Lev Shestov | All Things are Possible (part 1) | Existentialist Philosophy & Literature

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In this video, I start my discussion of "All Things are Possible," one of the early works by Lev Shestov, an important figure in the development of Existentialism. I discuss in particular Shestov's critique of the philosophy and culture of his own time, his antisystematic empiricist approach to philosophy and to life, and his importance as an early interpreter who saw the connections between Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, and Nietzsche. I also discuss several of the metaphors in this work that illuminate his thought, then read and discuss a variety of passages in which he talks about why Philosophy must pull itself out of the yoke of logic, bring passion into metaphysics, and embrace the possible.
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#Shestov #Philosophy #Existentialism #Criticism #Freedom #Creativity #Rationality #Metaphysics #Groundlessness #skepticism
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[@DarkFire515]

That quote of Shestov - "Philosophy must have nothing in common with logic, philosophy is an art that aims at breaking the logical continuity of argument and bringing man out on the shoreless sea of imagination" is one of my favourites. The more I read by Shestov the more of a revelation I find his work. Truly exciting stuff, a feeling of which I suspect he would approve! Thanks very much for this series of videos, it's absolutely fascinating...

[@GregoryBSadler]

Yes, he's quite the find, isn't he!

[@juanquntos7123]

Cen Blackwell yes, he is now my new favorite philosopher.

[@samluke8121]

That quote brings a tear to my eye. What is interesting is that Kant was an admirer of Swedenborg before Kant had to succumb to the principles of the church.

[@alexsveles343]

I read his books.its interesting, I like that he is willing to critique Nietsche (getting a head of himself a bit) and Dostoyevsky (for taking a mental of a profet)

[@dmitryandreyev8579]

"this starts to shake." I adore that. That shaking is the biggest dart in one's pride and the most searing invitation to a greater Truth. It drives me mad at times. My older, maybe less dogmatic, entries in my blog deal with this transition. I was into your Nietzsche lectures at the time.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Well said

[@costernocht]

A lecture on Shestov! This is awesome. Thanks so much for posting.

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're welcome! Glad to find someone who knows Shestov already and appreciates him

[@MEJ0RVIDA]

thx for the video! Shestov's one of my favo philosophers for a long time for that particular reason u put out at the end of this video. he prevented me from becoming an arrogant know-it-all hippie because of my nietzsche, stirner, etc. stuff, prevented me from being too much of a dreamer, something I took over from levinas, tolstoy, etc. and prevented a collapse of my former ideas, the effect that husserl, heidegger, etc. had on me. keep up the good work! ur video's are a great help.

[@GregoryBSadler]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm always surprised to find those who've encountered Shestov. Invariably, though, if they stuck with it, they got a lot out of him

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're welcome. Glad this could be an introduction to this guy, who definitely deserves to be studied

[@GregoryBSadler]

I'm glad you found the video on-point -- Shestov is tough to summarize! It is a great site that you've created -- an invaluable resource on things Shestovian. With Shestov, as with several other authors, I wish I had learned to read Russian. . . . I will definitely write to you -- thanks for reaching out to me through this electronic net

[@rosehurry]

Very informative and engaging. Thank you.

[@massacreee3028]

this guy is craaaazy! if nietzsche philosophized with a hammer, shestov philosophized with a wrecking ball! cant get enough of reading him, and each time a new wrinkle comes up that I glossed over that leaves me stunned!

[@GregoryBSadler]

He has a book on Kierkegaard in which he says Kierkegaard didn't go far enough

[@massacreee3028]

​@@GregoryBSadler i know! i havent been committed to reading a single philosophers works to avoid being another follower(...again, thanks sartre!), but shestovs works are slowly creeping up the reading list as I realize what kind of a madman he is! but I'm not too concerned with me turning his philosophy into a religion by the way he presents it!

[@GregoryBSadler]

@@massacreee3028 Yes, it would be pretty difficult to be a Shestovian

[@GregoryBSadler]

new video in the Existentialism series, this one on a thinker who very rarely gets taught or discussed -- but a very important bridge person early on -- one of the first people to see the connections between Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, and Nietzsche.

[@JohnCahillChapel]

Thank you. The attitude of Shestov, as described in the last 10 minutes or so is so helpful, no less so than the propositional content. It reminds me that “the way which cannot be described is not the eternal way…”, not merely or crassly humbling, but liberating from one’s own tendency to dogma.

[@GregoryBSadler]

He’s a cool thinker, that’s for sure

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're welcome! And thanks in returns -- that's quite nice to read

[@DarkFire515]

A point worth noting for later watchers: Amazon (and possibly other sellers) are now offering several different versions of All Things Are Possible for sale, in both physical and e-book versions. I wish I'd known this as I had to get an old copy imported from the USA. Worth every penny though.

