45 minutes on a single paragraph of Nietzsche's Beyond Good & Evil

[@muygalan]

For everyone dissatisfied about the sound quality: 1. Copy the URL for this video 2. Open VLC (download it for free online if you don't have it) 3. Press "CTRL + N" for 'Open Network Stream' 4. Paste URL to stream the video. 5. Adjust volume accordingly. 'Like' this comment so it gets more recognition! xoxo

[@jessicagodin4678]

thanks man, had VLC for years and never knew about this

[@dbdavis3958]

thanks for this information!

[@xxXTychoXxx]

Thanks a bunch, This is a great tip.

[@dwight4k]

VLC is the best player for everything.

[@dwight4k]

***** Was that really necessary?

[@sirvanghazi9429]

"Those who know that they are profound strive for clarity. Those who would like to seem profound to the crowd strive for obscurity"

[@jdd8687]

Nietzsche was commenting on Hegel, Kant, Fichte. The PoMos and Derrida in particular wrote very much in the Hegelian style, so that could be why N had them pegged before they were even born.

[@nts4906]

Nietzsche also stated that the philosopher fears being understood more than being misunderstood.

[@michaelgroenewald7]

makes me think of the majority of academic readings.

[@Chud_Bud_Supreme]

Sounds like he was describing hipsters

[@ingold1470]

Some 1910 translation of Twlight of the Idols has another version "What? Art though looking for something? Thou wouldst fain multiply thyself tenfold, a hundred-fold? Thou seekest followers? Seek Ciphers!"... We are never understood-hence our authority".

[@mouselink]

Ran into Dr. Jordan Peterson on the streets of Toronto: "How you doin today, Doc?" "Well, it depends on what you mean by 'doing.' And it depends on what you mean by 'today.'" "Now, I've been thinking about this a lot, and you can tell me what you think about it." "It doesn't seem to me to be self-evident that when we're conceptualizing the nomenclature of a word like 'today' within the substrate of a dominance hierarchy, let's say, that we're not actually utilizing an a priori interpretive framework." "That seems to me like a good way of thinking about it." "Like, you might say it's proper, by the same token -- roughly speaking -- to order your (How would you put it?) your ... your manifestation of thinking in such a manner that 'today,' or 'doing,' for that matter, is predicated upon an evolutionary understanding of the archetypal representation of these utterances as they'e been portrayed in great literature." "And why the hell not?!" "It isn't obvious to me, eh, as far as I'm concerned, that this kind of ideology isn't part and parcel of a threat to the neo-marxist identity-politics approach to Jungian chaos and order. I see this as substantiated in the humanities departments of the university as it functions today. Yunno ... as the post-modernist types would have it." "So, so ... You have to give the devil his due, you know, because the devil is in the details." "It's no joke, man. Not bloody damn well. Not at all. AT ALLLLLL." "And fair enough, you know. More power to ya as far as I'm concerned." "And how are YOU doing today?"

[@michaelnewman6936]

How long did this take? Be honest

[@davidwatkins204]

Yeah man, gotcha. Wish more of these comentators could be this lucid.

[@a.r.c8021]

Best comment

[@marshmelows]

This is pure gold. As soon as i read "And whybthe hell not?" I understood where this was going

[@FlavourlessLife]

Anyone else read this in his voice?

[@marcnavarromiralles564]

I love how he´s always picking the water cup up but then becomes engaged in what he´s saying and ends up putting it down without having had a drink

[@nickhac]

That is awesome. Well observed my good sir!

[@spencerstephens7594]

I noticed this again and again and had to pause to come check the comments for someone else who did!

[@whitenoiseihearu4018]

Einstein would accidentally forget to eat and tie his shoes. It happens.

[@noahtrim2938]

Looks like he forgot his shirt too.

[@whitenoiseihearu4018]

Noah Trim..its a look alot of self employed use. Casual tee under a jacket, its a thing. Like no socks in dress shoes.

[@paulnevard9047]

Im never been so fond of a man that lived in my lifetime. ..thank you professor

[@AnnaLVajda]

Isn't he lovely I don't know how people can't like him. I don't always agree with everything he says and he runs on a bit sometimes but even then I don't get annoyed by him I think he is just hyper intelligent and constantly formulating concepts and ideas. I don't even think it would bother him if I did disagree with him he would probably consider my reasoning respectfully and not just argue his point obsessively. Very charming individual I hope we honour him somehow soon with a literature award or something I also hope he will write another book but not a self help type book I would prefer a more memoir style presentation which can still be helpful without being like a textbook. I like when he shares personal experiences not just analyzes and dissects other peoples work although he is very apt at that also.

[@mpm1125]

He is a great blessing to our culture and thankfully is about to release a new book. I can’t think of anyone who I respect as an intellectual right now as Dr. Peterson. Well said!

[@williammcmillion1796]

me as well brother.

[@TheMrGarciahernan]

Same bro . This guy and Elon

[@mrmonk7197]

Going to see him live next Wednesday. I'm so glad our time here overlapped.

