François de la Rochefoucauld’s “Moral Maxims” and influence on Friedrich Nietzsche

[@aydc6740]

my theology teacher uses Maxims as the hall pass. you have to read one out loud to the class if you want to use the bathroom lol

[@mat7083]

Shit

[@riassatkarim586]

Awesome podcast! Greatly appreciate that you have brought this rather 'obscure'-albeit being arguably a precursor to Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy and an absolute genius in his own right. His aphorisms are remarkable, penetrating deep into the human psychology. Brilliiant! Please keep up the excellent work. Kudos and much respect for presenting us with this 'gem' .

[@gingerbreadzak]

00:01 📚 François de la Rochefoucauld, born in 1613, is known for his collection of moral maxims, a concise work of aphorisms and short observations. 01:29 📜 La Rochefoucauld's maxims are his most significant work and provide valuable insights into human behavior and psychology. 04:26 💬 La Rochefoucauld's style, characterized by brevity and clarity, influenced Nietzsche's writing style and his use of aphorisms. 09:55 👑 La Rochefoucauld, an aristocrat, observed and wrote about the human condition, especially within the context of the French salon culture. 16:18 🤔 La Rochefoucauld's central concept is "self-love," challenging conventional moral explanations for human actions. 18:12 🖋 Voltaire praised La Rochefoucauld's work for its influence on French thought, emphasizing its impact on precise and expressive language. 20:04 📖 Nietzsche was influenced by La Rochefoucauld through his reading of Schopenhauer and Langá, adopting both substance and style from the French moralist. 20:37 📚 Nietzsche was heavily influenced by French moralists and aphorists, especially during his middle period in the late 1870s and early 1880s. 21:07 📝 La Rochefoucault's influence on Nietzsche persisted throughout his life, shaping his thoughts and language. 22:03 🤔 Nietzsche's concept of "will to power" can be seen as an extension and refinement of the French moralists' ideas, not a refutation. 23:29 😮 Rochefoucault's view of self-love as a hidden motive suggests that people are often strangers to their own true motives, leading to the idea that humans don't fully understand themselves. 24:26 🧠 The concept of self-love challenging traditional notions of good and evil contributed to the development of psychology as a discipline. 25:50 🤔 Nietzsche recognized that true psychologists must be willing to entertain immoral thoughts, like the absence of pure virtue or selflessness. 26:48 📖 La Rochefoucault's epigram about virtues often being vices in disguise hints at a proto-psychological theory of human nature. 27:19 🔄 Language and concepts like bravery or chastity often create circular arguments in explaining virtuous behavior. 28:18 🤐 Rochefoucault suggests that diverse interests and drives within individuals determine whether they appear virtuous based on societal standards. 31:13 🐝 Self-love, according to La Rochefoucault, is a relentless force that constantly seeks to satisfy its own desires and is concealed by various means. 34:01 👥 The social moral ideology, existing in the collective minds of society, affects how individuals conceal their true motives even from themselves. 38:12 🧠 Self-love is the driving force behind human actions, often hidden in the depths of one's consciousness, leading to various desires and affections. 41:32 🔒 Self-love can be oblivious to its own motives and can lead to misguided beliefs about one's emotions and desires, but it remains keenly aware of external matters and influences. 41:59 💭 Self-love is a central driving force in human behavior, often leading to contradictory desires and actions. 42:29 🤔 Our desires are shaped by our own inclinations and tastes, and the value of things is relative to our self-love. 43:23 🔀 Self-love can have varying inclinations and temperaments, adapting to different circumstances and desires as needed. 44:19 🌊 Self-love is like the sea, with its desires constantly ebbing and flowing, pursuing various interests. 45:20 🔄 Self-love is capricious, pursuing even harmful things at times, as long as it exists and satisfies its desires. 46:19 🤯 Self-love is willing to be its own enemy, sometimes even working towards its own destruction. 47:21 🌊 Self-love manifests in various forms, passions, and beliefs, but it's always rooted in self-interest. 48:45 🔄 Self-love's manifestations are like vessels, with self-love itself being the constant sea. 49:43 🤝 Our actions are rarely purely selfless; there's always an element of self-interest involved. 52:10 🌞 Finding faults in others can make us feel justified in our own self-love and imperfections. 55:29 🧬 Happiness and unhappiness are influenced by both disposition and fortune. 59:01 💔 The disposition or temperament of individuals is not easily changeable by willpower. 61:00 🎭 Our judgment of love often differs from the actual consequences of love's actions. 01:02:58 🤔 Love can lead people to irrational and destructive actions, often resembling hatred more than friendship. 01:03:27 🕊 Reconciliation with enemies is often driven by a desire to improve one's situation, fear of further conflict, or weariness of war. 01:04:54 🕊 Peace treaties are often motivated by self-interest and advantages, rather than purely humanitarian reasons. 01:05:27 💭 Blaming one's memory is easier than confronting one's own poor judgment. 01:05:59 💔 Emphasizes the idea that emotions (the heart) often overpower reason (the head). 01:06:28 🧠 "Conquering" passions often involves one passion prevailing over another, rather than the power of the individual. 01:07:20 🦊 Cunning and treachery are often signs of incapacity or weakness. 01:08:17 👿 Praising goodness without the strength to be wicked is seen as idle or powerless. 01:09:17 🗣 It's easier to give advice to others than to engage in self-discipline. 01:11:21 🤔 Different motivations can lead to the same behavior, highlighting the complexity of human actions. 01:12:48 🧩 Self-interest often dictates the balance between virtues and vices. 01:14:10 🌊 Virtues and vices are like rivers that flow into the same ocean of self-love. 01:16:37 🕊 Deception, selfishness, and lust may have a higher and more fundamental value for life than traditionally virtuous qualities.

