Episode

Philosophize This! Clips: / @philosophizethisclips
Get more:
Website: www.philosophizethis.org/
Patreon: / philosophizethis
Find the podcast:
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2Shpxw7...
RSS: www.philosophizethis.libsyn.org/
Be social:
Twitter: / iamstephenwest
Instagram: / philosophizethispodcast
TikTok: / philosophizethispodcast
Facebook: / philosophizethisshow
Thank you for making the show possible. 🙂 Today we talk about Nietzsche and his concept of the will to power.
www.patreon.com/philosophizethis
www.philosophizethis.org
Thank you for wanting to know more today than you did yesterday. :)

[@kenr1767]

Why did it take 57 years for me to hear this? Thank you

[@SamMoreno970]

This gives me hope.

[@Weirdo0258]

[@francescopassero8369]

Your whole work about Nietzsche is something amazing, and now I'm in love with your show. You sure have talent and rare intelligence, keep going, I'll make sure to support

[@SammyCee23]

Nietzsche was the most interesting of all philosophers. Only Diogenes is an exception.

[@fmlAllthetime]

I think Nietzche, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Schopenhauer, Plato, Al Kindi and Heraclites were all very interesting thinkers.

[@sungkipark2802]

T

[@BadMedizin]

Sisyphus loved his rock.

[@sportsportsport]

Camus loved his coffee

[@philipelsbecker9440]

your shows are extremely informative and entertaining. keep up the good work man.

[@thomasking4791]

Just discovered your podcast and I'm hooked already. Fabulous job!

[@anonymonsters]

I just discovered your podcast and started with episode 90, and have been REALLY enjoying it! Thank you for creating these!

[@tonyxonart]

That was awesome! Thank you Stephen for your will to power!

[@Phill2128]

i just found this channel, it's just amazing! Subscribed immediately, thx for your work!

[@poopypoopy32]

Nietzsche cured me of anxiety

[@poopypoopy32]

Whoops. Taught me to face all anxiety

[@taasinbinhossainalvi9173]

That’s epic

[@isaacroberts9089]

how so?

[@oniononiononiononion2147]

reading his book gives me anxiety

[@lavin3415]

Surprisingly such a Precious video has 36 likes and 1k views,Felt happy with efforts and quality of content..Thanks o this channel..

[@zlek4875]

In just a few words: no pain no gain

[@vistian]

This was probably one of the best talks on Nietzsche and conversationally about philosophy that I've discovered in podcast form or on KZbin, which are pretty synonymous at this point. Thank you for your content. You have a new subscriber in me.

[@chaitanya5821]

best explanation ever heard! thankyou for this. keep up the good work

[@wezzuh2482]

Why have i not stumbled upon this channel before? GOLDMINE!

[@BlackholeProbe]

Great lecture, and a good sense of humor. Had me chuckle a good amount of time

[@manastripathi1157]

I m going nuts abt this channel...i have started watching 2 3 vids daily..even make my own notes abt it..its like so so so so awesome

[@prakharkhampariya]

Thank u for adding value in my life !!!

[@cxxmax]

You’re awesome. Thanks Steven.

[@mpcc2022]

The will to power to put it most simply is the drive to organize oneself through discipline and practice into a being that expresses what Nietzsche calls noble instinct or more plainly intuitive thought that results from the mastery of one's culture and some craft such that the individual no longer needs to reflect to act but acts on will alone like a chess grandmaster. Goethe is Nietzsche's favorite example.

[@KevinJohnson-cv2no]

No, the Will To Power is ones desire to enforce himself & his will upon the world. "What is good? - All that heightens the feelings of power, the will to power, power itself. What is bad? - All that proceeds from weakness. What is happiness? - The feeling that power increases - that a resistance is overcome." - Nietzsche. To Nietzsche the Will To Power was embodied in men like Caesar, Alexander & Napoleon; this is why he uses Cesare Borgia as an exemplar of it within his book The Antichrist. Goethe was somewhat admirable to Nietzsche but he had little to do with the noble spirit/higher man, and certainly not the Ubermensch; this is due to the fact that the Goethe archetype fails to act. He does nothing, and as a result *IS* nothing.

[@stacysmith7387]

Thank you for making this easy to digest.

[@ethanpn]

whats up with this dude and buffalos

[@XXTheMoleXX]

they're dangerous

[@Weirdo0258]

U gotta watch out for them!

[@lukemalanga9804]

Last video he referenced the rare “predator Buffalo”. It’s part of what makes him so insightful

[@Daniel-oj7bx]

my goal is to ensure the survival of my body .. i love your podcast ..a joy to listen

[@goodtimesc.o.3899]

Ending was marvelous

[@stacysmith7387]

Man, you are really good at this.