[@alessiorastani]

Peterson's comment at 36:01 is excellent: "Nietzsche's book is not a book at all - it's a series of bombs.... And each sentence is a bomb. Each sentence blows things up that people don't know exist".

[@goobermcgilicuty3754]

Nietzsche was purely human, compelled by suffering an could not find a way towards any satisfaction in life, with the exception criticism. I got to tell ya I would much much rather be at peace than a constant handwringer ! !

[@zlatanibrahimovic8329]

Goober Mcgilicuty it is easy to mock the dead.

[@praz7]

@@goobermcgilicuty3754 yeah it's easy to live in a delusion than understand reality and still push ahead because most people give up on everything once they understand reality.

[@dogdriver70]

The first chapter destroys you.

[@dogdriver70]

@James Cain you begin to understand...

[@JessieBastardi]

“The more poetic the author happens to be, the more the case that his or her writings contain within it the seeds of future ideas.”

[@robertrich4473]

Not always the case. Have you read Whitman? Whitman’s poetry could be classified as poetic, but it was so ignorantly self absorbed one would wonder if Whitman could see past the tip of his nose, let alone the next 5 minutes.

[@aii8725]

@@robertrich4473 why's the case you'd say?

[@connormccabe9111]

I’m 3 pages into this book writing this comment. I need a 10 minute break to digest each paragraph to possibly not comprehend anything properly or fully. I didn’t know something like this existed. Quite frankly I’ve never been terrified and exciting trying to digest something. How fantastic.

[@manwithmountain]

For me it was the 'On the Geneology of Morals'. It was a slog getting through it but wow.

[@aldrickpeter]

i bought that book and i try reading it again and again, but i can't understand anything

[@alexwithletters3215]

Wouldn't a better approach be to chew on it several times , then swallow and then digest it. Meaning, read it "leisurely" then read it again , then read it again and then attempt digestion.

[@jakedubs]

when NPC's read philosophy

[@anilthapa5631]

​@@aldrickpeterme too,but I will never give up 😊.

[@N64RumblePak]

I think I enjoy listening to Jordan Peterson and learning from him not just because he is significantly more intelligent than me, but because I am willing to admit that he is significantly more intelligent than me. His intelligence demands respect, and my demand is satisfied by his intelligence. A toast may need to be raised to never watching buzzfeed again.

[@TheWildCur]

Have You Seen Chef? Have you ever found it interesting that Buzzfeed, a list site, is inhabited by people who believe in classless societies and believe hierarchies aren't necessary?

[@fayefallon3027]

me too

[@heathervogt3409]

He just read alot more books and hes born into a culture that gave the most gifts to white men to thrive.

[@jaysilverstone7221]

@@heathervogt3409 boring

[@ziparis]

It's not just intelligence - it's what he's done with it. He's put it to good and meaningful use.

[@indolentsloth6285]

*---------* *Here's the section he's referring to if you would like to read it before you watch the video* *-----------* It has gradually become clear to me what every great philosophy up till now has consisted of-namely, the confession of its originator, and a species of involuntary and unconscious auto-biography; and moreover that themoral (or immoral) purpose in every philosophy has constituted the true vital germ out of which the entire plant has always grown. Indeed, to understand how the abstruse-st metaphysical assertions of a philosopher have been arrived at, it is always well (and wise) to first ask oneself: ‘What morality do they (or does he) aim at?’ Accordingly, I do not believe that an ‘impulse to knowledge’ is the father of philosophy; but that another impulse, here as elsewhere, has only made use of knowledge (and mistaken knowledge!) as an instrument. But whoever considers the fundamental impulses of man with a view to determining how far they may have here acted as INSPIRING GENII (or as demons and cobolds), will find that they have all practiced philosophy at one time or another, and that each one of them would have been only too glad to look upon itself as the ultimate end of existence and the legitimate LORD over all the other impulses. For every impulse is imperious, and as SUCH, attempts to philosophize. To be sure, in the case of scholars, in the case of really scientific men, it may be otherwise-‘better,’ if you will; there there may really be such a thing as an ‘impulse to knowledge,’ some kind of small, independent clock-work, which, when well wound up, works away industriously to that end, WITHOUT the rest of the scholarly impulses taking any material part therein. The actual ‘interests’ of the scholar, therefore, are generally in quite another direction-in the family, perhaps, or in money-making, or in politics; it is, in fact, almost indifferent at what point of research his little machine is placed, and whether the hopeful young worker becomes a good philologist, a mushroom specialist, or a chemist; he is not CHARACTERIZED by becoming this or that. In the philosopher, on the contrary, there is absolutely nothing impersonal; and above all, his morality furnishes a decided and decisive testimony as to WHO HE IS,-that is to say, in what order the deepest impulses ofhis nature stand to each other.

[@tehnebb]

Indolent Sloth thank you!

[@ccdavis94303]

Please add my thanks. But you contradict your title by your efforts. Blush from the earned praise.