[@GregoryBSadler]

I've always used a library copy, I have to admit -- or the online version hosted by the Lev Shestov site

[@patobrocks]

This a trip, for sure. I started out with your Plato's Cave this evening, and if I met my mythology teacher, today, from 20 years ago, I would love to sit and talk with her about living in the cave, leaving the cave, going back to the cave, and then finding enlightenment coming out of it again into the soothing light of reality. But today, we could also talk about Shestov and his contribution to our illumination. Thanks so much. You are one of the all-time greatest teachers--thank you kindly.

[@alert-mercy]

Wow also great! I love the bottom line of don't cement your mind. You cant possibly see it all (whatever the situation). Tere is always more to know...don't give up or you'll never know what's on the other side...keep expanding although its easier to say "this is it" and stop. and doubt is GOOD in its way as then you are always open to more...if u think on it, it renews your hope of being pleasantly suprised as well :)

[@dialSforFresh]

Me watching this video = hour well spent. Had never studied Shestov before. Very interesting. Thanks..

[@TheMoQingbird]

Thanks for the intro to someone I hadn't heard of before. I've just ordered All Things are Possible from Amazon and am looking forward to reading an existentialist who *doesn't* come across as obtuse and/or miserable : )

[@rafaeliglesiasdefigueiredo5342]

This is brilliant. Shestov sounds incredibly interesting, and yet so criminally underrepresented. Thanks very much for not deleting your old videos!

[@GregoryBSadler]

Not only do I not delete my old videos, I have 10 or so core concept videos on this work by Shestov as well

[@tranquil87]

Didn't expect you to take on Shestov. Very interesting, thanks for doing it!

[@GregoryBSadler]

Quite welcome! I'm always pleasantly surprised when I find someone else who knows, has read, appreciates, etc. Shestov!

[@tranquil87]

Gregory B. Sadler He was a big influence on Cioran. Any chance you might do something on the former?

[@GregoryBSadler]

Well. . I don't really know his work, so I'd have to get comfortable enough within his texts before I'd consider trying to teach them

[@edamameedamame1202]

Thank you Professor this is so enlightening!

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're welcome!

[@SearTheFear]

Thank you very much.

[@blankname5177]

Oh woah! This guy is brilliant. Thank you for introducing him to me and the broader public. Edit: I also see some parallel between him and Sarah Ahmed's queer phenomenology. I would also include Lewis Ricardo Gordon's work into the mix.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Shestov is indeed brilliant. I have no idea who those other two writers you mention are

[@kelamuni]

All Things are Possible arrived in the mail today. Listening to the lecture to give me some 'pre-understanding' before i dive in.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Cool!

[@GregoryBSadler]

The answer is Yes and Perhaps. I've got plans to shoot some videos on portions of Being and Time as part of the Existentialism sequence. As to the entirety of the work, perhaps . .. . but I've got some other entire works to do first, like Hegel's Phenomenology

[@jackandrews1659]

Thank you for this awesome series! Shestov is definitely a hidden gem in some respects. Have you done much work on Nikolai Berdyaev? He seems to share a lot of sentiments with Shestov, both great and challenging thinkers!

[@GregoryBSadler]

I've read Berdyaev, but have not shot videos on him

[@cynthiawatson969]

It's really interesting to move on to Shestov after Unamuno!

[@GregoryBSadler]

I bet!

[@georgebozhidarov4067]

Thank you for your effort in analyzing and sharing Lev Shestov's ideas! My favourite work of his is "In Job's Balances". It is hard, reading him in Russian, to see him as a philosopher, though. He is something of a Poet and of a Prophet all at once.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Why would reading him in Russian make it harder to see him as a philosopher?

[@georgebozhidarov4067]

@@GregoryBSadler it is interesting how he writes in Russian. In fact, he had a lovely sense of language that makes me compare his ideas more often to other writer's because of how well they are expressed, than to other philosophers' over how true they are. I hope that makes sense!

[@georgebozhidarov4067]

@@GregoryBSadler So to put it better: he writes so so beautifully in Russian that I sometimes forget that he is a philosopher and not a writer

[@GregoryBSadler]

@@georgebozhidarov4067 Aha! Well, there's some very well-writing philosophers out there. Plato, Boethius, Descartes. . .