[@aydnofastro-action1788]

Thanks for this talk! Great one to start the day!

[@bibliofitness]

I’m so glad I found this channel. Just finished beyond good and evil and now gonna start twilight of the idols. Love the inspiration found on here 🙏

[@christallaktorides6904]

Thank You I really like your calm lovely voice- it makes for easy listening

[@longcastle4863]

Interesting. Thank you. Salons became important again in Paris in the 1920s as well. With places like Gertrude Stein's salon, the Shakespeare and Company Book Store run by Sylvia Beach and even Harry's New York Bar (I think it was called) where members of the Lost Generation would get together to drink, socialize and discuss their lives, art, literature and ideas new and old. I was lucky as a young man in my twenties to have a brief couple of years experience of participating in a similar kind of thing -- not realizing at the time what a rare experience it would turn out to be. But like Hemingway wrote in his book, it's the kind of thing -- that sparkling exchange of ideas -- that turns out to be a moveable feast for one's life. You take it with you wherever you go.

[@faiz.shaikh]

Great episode, have you or are you thinking about covering Dostoevsky and his influences on Nietzsche. Would love to hear your take on the similarities of their lives and writings.

[@stevenhe198911]

When you are busy with your life, the concept of time didn't matter…the society has already transformed from "to do things to enjoy life " to "need constantly dealing with pressure", there are always more things need to do,just like never ending circle

[@yeyohuevonhassassin2]

It is eye opening how much do morals influence our though and psychology I find it fascinating, right now I am reading Human all to Human, finished Birth of Tragedy, Genealogy of Morals, Beyond Good and Evil and Gay Science, Nietzche is an author who I know I will read all of his works, his prose and insight are trascendental, he is like Kant a revolution in philosophy, and nothing after him is the same, he has had too much of an impact.

[@Laotzu.Goldbug]

1:08:43 i.e. There is virtue in being a peaceful man, but none in being a harmless one.

[@gus8310]

It’s really eye opening how immoral we all are and how we cloud it all with virtue. Vanity is the skin of the soul

[@user-ug2yz6vb7p]

What are you drinking? It sounds like it means everything to your soul. Thank you for getting the education to the people..education which is necesssary is always appreciated. May people listen and be with what I call Inclinations/"the nature" to really love the self and everyone else by accepting truths at all costs and really get to know the self. The best inclination is to pusue knowledge and gain understanding so as to use knowledge not in vain. Acquiring wisdom will help one to "molt" and shed the ego (so one's motives are trained by habit and sincere). Real self gratification is in awareness of growth; developing integrity is real selflessness. Alchemy of the heart via aquiring wisdom is the goal and it does eliminate the wrong sort love and rids the self of impure motives. Again, thank you for this knowledge.

[@justanotherfella4585]

14:52 the copy I’ve got is titled merely “Maxims”. Consequently, I’m reassessing the whole book now!?!? Nice one ☝️

[@Wingedmagician]

I just realized that theres a massive backlog for me to go through. oh man. nice.

[@carlyellison8498]

Humility is a virtue when you have no other.

[@cjsima]

This channel is amazing

[@madmanzila]

Wow I'll jump into any opportunity to acculturation possible in the briefest time possible

[@hey_its_SOMBRA]

Enjoyed this a lot, thank you

[@gus8310]

What a fantastic video

[@samuelinauen1038]

Great work!

[@-Llama_95]

From 26:05-30:00 I was free associating and the words “mask” and “spiritualization” came to mind. I believe Emerson said that the invention of language is fossil poetry(the Poet essay, forgive me if I am misremembering or mistaken). Is it that words such as bravery, love, repentance, etc. as “communal adoptions” of the spiritualization/mask of a vice turned virtue? The need to spiritualize/mask seems innate to the concept “high/low society” at this point of my study into Nietzsche. I hope I’ve made myself clear, it’s 3:05A.M. where I am, and I’m preparing for my bread mixing shift.