[@FloydMaxwell]

This "paragraph" is incredibly poorly worded. In part because it is no doubt a translation from German. Trying to process and understand it is as useful as trying to understand String Theory. Nietzsche clearly did not have enough time to make the paragraph smaller. Pity.

[@bertwesler1181]

Every fool who has reduced himself to a "Clockwork" has gone mad. Usually, they drink themselves to death. The knowledge that one is an autonomous being with the capability to "Act" is the road to wisdom and health of mind body and soul.

[@RohanKumar-vx5sb]

thanks!

[@marcpadilla1094]

Wisdom is a woman and she always loves a warrior. Thus spoke Zarathustra.

[@Rahel_Rashid]

Prof. Peterson, it would be awesome if you could share some advice on reading and how to comprehend and retain what is written.

[@samchop7494]

At 1:20, he talks about sewing the seeds of future ideas. To attempt to digest and hold everything is, to the best of my understanding imprudent. Though it would be outlandishly cool to be able to Nietschze at any given moment, I think this might be a hard work and dedication deal.

[@SilvaOnTube]

A good reason why experience in much reading both of Nietzsche's own work (very easy to do), and of the many bad and good works about him (of which Kaufmann's are clearly the best - and again, also a good bit of reading) are essential. Forty-five minutes is hardly any more than a very, very brief introduction (as I'm sure Professor Peterson would agree).

[@SilvaOnTube]

May I recommend a great book on that by the great editors of the Great Books series, Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren? It is the best.

[@BigRed4231]

Take a literature course at university, where you read novels or philosophical works. Go to the lecture and feel ashamed of how much you overlooked. Repeat this as many times as needed, when you do not feel ashamed anymore you can consider yourself a competent reader. It´s amazing how much we overlook. I always look for the things - probably cause I have a inferiority issue - people are not saying, not doing or not being aware of, so I can get feel for who they are, and if I should take them serious or not.

[@Rahel_Rashid]

+Sam Chop true, thanks!

[@Luca-tw9fk]

I watched your interview with Saad and thought I was picking up on a nuanced view of Nietzsche--particularly when you touched on the idea that mans' most central values are religious in nature. I'm excited to watch the other videos on Nietzsche/Jung/Morality/Existentialism etc. I'm glad to have finally found an accessible contemporary thinker who explores these ideas.

[@billybussey]

This might be the most important video I've seen on youtube. I feel like the direction of my life changed & solidified at the same time somehow just now.

[@skellyjell]

Almost like a, recapitulation? ;)

[@TOAOM123]

But have you seen butt cheeks sonic?

[@shaynebarnes175]

"what makes you think you're a reliable judge of what it is that you're up to." simply a bomb

[@vishmonster]

"What makes you think you're a reliable judge of what you're up to?" 26:00

[@picardoi8742]

gngndthg jyhhf i know what i am up to, sure i do. i know what my goal is and how i will achieve it, but why i want that goal is something i dont know myself , as with everything, but the desire for goals is an inevitable part of human being. humans need to have a goal no matter now frivolous

[@BrettonFerguson]

You think you know what your goal is. But you may have goals you are not aware of.

[@thetravelinghermit]

gngndthg jyhhf Nice profile pic...I think, I'm not certain.

[@robertpalmer8371]

maybe my subconscious wants to die like Hitler in a bunker, with the world in flames above me?

[@seirbells9546]

that made me feel atacked, and i loved it.

[@cleaninghouse1297]

I read beyond good and evil and the science and health at the same time when I was 18. I loved Neitche even though I am very religious... I gave up on western philosophy and concentrated on music and Chinese language learning and my children blahblah blah. But now I am drifting back to my Christian philosophical routes. God bless Jordan ... Real prayer is good deeds sir and your free lectures are a catalyst of good. May a divine sword defend your cross

[@goktugcengiz1717]

Adam Snyder Please read Nietzsche again, I'm sure your opinion about your 'roots' will change drastically.

[@davidalan3503]

Please more Nietzsche videos. You're analysis is remarkable!

[@yashodakrishna2351]

@Doctor Drywell can you please be more civil in saying what you are saying? It reduces the impact of what you're trying to deliver. You seem extremely triggered which makes me take your criticism less seriously

[@yashodakrishna2351]

@Doctor Drywell Also I'd like to point out that in this video he doesn't really talk about the phrase God is dead. The contradiction you're referring has not alot to do with this video.. so really it'd be appropriate if u could point out the contradictions from this video

[@SantinoDeluxe]

@Doctor Drywell i saw what youre talking about and found it hard to verbalize, but i agree. also, i personally didnt like how he assumed hitler wanted to die in a hole, while claiming the thought came from some unknown scholar, paused and agreed with himself... then proceeded to insinuate that youre hitler too and you wanna die in a hole, cuz he human... (meanwhile the other guy is 1 in a billion and on such another level you can just forget about it... bah ha!) and he does this all with a snobby kinda question that goes unanswered cuz you cant defend yourself. no, i dont think hitler wanted to die in a hole. there. that kills that thought experiment.