[@alert-mercy]

Life is beyond tiring...but after drowning in the darkness of that which is around you, the only option left is to rediscover your own light. Then repeat...but it does get easier to hold onto :) Ien of these vids went into contrast...how for example wo struggle, how can you truly appreciate the minutest easing

[@GregoryBSadler]

I've read Berydaev -- but long ago -- but not Frank. Shestov is an interesting fellow. I actually ran across him in doing my research on the 1930s French Christian philosophy debates (which culminated in my book Reason Fulfilled by Revelation) -- his Athens and Jerusalem came out originally in French, in the Revue de Metaphysique et Morale. Then, having liked what I read, I started reading more of his works

[@SearTheFear]

Do you happen to know where I would possibly be able to obtain a copy of Shestov's "All things are Possible"?

[@GregoryBSadler]

You're very welcome

[@pyry-pekkajaala4684]

Thanks for the lecture! Very very interesting. Will have to order the Athens and Jerusalem. Also intrested in english translation of All things possible. Have read the translation in my own language thou.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@warrenzhu9021]

For anyone who’s interested, the audiobook of the book is on KZbin

[@GregoryBSadler]

There is a version online -- I'll insert that link into the description. As far as getting your hands on an actual book, try AbeBooks -- they're THE clearinghouse site for used books

[@CyclopZ2007]

wow! it's an honour for me as Russian that you're interested in our philosophy. and even that they are known abroad =) Have you read Berdyaev or Frank?

[@GregoryBSadler]

Yes, that's Shestov's "Everything Possible" kind of empiricism

[@zerotwo7319]

This has a few similarities with my line or reasoning, the vector field of possibilites of the universe might be finite, and we humans give much praise for equilibrium points, E.G: Game Theory. But in reality those 'gems' that we praise are so fragile and so instable and just a tiny point on the vastness of possibilites of all arrangements.... Maybe we should pay attention for the large picture? even stated that we give too much value for closed systems... Our systems of thought might be extremely simplified, just to find some pattern in the chaos.

[@alert-mercy]

Lol I'm so pleasantly suprised

[@s1monz]

Would you equate the open-endedness of Shestov's writing with that of Dostoevsky? I for instance find the latter to be uniquely excellent in this regard in the realm of fiction... the open-endedness and lack of bias towards a particular cause for Raskolnikov's murder strikes me as one example. A highly edifying analysis by the way, thanks!

[@GregoryBSadler]

+Si Rose Well, I'm not sure what "equate" means here, so I'd hesitate to do so. Certainly, there's similarities between Dostoevsky and Shestov, though the latter will criticize the former for starting to believe what people said about him later in life, and for shifting into the role of "prophet."

[@euroroomer]

...The phenomena of eating the fish is simply not worth it. Unlike Camus, I don't think that if Sisyphus makes his rock his thing we can consider him happy. He'll only be happy when he finds a stick big enough to wedge between the slope of the mountain and his rock. Do you get my sentiment? What am I not seeing? I eagerly await part 2 and more from this author. Great stuff!!!!

[@50palmyra]

Dr. Sadler, I’d love to hear you discuss Berdyaev. I came across Shestov’s name while reading Berdyaev. I’m a bit obsessive over Russian Philosophy and Literature. They seem to have encountered many of the problems modernity is now starting to acknowledge 100 years prior. What are your thoughts on Berdyaev? I think his perspective touches on many of the issues I think are pressing today

[@GregoryBSadler]

Here you go kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJy7fKeuocp6d5o

[@horseman3222]

Dr Sadler, I would like to know what are your thoughts on Shestov's critique of stoicism? I finds stoics illuminating but I also agree with Shestov's critique of ananke as underlying force in western philosophy...

[@GregoryBSadler]

Shestov doesn’t engage with the Stoics much. And the Stoics in their actual texts aren’t all that focused on Ananke. Eyes on the prize

[@horseman3222]

@@GregoryBSadler He has some jabs at Epictetus and Seneca in "Athens and Jerusalem". He is especially harsh on Epictetus...

[@GregoryBSadler]

@@horseman3222 It's been about 6-7 years since I read that late work of his (it was his involvement in the 1930s Christian philosophy debates). I'd have to find the time to go back and take a look

[@horseman3222]

@@GregoryBSadler Completly understandable. Thank you for making Shestov a bit more known. He deserves it!

[@poetryandtruth469]

This video reminded me of a thought I had a while ago. I was talking with my friend who thought that there is attainable objective knowledgde of things, and when he spoke about his research I felt anger inside myself and an urge to oppose his views. But, then I had a thought that this anger can be interpreted as a sign that we have verz different worldviews, and that I perhaps really can not understand him. Do zou know any phiosophers who interpreted anger in this way? Thanks

[@GregoryBSadler]

Sure, plenty of them. Take a look at my series on Understanding Anger, specifically the Plato, Aristotle, and Stoic lectures

[@denisvanderhaeghen148]

Met nadenken is niets mis hoor... geloof in jezelf!!!