[@Willpower1997]

This is amazing

[@bgladov]

Impressive how fast you can talk about difficult topics. Luckily it is possible to slow down the video and perheps comprehend the ideas you try to convey. Keep up the good work.

[@christiannoelbunao3037]

I've listened to this podcast for a while on spotify a year ago and I don't remember it being this fast. Maybe it is sped up here on youtube or just my memory messing with me

[@pengsiwang7665]

Thanks for the video! Keep going

[@markzoppina4071]

I love your episodes! Can you please organize them into playlists? Where is episode one? Thanks!!

[@christinemartin63]

Terrific explanation of will to power.

[@broadbandtogod]

I enjoyed this so much and I'm going to listen to it several times more The only thing bothering me a little is the emphasise of pain rather than the power gained. The term "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger" doesn't include arms and legs chopped off "but I didn't die, ergo I'm stronger!"

[@transcend1078]

I love you bro. Thanks for making these videos. #myBro

[@GayCEO]

god bless you for this! 😍

[@theunfortunateguy8348]

The Authentic Self and striving to become that is "The Will to Power" "Let the Overman be the meaning of the Earth"

[@TheDreamDetective888]

This was excellent, thanks.

[@craigmyers1327]

steven is the man

[@craftycri]

This far into your lecture, and Thx btw for it! I find it hard to believe anyone took him seriously...

[@princeLaharl2]

Excellent resource.

[@SammyCee23]

Was perhaps Nietzsche the most interesting of all philosophers?

[@leightontuttle469]

Hey! I was wondering if you could start putting good books to read in the descriptions. I would love to see what you think is worth reading.

[@markfiedler9415]

The reason why I view Nietzsche's philosophy on The Will to Power as being grounded in adolescent thinking, and hence not fit for being called a worthwhile philosophy, is because it holds an excess of the masculine (creative) principle, and it is not working in harmony with the feminine (receptive) principle. It asks us to not only harness, but embrace the aspect of ourselves that is discontent with what is. It is the matured mentality that is contented with what is, while simultaneously working to improve the conditions within ourselves. By improving the conditions within ourselves the conditions outside of ourselves improve as well. This isn't something you hope for, it is something which is cause and effect. Nietzsche 'asides' this factor, and fails to recognize how the acquisition of 'things' is not a recipe for satisfaction within ourselves, or harmony in our external world. To not see the value of having harmony outside and a sense of well-being inside, is to not understand suffering. To not understand suffering is dangerous because surely it will come to you to the degree your awareness does not encapsulate it. Not sure how my critique of Nietzsche's philosophy may be received by the world, but thank you for your work, Stephen West. I really feel like your podcast has helped me to synthesize a lot of finer details of philosophy from your clear and succinct style. I'm really grateful for people like you sharing your knowledge.

[@platoniczombie]

You probably agree more with him than you think. You should read the essay. The Dionysian Vision of the World. In it, there's an idea called chiasmic unity that Ulfers uses. Think of his philosophy like that, and you might love it.

[@timbeckley740]

First of your vids I've come across. Genial and edifying. Much appreciated, just subscribed.

[@FromHellDesigns]

This channel is criminally underrated!!!

[@averayugen7802]

He went insane after seeing a cart horse abused. Thats my kind of guy. He cared.

[@ziggityfriggity]

"I'll make them cross the street!" 🤣

[@flykids6489]

Yes I chase it #power #whatdoyoustandfor #purpose #enlighten #people so they #transcend

[@HelloFutureMe]

This was immensely helpful for a video I'm working on. Thank you!

[@pucktheblackswordsman999]

Woah! It's you. Didnt know you liked Nietzsche

[@tesali9554]

Which video?

[@bret6484]

Woah hello hello future me. I love that video, and all of your videos

[@BlackestSheepBobBarker]

That is what I find useful in Philosophy. The amount of creative inspiration I draw is incredible, especially in an increasingly sterile world. There is power in reflection that people have lost, due to a constant state of distraction.

[@thedreamers5277]

I have a question you said near 18:00 being in the state of no earthly attatchments so, are the psychopaths and sociopaths can be said the same ??