[@symphonicsilence3]

You can't really construct your own values. That was Peterson's argument to that. I dont think the overman can exist to any man. Were not logical beings. We have methaporical chains on us at all times, whether you know it or not. The Christian Fundmentalist thinking may be flawed, but it has utility at the end of the day. And hell, maybe it ain't that flawed. Just pick a set of values that can benefit you and maybe others for the longest set of time. And attempt to be happy. I prefer a set a values that make me happy, though I'm a cynic at heart.

[@symphonicsilence3]

@Doctor Drywell I believe you can choose your values at the end of the day. You do have choice. But at the end of the day you're still shackled to an ethic/moral. That might as well be your god. Not to sound like I'm attacking you homie but, your whole diety argument is slightly flawed. You dont have to say you believe in god or not. At the end of the day it's kinda like a feeling. Though that is a poor explanation ,I dont really want to argue the existence of god. To be fair it really doesn't matter at the end of the day. Just try to be an ideal and try to enjoy life if you can.

[@patrickcousins13]

Dr. Peterson, I have followed your work for over a dozen years and have been deeply inspired by it from start to finish, but this video is hands-down the most mind-blowing, astonishing work I have ever seen you do. Your careful, close reading of this paragraph is nothing short of brilliant.

[@thebatman330]

--------- Here's the section to which he's referring, read before watching! ----------- It has gradually become clear to me what every great philosophy up till now has consisted of-namely, the confession of its originator, and a species of involuntary and unconscious auto-biography; and moreover that the moral (or immoral) purpose in every philosophy has constituted the true vital germ out of which the entire plant has always grown. Indeed, to understand how the abstract metaphysical assertions of a philosopher have been arrived at, it is always well (and wise) to first ask oneself: ‘What morality do they (or does he) aim at?’ Accordingly, I do not believe that an ‘impulse to knowledge’ is the father of philosophy; but that another impulse, here as elsewhere, has only made use of knowledge (and mistaken knowledge!) as an instrument. But whoever considers the fundamental impulses of man with a view to determining how far they may have here acted as INSPIRING GENII (or as demons), will find that they have all practiced philosophy at one time or another, and that each one of them would have been only too glad to look upon itself as the ultimate end of existence and the legitimate LORD over all the other impulses. For every impulse is imperious, and as SUCH, attempts to philosophize. To be sure, in the case of scholars, in the case of really scientific men, it may be otherwise-‘better,’ if you will; there there may really be such a thing as an ‘impulse to knowledge,’ some kind of small, independent clock-work, which, when well wound up, works away industriously to that end, WITHOUT the rest of the scholarly impulses taking any material part therein. The actual ‘interests’ of the scholar, therefore, are generally in quite another direction-in the family, perhaps, or in money-making, or in politics; it is, in fact, almost indifferent at what point of research his little machine is placed, and whether the hopeful young worker becomes a good philologist, a mushroom specialist, or a chemist; he is not CHARACTERIZED by becoming this or that. In the philosopher, on the contrary, there is absolutely nothing impersonal; and above all, his morality furnishes a decided and decisive testimony as to WHO HE IS,-that is to say, in what order the deepest impulses of his nature stand to each other.

[@nickshel]

I feel like Dr Peterson always provides a sort of meta-view, intermixed with his own original thought which provides a framework within which to understand these great thinkers in conjunction.

[@LeeboProductions]

If you listen carefully, you can hear his story and his aims... He can't help but reveal them.

[@philip-johnkmauro3875]

How right you are sir! If I work hard enough I can get you to spend some time on youtubemusicsucks.com. And that is something like a new music community who love Psychology, David Bowie, and Can (the band)! Check it.

[@jonasdamion1627]

what.. what does that have to do with the content of what he's saying

[@dainodawg3160]

oh wow, so you're trying to say, he "explained" what friedrich was saying? lol, everybody is horribly verbose in JP comments.

[@Fausto410]

Well put...

[@lgbrown3820]

I think one of your internal spirits wants you to quench your thirst by taking a drink of that water, but some other spirits are preventing you from doing so. Just something to be aware of. Stay hydrated!

[@wiseypinguin7516]

# MickJenkins

[@AnnaLVajda]

His thirst for knowledge is stronger than his physical instincts.

[@sugarcravings1797]

when the teacher says "justify your answer"

[@DM-wu5hn]

The teacher said nobody has to, yesterday.

[@SinanKorkmaz91]

I had the same experiences that Prof. Peterson had been through while reading Nietzsche which continuously blow my mind away. But even though i had the same enthusiasm to explain it or articulate my own ideas about this book to the people or even to myself i am always finding myself not qualified for those skills. In here, in this video, i again felt the same enlightenment and inspiration by Prof. Peterson's skill to explain the book so clearly and accuralately that my mind blow away again not only with the thought of Nietzsche but intelligence of his own.

[@contemplation2293]

Thanks for this, the world needs more people like you.

