just reading a bit of “Thus Spake Zarathustra” yesterday and wondered how did Nietzsche went insane, and found this video today, posted exactly...yesterday.

Congrats on 1M bruv! Well deserved!! :)

What a superb presentation! Thank you!

Congrats on 1 million!! This channel has provided me with so much value, thank you incredibly!!

Maybe madness was the treasure.

Your work over the years remains one of my favourite parts of the internet. Thanks for all that you do AoI.

Another phenomenal work by Academy of Ideas! Love this channel

This was so incredibly well done. Thank you so much.

Wanted to make a video on exactly this subject, but you've done the subject justice. Great vid as always.

He who cannot command himself will be commanded.

Madness is rare in individuals but in groups, parties, nations and ages it is the rule. -Nietzsche

Brilliant job! I look forward to part 2!

What a cliffhanger! Can't wait for the next video.

This was one of the most profound videos on this channel.

Great video. Thanks for adding so much clarity to this topic

Love these videos. Thank you much.

Thank you

he was so far ahead of his time, he was unseen and unknowable....

I'm always so excited to see a new video posted

Fantastic video. Looking forward to next one.

I’m very much interested in Nietzsche, great video.

Frederick Nietzsche: The original horse whisperer.

Always appreciative to the Academy. Respect

I’m speechless... finally someone who feels the way I do

neat, looking forward to the next video!

maybe he found Schopenhauer to be correct and it was beyond bearable, due to holding the intellect to make it provable

This was wonderful. It struck me! As always, great work.

What a great video. Thanks for all this material.

Nietzsche became Joker before Joker even existed maybe his madness was partly inspiration for dc villain Joker

Timeless Masterpiece!

Absolutely love this channel.. thank you 👏👏🙏🙏

Beautiful. This one is a work of art.

So in short, he has gone crazy from fully comprehending himself and the world to a degree people are afraid too. To not only experience and witness the full reality of our world to to also comprehend it beyond what most dare. Eventually he couldn't contain his laughter anymore because he was suffering so much. He is literally OG joker 😄

I always thought that he intentionally made himself mad, if you read his last writings there are some cues of him playing with that idea.

This has been your best creation yet. I can’t wait for the next one .

Excellent! Thank you.

Another possibility is that he did in fact "find the philosopher's stone" and his subsequent psychological rebirth took the form of madness. This was possibly because of his relatively advanced state of knowledge compared with that of his peers which was already evident to many even if nobody could bring themselves to say it. Madness is never a property of an individual person, but a condition of the way society treats certain individuals. See the beautiful work of R.D.Laing on schizophrenia for more on this. Laing must have had lot to say about Nietzsche, ... This is another great video. Thank you!

I’ve always been resistant to the theory that he lost himself in the depths of his mind. It’s too attractive as a reason. In other words, it makes for such a great story that people are willing to put too much weight on it. Syphilis is much less interesting as a story. Even Jung was essentially pointing out that Nietzsche’s descent was the cause of his breakdown. Why? Because Jung himself was afraid that he would end up in a similar place and so he explained that he was better than Nietzsche and would not suffer the same fate. I’m not saying there is not merit to the argument, just that people might be too quick to jump on it because it makes for a more interesting explanation.

Your best video yet. Thanks.

This is some beautiful and needed content!

Nietzsche is a warm blanket. ❤

Sound like the end result of an "ego" looking for love in the mind, and outside of the heart/Source.

Loved this video. Can't wait for the remaining fragments next one

We are born into a world of madness and the trick is to find ourselves , battling first our programmes from childhood then forging a path that truly benefits ourselves and others , seeing things as Thay truly are and eventually not getting lost in the body’s motions .

You go looking for the Devil long enough, you just might find him.

Sounds like what happened to Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein, and by the change in tone of these videos, it sounds like the same things may be happening to many intellectuals today, at least behind the scenes.

I believe he really found his holy grail in madness, that was the only way for him to be free

So good ☺️ Thank you for this treat ✨