[@drgordo112]

Thanks!

[@kludgedude]

I am desire, it’s all about me

[@The-Interpreter]

In the salon, the objective is not to out-do the other person but if you have a better idea it should be presented, or if only to test your idea, Every expression is self-love. You have to see a relationship between will-to-power and self-love; does something become hot because it is burnt or does it burn because it is hot? Vanity is interpretation of an observer. Virtuous behavior: people who lack critical thinking, when they are vulnerable, will take any line that makes them comfortable, they will repeat the line whenever they feel threatened. "Jesus loves you and He will come and get you when the world ends, and you will be happy forever" You get the idea! Epigram 34: you said in another story, "Conscience is with the observer, not with the actor" Where the attention is, either with the activity or the feeling, that's what we know.

[@MsHenry147]

are there any authors similar to La Rochefoucauld? i am kinda addicted to his writing and would love to know any other authors who are skilled at aphorism's. I know about Nietzsche of course.

[@its_saam9459]

Emil Cioran's later works maybe

[@dragushcobaj4121]

Eric hoffer is unbelievably similar. Try passionate state of mind.

[@maghrebforever2012]

Oscar Wilde

[@markoslavicek]

Heraclitus is the OG of such style. Go deep into his stuff and you won't regret it.

[@clydegriffin6857]

Oscar Wilde, William Blake, immediately come to mind.

[@bryanutility9609]

I love questioning morality & motivations. Are there modern thinkers who know Nietzsche & evolutionary psychology?

[@gus8310]

Jung I would say?

[@bryanutility9609]

@@gus8310 He was too early for modern evolutionary theory. Needs to be current.

[@gus8310]

@@bryanutility9609 don’t think there is anyone then, maybe Sam Harris with his free will debate? My knowledge of other thinkers of our age is low

[@bryanutility9609]

@@gus8310 yea Sam Harris is a fraud nerd who hates Christmas. We’ll keep looking.

[@christopherellis2663]

Modern thinkers 😅

[@Over-Boy42]

This has served as an introduction introduction to La Rochefoucauld for me. Is it fair to say he believed in psychological egoism?

[@kludgedude]

We’re moral as long as it has function, not purely for its own sake. Moral decadence could be a luxury good. Doesn’t it make us feel better, in some cases superior?

[@rogerevans9666]

Schopenhauer said they are not really maxims. They are observations.

[@arjunabeuger]

The symposia of the Greeks were attended by women (hetairai), however, they were not of the same rank as a French noblewoman would’ve been. A hetaira can be thought of as a geisha, or conversationalist/socialite who was easy on the eyes, playful and intellectually adept.

[@dionysian222]

1:04:10

[@clydegriffin6857]

Vanity of vanities says the Preacher. Ecclesiastics Solomon

[@clydegriffin6857]

Is this what it means to be fallen? Sounds like original sin. Is that why we need grace and can't save ourselves?

[@scottweaverphotovideo]

At that time, did he have trouble finding his preferred hair conditioner?

[@stormbreak13]

I'm a fan, and personally I think you could make your channel even better if you minimized how often you sniffle, swallow, and breathe into the mic- it's personally pretty distracting from the otherwise very clear and concise speech (I have misophonia though, and I recognize I'm in the minority of people who are bothered by this)

[@untimelyreflections]

Just imagine how hard it must be for Zizek

[@palawanjungledays3099]

Not everyone is disturbed by these passing eccentricities auditable they are

[@winniethuo9736]

@@untimelyreflections l love you and Zizek. You both keep me stimulated. Thanks

[@untimelyreflections]

@@winniethuo9736 Hopefully I don't sniff quite as much.

[@winniethuo9736]

@@untimelyreflections 😂. No but my world is richer with both my :so on and so on: Sniffling Zizek and manly, all clear voice and collected presentation of your findings and conclusions in it. Someone else think you make noice but believe me I listen to you in my headphones and you are gooooooooood. If it’s you equipment, I recommend it to other podcasters. Keep up the good work.

[@stephen5119]

If your production costs would stretch to your employing a good reader while you reserve your contribution to commentary this would be a much better podcast. In my opinion, you are a either a poor public reader, or are someone who does simply not appreciate the importance of accurate and fluent delivery.

[@douglasthomson4550]

Aristocratic all too aristocratic. So that's wht they had their heads chopped off.

[@ruskinyruskiny1611]

N was wrong Jesus was right. N was a weakling Jesus was strong.

[@untimelyreflections]

Go watch Jesus videos then