[@XKK85]

Tend to get beaten to pieces

[@borux193]

Recently purchased a biography on Nietzsche - "I am Dynamite" at the back it references some his aphorisms, I read through them and stopped dead at this one - "The Kingdom Of Heaven is a condition of the heart" (I've shortened it slightly) incredible.

[@christophersnedeker]

Cs lewis said hell is a condition of the heart, heaven is the opposite, heaven is reality itself.

[@shyamablaise3725]

I gotta exclaim that I am so happy to have a Professor, an academic teacher by my choosing. Dr. Peterson, thank you for accepting your coronation into Public Figure-hood.

[@MrVisions]

He does have that engaging panache that makes me reminisce about my old C.Psych prof. K.C. Hoffer.

[@TheRedmurk0]

Bodhi Sattva ststsytyrtrrreeeyyeyryryst

[@19993gt]

I concur

[@ligayabarlow5077]

First read this outdoors beside a lake on a warm Spring day at 24 as an undergrad and it changed my life forever for the better!

[@mutlutaskn9810]

“It has gradually become clear to me what every great philosophy up till now has consisted of - namely, the confession of its originator, and a species of involuntary and unconscious autobiography; and moreover that the moral (or immoral) purpose in every philosophy has constituted the true vital germ out of which the entire plant has always grown.” Nietzsche

[@alexanderlamothe1896]

While I was listening to a girl in my class present her topic of Jihad I started to think about what she was doing. I had the idea that the information that she recounted was the information that her value system inspired her to seek out. This, and how she used examples to convey her ideas, showed me that we are all unconsciously revealing our aim and lives in our words.

[@justinparker8389]

I just had this book in my hand two seconds ago. I picked it up a few months ago and it’s been sitting in a box since. As I read the authors name I heard Jordan Peterson’s voice pronouncing it in his funny Canadian accent lol. I put the book down and came to bed and scrolling through KZbin feed this video popped up on me . Synchronicity! I have to read this I guess

[@brandonbell73]

If only people would stop and think before they speak, as much a he does. Makes this (personally) challenging book far more comprehensible for us smaller minded individuals.

[@existentialexplorations4900]

Thank you for unpacking this paragraph from Beyond Good and Evil and explaining the process of Nietzsche's writing. It's a very fruitful way of understanding these kinds of texts. I hope there will be a lot more of these kinds of videos dealing with the existential philosophers, especially Dostoevsky and Kierkegaard.

[@XKK85]

Academy of ideas is daring

[@DanielGloverTheGreat]

Dr. Peterson is an enigma. I turn my volume up to hear him better, but the only thing that gets louder is the background noise and not his voice.

[@ThreadsAtDavidmichaelmc9]

When Nietzcshe said that a philosopher is not primarily motivated by a desire to accumulate knowledge, it was like Bobby Flay saying that a chef is not motivated by a desire to acquire food.

[@da33smith37]

When Nietzsche says a philosopher is not primarily motivated by a desire to accumulate knowledge, he's saying also that he himself is not primarily seeking knowledge. He must have another agenda as well,, but may not be entirely transparent about what it is.

[@nataliam9764]

I was, indeed, motivated by the desire of knowing the truth. That’s why, probably, God had mercy on me.

[@drugin4168]

I took it as him saying that a philosopher views the acquisition of knowledge or argumentation as a means to satisfy their will to power. The will to power here doesn't mean the will to political power (though it is sometimes interpreted as such) but rather the will to be powerful (the is, the full maximization and realization of one's capacities).

[@buttonholes]

Around 10 minutes or so where you give a great answer for why someone might want to read a great philosopher (like Nietzsche)-thank you! This is a great reason for why a formal education is unique, too; (a good formal education, anyway) exposes you and has you engaging in dialectic with great material that professors and other students have recently read together as a community of learners, which builds over the 4 years. I’ve been watching vids of you to see what people are liking (and not liking) about you. But I’ve just been enjoying the way you lay out your thoughts. It’s awesome people are thinking about the objectively positive writings of Nietzsche that are still the most useful and poetic phenomenology-type philosophy I’ve read.

[@judicebastard3524]

Dear Prof. Peterson Thank you very much for taking the time to upload this and use your knowledge of Nietzsche to spread wisdom across the Globe. Also, hats off to you on the political frontier of Canada. Don't let the Bastards beat you down! Bests, UK

[@MultiverseArtStudio]

19:41 I can understand that this is true for most people but for me it has been involuntary & conscious felt as if I was trapped in my own head

[@SolidSiren]

The first time I read Beyond Good and Evil I was 14 years old. I took some of it in, but found Nietzsche to be profoundly arrogant, though at times correct but spoke with too much certainty. I read again it when I was 18. I threw it in the corner. It was even worse. Finally I went back to it at age 28. It was then that I appreciated it a bit.

[@dexchaos9222]

I just asked myself, what would Jordan Peterson think about the book "Beyond good and evil", so I just googled "jordan Peterson Nietzsche" and there it was. Thank you Sir! I will really enjoy watching it.