[@MrMarktrumble]

If I learn the cannon, I am searching to be a wise man under the well-lit sign posted path. And I will continue there, as I see value there. But as I am a seeker, (perhaps bruised and worn out. peevishly muttering to myself...) I am open to observation, wonder, thought and transformation. In fact, I desire it. And this would mean accepting "night vision". I am sick of a limited mastery of a finite,logical means of capturing,storing and presenting data. What I have to watch out for is imagination undisciplined by truth, the creativity of superstition, the power of suggestion, and the desire for conformity and safety. There is a certain laziness that is rewarded by mastering the conventional. I have an ache, sometimes sharper than other times, to be authentically wise, which I can imagine a some sort of outsider with the genius of a presocratic, ( Parmenides sets the outer limits, Empedocles sets the pattern, Heraclitus describes perception, and Anaxagoros reveals thought), who finding a centre string of the whole pattern can hear the word. and aligning himself with it is the word. He is in the word, and the word is in him. He remains silent, but utters a word on the word. and it is apt and well placed. He seeks the arche of his own mind, which he thinks is the arche of the cosmos ( Anaxagoros thinking in his cell, was God thinking through man, or was man merely projecting the process of discernment outside of himself?) IS this kind of imagination worthwhile, or is it regression...enough of this. `night vision is for daydreams, explorations`and hopefully insight.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Well, one could also make occasional forays into the night, right?

[@blankname5177]

38:07 A really concise summarization of KZbin self help videos. 🤣🤣

[@BalthasarGondii]

In which passage did you refer to at the 45:22 ?

[@GregoryBSadler]

You know, it's a short book. If you read through it, you'd run across it quickly enough

[@TheLordmewtwo]

Did you ever get around to making a video about how his work "fell through some cracks" ?

[@GregoryBSadler]

I haven't, no.

[@vincentandrew4544]

Hi. Would reading Shestov give me a spoiler of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, or other Russian authors ?? From what Ive heard Shestov talks about them a lot, and I havent read every major works they wrote, so Im afraid if reading shestov would spoil my enjoyment on reading them. Sorry for the weird question, I don't know where else to ask.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Will reading Shestov give you "spoilers"? Dostoevsky isn't that kind of writer, so no

[@vincentandrew4544]

@@GregoryBSadler So I take it as Shestov does not discuss the content of his novels directly(like some kind of a literary analysis), but rather touch his Philosophical ideas? (I've read Dostoevsky so Im aware of his themes and ideas. I am just havent read all of them)

[@GregoryBSadler]

@@vincentandrew4544 How about you just read the books

[@vincentandrew4544]

@@GregoryBSadler thats what Im about to do. Im just wondering whether I should read every major work of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy first or I could just read Shestov right away... Thats why I asked the question...

[@GregoryBSadler]

@@vincentandrew4544 Yes, go ahead and read every major work of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy first. That'll keep you busy

[@GregoryBSadler]

Well, he certainly comes across as intense in some of his other works -- in this one he is more playful, more ironic.

[@joel1675]

Interesting videos here, Gregory. I had never heard of this thinker prior to watching them. Because I'm commentating, I should perhaps also ask a question which I've wondered before in watching your videos. Do you ever plan on doing a series on Heidegger's Being and Time? I would really appreciate it if you did. I actually read Nietzsche's On The Genealogy of Morals along with your series on it and it was very helpful.

[@DSTH323]

The problem is that imagination has to boundaries - limits.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Which problem?

[@phil2d2]

I would only suggest that you improve the sound on your voice. Perhaps using a mic that you wear on your collar.

[@GregoryBSadler]

Check the date on the video, and watch some other ones. Did that YEARS ago

[@euroroomer]

And yet if the pike did not give up and eventually ate the fish, it would not satisify him; he would just be hungry tomorrow. The life proposed is a tiring one. Moreover, the man in the dark has no sense of direction. Should he go right? Turn around? The life proposed is one of endless burden. The burden being the groundlessness of which direction to choose. It's such a struggle to just get out of bed that by the time I face the dark, I hail a cab to brightest well lit street I can find...

[@JustinMoreira]

Would love to have you on my podcast!

[@GregoryBSadler]

Well, you know where to reach out to me by email, and explain what you have in mind

[@JustinMoreiraPodcast]

@@GregoryBSadler Sent!! 🙌

[@GregoryBSadler]

Well, then Shestov, and the sorts of possibilities he discusses, is likely not for you.. . .

[@BobanOrlovic]

Well just because he refuses to point out existential limits and structures doesn't mean he's escaping them

[@GregoryBSadler]

Who are you responding to here?

[@BobanOrlovic]

Shestov

[@GregoryBSadler]

Yep, I know it's Shestov.

[@BobanOrlovic]

I'm confused