Act 1/4

This is an introduction to the first act of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, titled “Introducing the Overman”, and it will give you a good overview to concepts that will be explored in far greater depth in the course itself.

Act 2/4

This is an introduction to the second act of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, titled “Introducing the Society”, and it will give you a good overview to concepts that will be explored in far greater depth in the course itself.

Act 3/4

This is an introduction to the third act of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, titled “Introducing the Pathway”, and it will give you a good overview to concepts that will be explored in far greater depth in the course itself.

Act 4/4

This is an introduction to the fourth and final act of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, titled “Introducing the Leader”, and it will give you a good overview to concepts that will be explored in far greater depth in the course itself.

Nietzsche is often perceived as Christianity's arch-enemy, a man who opens and closes his philosophy around topics that force Christianity into its own abyss. Nietzsche's work has had far reaching implications for 20th century theology, his ideas about the "Death of God", and the "slave mentality" of religious subjectivity maintain their power into the 21st century. Today it is not uncommon for secular society to proclaim that God and religious subjectivity are dying out, and that, in the future, subjectivity will totally break the metaphysical shackles of our past, forming a new consciousness without an other-worldly master capable of grounding virtues of good and evil, heaven and hell. Here I attempt to dialogue with Paul Robson, founder of Maniphesto, part of a larger European Men's Network, a former secular atheist in the Dawkins tradition, and now a self-identified Christian whose belief in God has helped him to build a new movement towards empowered masculinity in the 21st century. How can we think some of Nietzsche's philosophical challenges for Christian theology?

THE NIETZSCHE DIALOGUES (1):

NIETZSCHE VS. CHRISTIANITY

W/ PAUL ROBSON

Layman Pascal is co-founder of The Integral Stage and also a theorist of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. There are many different possible interpretations of Nietzsche's work, as has been demonstrated over the course of the past century. Nietzsche's work has influenced psychoanalysis, social theory, theology, new age spirituality, poetry, literature and art, and even theorists working in areas of speculative cosmology and evolutionary theory. In this discussion we seek to explore the way Layman Pascal makes sense of Nietzsche, and how he views his potential importance to the development of the "liminal web", among other adjacent movements and projects, like Ontario Depth Adaptation. Major themes we discuss include how to read Nietzsche, Nietzsche as an “Integral Post-Metaphysical Spiritual Thinker'“, the role of Zarathustra as a character, Nietzsche’s big history involving the role of the will to power, as well as the concept of eternal recurrence.

THE NIETZSCHE DIALOGUES (2):

PASCAL’S NIETZSCHE

W/ LAYMAN PASCAL

Thomas Hamelryck is a professional computer scientist and wild Girardian theorist. Girard's mimetic theory here forms the foundation for our dialogue on the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. According to Girard, Nietzsche was great example of the phenomenon of mimetic rivalry, where his desire for greatness was (paradoxically) fuelled by the emotions of resentment and envy for those who possessed talents or persons that he did not. Perhaps the best example of this can be seen in Nietzsche's relationship with Richard Wagner. From this starting point we will have the chance to explore the nature of mimetic rivalry in the digital-internet age, and the dangers of interpreting Nietzsche as a prophet or saviour, when in reality he struggled with human, all too human, problems. In this discussion, some salient topics included the difference between Dionysus and Apollo as Tantra and Sutra; a Girardian politics of communism or the extreme left, and fascism or the extreme right; Girard’s view on 20th century philosophy, including a focus on Heidegger; as well as an approach to a general theory of religion.

THE NIETZSCHE DIALOGUES (3):

MIMETIC THEORY

W/ THOMAS HAMELRYCK

Thomas Winn is a philosopher and doctoral student with an interest in the phenomenon of nihilism and the post-modern human condition. In his work, he draws on the historical tradition of thinkers which include Hegel, Nietzsche and Heidegger, as well as contemporary philosophical work of Gianni Vattimo and Slavoj Žižek. In this discussion we seek to explore topic of nihilism and its overcoming with Nietzsche’s concepts of the will to power and eternal recurrence. Here we situate both concepts in relation to the postmodern problem of “the understanding’s” desire for “fixed values”, and its relation to the thing-in-itself, which appears to be fundamentally transient, and thus unfixable. We discuss how this situation produces a source of resentment and general negative emotionality, which is involved in confronting a groundless real (e.g. Death of God), or a gap between the “I” of the understanding and the “it” of the fixed representation. To really reconcile ourselves with this groundless real, we suggest that both the will to power and the eternal recurrence point towards a becoming of becoming itself. Practically speaking, when the understanding no longer fixes even the notion of becoming, letting it go for an affirmation of life flux, we may be free to explore the absolute or the eternal, as that which is a continually recurring novelty in the gap.

THE NIETZSCHE DIALOGUES (4):

OVERCOMING NIHILISM

W/ THOMAS WINN

Nietzsche made a controversial impact in many different fields, and focused on many different topics. Perhaps the most controversial field/topic would include Nietzsche's "feminism" and his views on women. These views are often interpreted as complex, contradictory, and even (for some), an embarrassing and anachronistic low-point in Nietzsche's overall philosophy. Whatever specifically can be said about Nietzsche view on women, what is without doubt, is that Nietzsche's philosophy, while pointing towards a universal horizon of becoming with the idea of the overman, still recognizes sexual difference between men and women as playing an important role in the mediation of the overman. In this discussion, with Pamela von Sabljar, leader of the Nordic Women’s Gathering, we attempt to reflection on some crucial passages in Nietzsche as it relates to the body, sexual difference, and women. These reflections include Nietzsche's ideas about "body haters", "pleasures and pains of passion", "chastity", "relations between men and women", as well as "marriage and reproduction".

THE NIETZSCHE DIALOGUES (5):

ON WOMEN

W/ PAMELA VON SABLJAR

Alexander Bard is a philosopher and futurist who has been influenced by the work of Nietzsche as a man and philosopher, as well as many Nietzschean concepts. In this final discussion in "The Nietzsche Dialogues", we explore Bard's interpretations of Nietzsche as a philosopher, his potential futures, as well as his own understanding of core Nietzschean concepts: Perspectivism, Overman, Will to Power, Master/Slave Morality, and the Eternal Return. We will attempt to connect how Bard's interpretations of these concepts can help us to reinvent Nietzsche in the 21st century. This includes discussing the way Nietzsche has influenced Bard’s latest trilogy, including Syntheism, Digital Libido, and Process & Event, as well as how Nietzsche may be put into conversation with a philosopher who is often seen as his opposite or opponent, G.W.F. Hegel.

THE NIETZSCHE DIALOGUES (5):

FUTURES

W/ ALEXANDER BARD