[@MonkeyFabGarage]

Honestly was about to throw in the towel on this book. Glad I found this Dr P. “Dense” is perfect description. Gonna put on my big boy pants and give it another go.

[@salesbuffet]

How's it going?

[@KnowThyself619]

Yeah how is it going? I just started a month ago and it's taking me atleast a week for one page and I'm not sure if I'm understanding it at all.

[@cooldude-on9gm]

to all you guys struggling with nietzsche read paragraph 27 from beyond good and evil. his works are not supposed to be read casually, they are supposed to be hard and therefore any form of intelectual struggle which in the end produces interpretation is valuable - don't give up because its worth to get through it

[@KnowThyself619]

@@cooldude-on9gm thanks man, that's nice.

[@impulsive1252]

You don't need to understand everything (or anything) he is saying on your first read. As a matter of fact you're not going to. This is a book that you need to revisit over and over again.

[@H3c171]

Such an amazing video! This is my 4th time watching it, his enthusiasm while deciphering Nietzsche's texts is like watching a child play with a new toy.

[@williamkoscielniak820]

Great video! You're passionate about "knowing thyself" which I find to be a rare quality in most "philosophers". The first chapter in Beyond Good and Evil is one of the great masterpieces of psychology, imo.

[@guzzopinc1646]

nietzsche is so deep peterson has to pause just to do short meditations just to search for words with the proper depth... very beautiful.

[@Beiskraft]

Nietzsche's books are great. He helps me put it all together and see ahead. Sometimes the magnifying glass is on something I had vague ideas about, not knowing how it could or would make sense together and it's in the grey area so to say, and it would bother me, but then Fritz puts it all in a few sentences for you. Boom!

[@seanmurphyification]

Just started Beyond Good and Evil. When Dr.Peterson describes how dense the book is he is not exaggerating. Every sentence makes you think.

[@liebistfuralleda]

Please, do the Nietzsche series.

[@mdmweavve8740]

I`ve read most of the comments and suddenly felt an obligation to share a thought. Here he cites one of the humanity sharpest, most philosophically inclined, mind. What has eluded me till now, though this video had me contemplating the idea of beyond good and evil for far too many times, is that it ain`t the greatest one. Such a relief. Tear briefly shed finds its` closure.

[@srijanagrawal5124]

That "if you don't believe in something you couldn't organise your vision" thing is spot on. It happened to me just a few weeks ago that i realised i couldn't focus on the things in front of me (in terms of sight). And it had begun when i read nietzsche and oscar wilde (and a few others) and saw some fantastic movies. It made me re-examine why i believed in the things i believed in, what my biases were etc. I've to almost strengthen the muscles around my eyes and gradually reprogram them to look at the things in front of me. It's very tough

[@misssarahashplant31]

Your lectures are indispensable to anyone whom wishes to delve deeper into the history of epistemology and the humanities. I would not touch drugs with a bargepole and so videos like yours are my only way of intoxicating myself. Drinking from the fountain of knowledge and becoming inebriated.

[@R.Tafolla]

Holy crap. It’s amazing how much five years changed Peterson’s appearance.

[@BigRed4231]

Complex thinkers write one book, then hundreds books are written about the book. They can be a real pain to read. When I was new to reading books by intellectuals I at first thought it was a load of unreadable bollocks, then when went to the lecture, i realized that my reading skills and attention span were bollocks. Some books I can only understand through anamnesis (recollection from experience) cause the language is so unusual. Some of Platon` writings - translated from ancient greek to my native language - for example. Different culture, different language, but I also suspect that Platon might obscure the text by choice. His teacher, Socrates, was very aware of the dangers and limits of written text. As he said: the father of the text is not there to protect it. So let´s make it hard to read so that those who would misunderstand or misuse it will not bother to read it.

[@vermoidvermoid7124]

A book reading of a complex book like this is something that a lot of people could benefit. I would love to see more such videos

[@humanearthling4661]

I love the way he free associates as he expresses his ideas. He has admitted that he learns to understand what he is thinking by listening to what and how he says what he says....and that is true. Often enough we can learn from what we say if we listen to ourselves. We can also evolve better ways of saying what we think by doing this.

[@ignaciomontero3493]

I bet that when he speaks with journalists he can oversee the conversation on slow motion as the spiderman movie and, based on his observations about their intentions and narcissism, decide on the degree of power and eloquence velocity to instill to his words to disarm them completely

[@buffgarfield5250]

"its a series of bombs" I am not a man, I am dynamite!

[@Robinexs]

Dr. Peterson I love your vids and they really help me get closer to complex concepts and ideas but.... every time you grab a glass or a bottle of water and you DON'T drink from it for ages I just can't help it and lose focus. I don't wanna rely on just listening cause you are very expressive and your body language complements enormously your message, so PLEASE ..take a sip , TAKE A SIP of WATER ! for Nietzsche's, Jung's sake ! :) Jokes aside , thank you professor ! I've been a Sam Harris listener and disciple for a long time and now yours too. The debates you guys had, first one included, were spectacular ! Glad to know everything's being sorted out now with the U of T. All the best !