[@akshaypitre7649]

This was so heavily laden with examplesthat I forgot the topic

[@BelatedCommiseration]

The trouble with living dangerously is when the danger overtakes...the trouble with risk is the failure that can ensue...if it happen's often enough and you just don't ever seem to find that window of chance, no matter how much work or 'will' you have...then what? Eventual decay and dissolution as life crumbles under the weight of futility...I sometimes think the truly lazy i.e. those who just literally want to sit back, take it as it comes and have no other issue other than putting food on the table or just breezing through and enjoying what they find, are actually the most fortunate. Because they have had, through fate or design, the time to be lazy and un-reflective and thus can be happier in their moment. Perhaps, that is even their true self...for which they have not had to work for at all! It is those who have the desire for more that are constantly thwarted, by the 'parasite inside' or the weight of circumstance, that truly have a hell on this earth. I admire lots of Nietzsche, but in order to appreciate pain as much as he extol's you towards, you have to be some sort of masochist (although, he does inveigh against the 'spirit of gravity' who weighs down men's souls in Zarathustra...so I know he did understand that hard ship and recognise it properly.)

[@enzofranco4634]

5:05 Hacemos lo que hacemos por poder. 8:20 Contradicciones 12:30 Overcome thigs that limit our self expression 16:00 No podemos controlar el mundo externo 19:00 Luchar por obtener el mayor poder posible. 21:30 El miedo lleva a la mediocridad. Y la mayoría se conforma con la mediocridad. 26:45 Embrace the pain. Because is it the opportunity for be the greatest person we could be.

[@tanmaykushwaha786]

gotta watch out for those buffaloes

[@dheerajkrishnaputrevu]

Buffaloes!! Got to watch out for them!!

[@modisakgotlabokgosi4714]

Doctor Who invents a time machine, goes back in time to meet all the dynamites in history. Now it is Nietzsche's turn. Dr. Who : Um...Hey Fredrick, I have come from future to befriend you. Nietzsche : Well my dear friend, I wish suffering, desolation, sickness, ill treatment, indignities; I wish that you do not remain unfamiliar with profound self contempt, the torture of self-mistrust....and a bunch load more of god tier horrific shit upon. ( Dr. Who packed and left, like many that did in his life)

[@elijaguy]

8:30 the other flip side is: when you can not suffer emotionally, you can not feel the suffering of the other, i. e. you can not have compassion, you can be endlessly cruel, and watch indifferently as you torture your victims viciously.

[@MegaSudjai]

My interpretation: "be all that you can be" is only one half of the equation to the Will To Power; the other half: to project that strength (power) outwardly and transgenerationally through your germ line and in your nurture of that lineage. In essence: promote evolutionary advantages over an epoch.

[@anab0lic]

I just purchased all of Nietzsche works but I'm finding it hard to translate everything he's saying is there any good books that break it all down?

[@TheBlackFriesian]

his reading isn't for the faint-hearted. 19th Century prose is something.

[@mpcc2022]

Kauffman- Nietzsche

[@alexxander808]

Duuuude what your deal with buffalo's their doing pretty good this year 12-3 last I saw

[@poopypoopy32]

I could be wrong but are you referring to him saying that we arent conscience, but merely are just phenomena in some bigger world that is beyond any perception. I believe he said something along the lines of the day man decided he was conscience was the worst day. Was after talking about socrates and the ancient greeks. Maybe like the start of decedence and forgetting the real nature that lies behind the perceptions we make of the world. Immorality by all cost, because our notions and why we act aren't yet justified. like he says go to war with the world, but he was never not gentlemanly, or whatever his four rules were. Of course this stuff metaphysically isnt like bad or good, but we can use it to aid us in whichever way.

[@sanchitsharma9656]

so this is what Fight Club was all about

[@tudogeo7061]

"Driving around the city looking for old ladies".... Okaaayyy......

[@gda295]

happiness/ eudaemonia[flourish] - Aristotle vs apataia [apathy] stoics vs metriopathy [Crantor]

[@chxwv]

God! Nietzsche is pure power! He is the God!

[@platoniczombie]

He would've hated you said that. He considered himself just another rung on the ladder of humanity that you must use to keep going. To go beyond him.

[@tejeshwarsingh9069]

Good

[@cowboyschad5x778]

People should also check out Paul Town. He is the greatest living philosopher.

[@lordawesometony2764]

I think that’s actually less than living, I think we should let the soul swim in those emotions which exist.

[@vagrant-techart8278]

big man brain mode

[@yilderim1924]

This guy sounds like Brian from Family Guy.

[@originalblob]

This charcoal example is a little off, because the obvious answer is that the carbon was converted to carbon dioxide. No mass and/or is lost or was created, so this everyday chemical reaction has nothing to do with Einstein's theory of the conversion of mass into energy. I get what you want to say, though.