[@PraetorClaudius]

It's a really inspiring quote, because in that sense, everyone is a philosopher. Or the philosopher's stone is the most basic archetype there is to self-awareness.

[@gaiafbm3219]

It's fun to know that even someone like Jordan is having a hard time interpreting the density of each sentence. In other words, I may not be that stupid after all.

[@ericwalker3588]

Are you as stupid as you sound?

[@brahimilyes681]

Hahahahahaha

[@19993gt]

Lol I’m holding on by a thread, keep practicing and attempting to understand lol

[@valerieosullivan6986]

Thank you, what a wonderful teacher you are Mr Peterson. I hope you’re recovery will be swift

[@irtttt]

"The very act of interacting with the world presupposes an ethic" this whole video is just 45 minutes of answers to questions i never asked damn

[@diggie9598]

Someone random: Of course i know what i'm up to. Just look at all the goals of mine, they give a clear view on what i'm up to. Me: Knowing ones actively thought through goals does not necessarily convince me, that there isn't way more to it. It may very well cover large parts of what you're up to, looking at those goals from a neutral point of view and analyze them one by one seperately. Then you very likely find connections in between those goals that make perfetly sense and give you sort of a meta perspective, or let's call it deeper and more complex view on what you're up to. That's great, because you are very likely to improve your aim. In the sense of stabilizing the whole structure of what you're up to. In order to do that you figure out ways of gluing together or in other words synchronizing related things. At the same time you may find it necessary to rearange destabilizing elements or even wiping out some of those. Correcting the course towards your actively thought through goals so to speak. If we agree on the possibility that Hitler was desiring his own death, but wasn't aware of that, then we can not be certain to have uncovered everytthing about what we ourselves are being up to. So the question remains: Are we reliable judges of what we're up to, or do we just think so? At the end of the day knowing exactly 100% of what you're up to may not even matter that much. When it comes down to being a responsible, trustworthy and competent human, the goals of yours that you're truly aware of and your morals and behaviour based on healthy ethics may lead you way into the green zone. Fair enough i'd say. What are you guys thinking about that?

[@walkertongdee]

Read that book years ago my brain still hurts.

[@me_oh_me_oh_my9390]

fntime wtf

[@mohamedelmakrouch7469]

You are definetly my all time favorite professor .. thank You so much Dr Jordan

[@saveit4thefridge]

31:05 Peterson describes one of Nietzsche’s most infamous lines on the nature of power. Before I even gave Nietzsche a chance, this quote of his was the primary reason I did not allow myself serious inquiry into his work. I’m glad to have that Quote explained better and also to realize that in his greater body of work he is actually cautioning against this tendency. In other words I have been selling Nietzsche short this whole time as I hadn’t thought about it myself, or delved into the literature seriously, taking the footnotes provided from my feminist philosophy teacher as dogma. Thanks for elucidating this and emancipating my mind Professor Peterson.

[@4ntifreez]

the fact that i could understood the sentences despite me not being an english native speaker, even before he proceeded to explain them, made me want to read the whole book. thanks for the upload

[@cleaninghouse1297]

Neitche is such a German his philosophy would be so different if he was Irish... Neitche was very courageous and lived with a lot of pain

[@playthora6515]

26:00 Chilling the way he delivers the line looking straight at the camera

[@Demention94]

I found this video really helpful! As I have attempted to read Beyond Good and Evil and really struggle with understanding precisely what Nietzsche is getting at in particular sentences. Somehow I chose one of the hardest philosophers to start with. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't after the truth.

[@markfisher6404]

I would suggest a more chronological approach to philosophy. Nietzsche was a philologist and wrote about the historical ideas of the human species while developing his arguments.

[@jovaransguplar3019]

My copy of this book came in the mail today. I'm having to rewind this a bit pretty frequently to stay on task. This book should be a healthy challenge. Can't wait to read it again in 5 years too

[@TheAwillz]

This is exactly what I’ve been trying to articulate for so long! Thank you on the very deepest level, a truly life changing affirmation for a young man like me

[@phyllisjohnson6560]

Something so deep he has the genius to articulate it that a interested student of such knowledge can understand it. This is an video but still valuable.

[@crisisactor420]

I'm reading Beyond Good & Evil right now and this was helpful. I think the comment about marking important points is very funny because I find myself in the same situation with great books. It might be useful to do more of these

[@fe12rrps]

This exposition of Beyond Good and Evil is one of the best I've seen. The danger of BG&E is the exploration of the Zoroastrian value system which is vastly different from Christianity which is based on the faith in the opposition of values (good versus evil, bravery versus cowardice, truth versus deceit...). Nietzsche lays bare more than anyone the idea that this faith in opposition of values is unfounded and even harmful.

[@thomasenigmatic4210]

Thank you for the delightful insight and breakdown into a portion of Nietzsche's mind!