[@pengsiwang7665]

Power is what your identities lies

[@luls9000]

What if I have 2 conflicting desires? Like the desire to get friends as well as expressing myself somewhat freely? This doesn't work for me and I'm not sure what I value more.

[@chanimarie6753]

Nietzsche would say create independently. He had no use for friends.

[@priyanshuuu282]

Bookmark for me: 18:00 to the end

[@rodrigodiazcasas384]

Fear and lazyness, the two actual antichirsts of humanity since the begining.

[@truesurvivor5191]

Well I guess the one unspoken aspect of Nietzsche and his philosophy is the fact that perhaps, though it is unstated or missing is that, some people are perhaps “power” undefined or distilled in essence, true power. But that being said. Beyond power, even true power is “love” but I wonder if Nietzsche was like everyone else and simply wanted to make money in the end. “It is the will to money, and nothing more”

[@OneManArmy144]

Have you ever read Nietzsche? do you know anything about him and his ideas at all? your comment is highly ignorant.

[@cowboyschad5x778]

You’re very ignorant, listen to it again it didn’t take the first time

[@HenryCasillas]

☮️

[@givemeyourberries]

So many gems in this video, Nietzsche is a little hard to read but you manage to make it very easy to understand. Thank you!

[@Mas_Tun]

I think "the will to power" means the "will to have enough power to rule over the mighty buffalo"

[@GhostEmblem]

I find the ending to be incongruous with the rest of the episode. If you were forced to spend eternity reliving your life then it would be better to have a short painless life. Compared to a painful life where you tried to exert your will only to be doomed to never be able to exert your will for eternity and still be subject to all the pain.

[@MegaSudjai]

You don't get it bro. To hide from pain is to hide from life, and is fundamentally weak and shrivelled.

[@GhostEmblem]

@@MegaSudjai The fact that you have to add weak and shrivelled kinda makes it seem like your point cant stand on its own. Its irrelevent: 1) there will always be pain doesnt mean you have to expose yourself to as much of it as possible to be fuffilled. 2) you havent explained why its bad to be weak and shrivelled and by extension why its bad to avoid pain your argument is incomplete 3) Pain is assumed to serve a specific purpose if you are immortal and will recieve an absolute reset then pain no longer serves that purpose then removing it should be strived for as it becomes much easier to achieve any goal (there will be other hardships and effort even without pain) I ended up writing a long response but your response of pain makes you strong and unshrivelled is not a universally accepted one some people say all life is absurd and laugh in the face of it, others say we should ignore pain seek internal understanding, others still say the meaning of life is to go to a painless paradise after we die and the when we were created there was no pain until man commited original sin. I take issue with people who say things life death gives meaning to life and we shouldnt seek to extend our lives similarly I take issue with people who say we shouldn't avoid pain. In my eyes pain is supposed to tell you when you fuck up not be a barrier to self improvement and we should find ways to rectify the discongruity.

[@MegaSudjai]

Typical word salad defensive response. You just keep.ruminating bro- I'm going for a run.

[@GhostEmblem]

@@MegaSudjai Have a good run then.

[@jitunag570]

fuck man u opened my fucking mind

[@truesurvivor5191]

I think he was just trying to prove a serious point with the usage of “power” though I don’t think his idea in that manner was that simple. It’s kind of a shaky trepidatious ground to walk when attempting to beholden such principles or ideas; “the will to power” is it really such a case? I think one of the resounding divergent aspects of his ideas such as this is the notion of “free-will” or personal choice and will. He does say, the “will” to power, and nothing more, but...it’s in attempting to define it definitely I think, such notions as Nietzsche or fundamental attributes of life and reality.

[@rodrigodiazcasas384]

Man, i am a huge Nietzsche reader: not only i think your podcast is the best aproach i have heard to his philosphy outside my head - and i studied a couple of philosophy subjects in college - but i also think that your way of putting it together is amazingly didactic. Kudows!

[@MaryMi]

23:46

[@niknik7470]

Your a fuckin OG my guy 👌

[@justrandom4596]

i know its a video from 7 years ago and unlikely that i will get a response the idea of embracing pain to reach greater heights, seems like the way some catholics belief about experiencing pain ,suffering and disease to get closer to god.both the ideas look the same to me just different goals? Am i missing something? p.s excuse my english and grammar english is my 2nd language

[@danielteegarden8982]

thky

[@bryanutility9609]

Why can’t I listen in the side screen?

[@youtubs3]

22:15

[@mauraaldera9695]

Well power leads to happiness?

[@thabittar7220]

That's why I think it's a paradox!

[@ProdWakaw]

We dont do things because those makes us happy, happines is the payoff from expressing your will to power.

[@truesurvivor5191]

I agree though fundamentally, that “god is dead, and we have killed him” in some sense or another. God died so that he could be re-born and love, true love preserved, and humanity, or just human beings themselves spared the ultimate damnation or punishment that living things may face.

[@pharaohhermenthotip1553]

You've completely misinterpreted the meaning of that quote

[@spencerwinston4334]

In your enlightening Nietzsche WTP video, you make effective use of the adaptive root system metaphor of a tree as it grows stronger and increases its expanse confronting underground obstacles. Descriptive, vivid, and organic are a perfect use of this metaphor. The quote "...that which does not destroy you makes you stronger.. " always conveys a hard, militaristic tone to Nietzsche which is certainly warranted for this elite Navy Seal esque, Spartan warrior philosopher that fought his way to the top with front line focus and OODA loop strikes against the cream puff "Marxist" collectivism academics to find a home at the Olympian rung next to Plato, Schopenhauer, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Your root metaphor highlights the profound Emersonian influence of natural organic imagery that left a sublime impression on Nietzsche. Thank you for sharing your novel insights on this pioneer German philosopher leading us all away from the modern philosophic T.S. Eliot described wasteland. A wasteland terrain full of vapid, game show host like hollow men mixed in with the John Wick like assassins in the philosophy departments of the university tenure system where the truth goes to die as hollow men administrators pander to the lowest common denominator in the collective seal-like applause of virtue signaling and Orwellian levels of political correctness that have the universities and corporations fearing their own shadow. Nietzsche offers a way out of this wasteland to the leading edge with the best view of the vast horizons, blissful sunsets, and the pure austere air of the Swiss Alps. Up in the Alps where Nietzsche is found with his groundbreaking, paradigm-shifting writings, you also can experience the invigorating sensation of elite-level Navy Seal alpine mountain fighting. The mountain combat though is against Platonic shadows comprised of noisy self-confused ignorance, suffering, angst and forced fed propaganda faced in the shadows of our own mind that we all encounter on our own unique path and quest, propelled on by the relentless force of the will to power and illuminated by the brilliance of Nietzsche's light and profound truth instincts. As we take the philosophic Navy Seal hard path in our own internal root expansion, we will all find why this German savant philosopher, the heroic but "lonely" wanderer and his shadow, is fulfilling his "prophecy" in his writings reflective of the Rock of Ages prophets, to be as he foretold in these dark matrix times, "...the philosopher for the day after tomorrow."

[@sethe.2468]

As a meditator and secular Buddhist, it sounds like both Nietzsche and the analyst have a misunderstanding of what mindfulness meditation is and does. This is not surprising for Nietzsche because the Pali cannon was not readily available to him, as it is now. Mindfulness meditation is not just about surrendering to the constant flux of the universe, even though that ultimately is what we all succumb to eventually, no matter how much we try and sway it otherwise. Mindful meditation is about directed attention that allows you to unify the mind and become more conscious of your actions, thus allowing you to make better decisions. It's something I think Nietzsche would agree gives you more power than less.

[@samudrakonwar3163]

Wow

[@bursty2464]

Akhem... Are we in the Stone Age so we only need to survive?

[@bursty2464]

For example, food and agriculture is so contaminated with antibiotics and toxins, that I'm really in paradox of what to even eat anymore. Water full or Giardia, eggs with Salmonella, milk with aflatoxin... Is this future and science humanity worked for?

[@AL_THOMAS_777]

@@bursty2464 🙏 🤝 👍

[@benquinneyiii7941]

Ship

[@atlanticocean711]

6:00

[@ccchhris]

monads

[@geometron3646]

@9:50 carbon turns into heat energy. Got it. Don't take science class off this dude kids.

[@geometron3646]

The carbon molecules continue to exist as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. heat energy is concurrently given off when the charcoals' initial tetrahedral carbohydrons have their bonds broken by the reaction with oxygen.

[@chadkline4268]

I'm no expert on philosophers, but this example refuses to acknowledge psychedelic use or various studies. Sometimes learning to satisfy a temporary interest is the cause, even if no power or expression results. Nobody should try to find only one root cause for what we do, because the root is as broad as sensual desires themselves, and the spectrum varies amongst individuals. The root is the satisfying of sensual desire in the pursuit of sensual pleasure. But even this is not true for ascetics.

[@furqn6897]

having no true world is also a true world or not?

[@Zero.freingetei]

. string theory

[@craftycri]

“Why not work as hard as you can to have as much control as you can” reminds me of: Look on my works, Ye mighty, and despair ... I wonder how that’s working out for him now?