[@zacgeagan9416]

I need to meet Jordan sometime, brilliant man, deserves better than what he gets for his attempts to help others. My hero.

[@koenraadweilers]

Thank you for posting this, and all the other videos you have posted in the past. I am learning so much from watching - and trying to live - your videos. Thanks again!

[@joelmaskell4936]

It's insanely deep and dense, by far the most complex and difficult book I've ever read

[@cbastor1]

Read this when I was 18 and it changed my life

[@helenshort5943]

Thank you for affording the masses with insightful teaching. I love you.

[@godzeno]

Please improve the sound quality! Really great insight!

[@Aperage87]

The room ! Why would you give such an amazing lecture in these conditions. Bring in trees, a better chair, a library and woodwork. He deserves way better !

[@CaptCutler]

And for the love of God, get this man some patches for his blazer!

[@SusanBaileyAmazingEstate]

These circumstances are all conscious choices Dr. Peterson has made. He's not wearing a shirt, either, although he is wearing suspenders. All part of the effect.

[@marekvodicka]

A great lecture. In my interpretation, probably the most important motive for Nietzsche is the affirmation of life as the highest value. The will to power isn't necessary a need to dominate others, it's a vitalistic life force, "the cardinal drive of the organism", the need to express one's power and overcome boundaries, which, for Nietzsche, is more fundamental than the drive for self-preservation, because self-preservation is derived from it. Nietzsche basically tells us to approach all things in life in a manner that enables us to "feel an increasing feeling of life in us". He feels that a lot of people in modern times aren't "getting" that feeling and so they develop pathologies like becoming obsessed with "objective" factual knowledge (aka becoming a "walking encyclopedia"), start believing in an immortal soul and hoping for an afterlife, denouncing life and becoming ascetics etc. He basically tells us to listen to our bodies to know what's best for us, as strange as it may sound.

[@his.name.is.sw-g]

I understand Its been a while since you wrote this but I have a question; How do we listen to our bodies to figure out whats best for us?(in simple terms if possible)

[@marekvodicka]

@@his.name.is.sw-g Listen to your taste. In everything - food and drink, climate and place, method of relaxation. Pay attention to what gives you the most vitality and what robs you of it. Avoid stimuli that rob you of vitality, seek out those that nourish you. Use this to adjust your "spiritual" and "bodily" diet in as "selfish" manner as posible, meaning trusting only your instincts and not any recipe given to you by somebody else. Your taste is actually just a commonly used word for what is in reality your instinct for self-preservation or self-defence - a form of will to power. And the will to power is the will of the body, because it is the will of organic life, according to Nietzsche. Life's imperative, in the form of your taste, should guide you to your own version of flourishing, as Nietzsche seems to believe. All this that I've described is taken directly from the book Ecce Homo, chapter "Why I Am So Clever", sections 2 and 8. You can check it out yourself.

[@vb9366]

Every time I listen to Dr. Peterson I feel like I have gained a few IQ points.

[@johannagustsson1533]

Haven't read Nietzsche but everybody good thing Jordan is saying about Nietzsche and complementing, I find I can apply it directly to Jordan Peterson, his writings and how he speaks.

[@4inaftermath454]

This brilliant, will have to read more of these guys, this so insightful.

[@LVXMagick]

The part about man being a vessel for spirits that are one eyed monsters fighting to create their own agenda within man and the world reminds me of the Gunas in Hindu philosophy that fight for the top or control of the wheel. Rajas (passion/activity), Sattva(goodness/balance), and the Tamas (destruction/chaos). They dwell and struggle for control within each person but none ever keep control of the wheel of Time or stay on top as the wheel will always spin. It also relates to the principles of Sulfur, Mercury, and Salt in Alchemy....this talk is amazing. I had ordered beyond good and evil earlier today then stumbled upon this lecture. So glad I did.

[@spiritualdeath101]

Nietzsche wrote in aphorisms - JBP brings his own unique interpretation to the text in a way that few could. "An aphorism, properly stamped and moulded, has not been 'deciphered' just because it has been read out; on the contrary, this is the just the beginning of its proper interpretation, and for this, an art of interpretation is needed." - to interpret Nietschze accurately I believe you need a grounding in psychology. Beyond Good and Evil is like a foreign language; you need an interpreter.

[@Bee-tj8gc]

Nah I think it's over convoluted like the Russia collision scandal. Einstein dumbed down the theory of relativity and time diolation "it's like comparing spending a time with a good looking lady vs burning your hand on a stove" Isaac Newton dumbed down calculus with the comparison of an apple falling from a tree. Most philosophers just overcomplicate their ideas in an attempt to sound smart while talking about literally nothing

[@RafaMartinelli]

The video on Genesis and the Buddha opened my mind to the meaning behind Nietzche's "god is dead". Thanks for your analysis Jordan.

[@georgeianta2088]

I must have spent 10 minutes just reading, re-reading and comprehending the paragraph so 45 minutes is fair

[@dericflairmultiverse4952]

Professor Peterson speaks like his words are his orchestra, his stories his choreography and his explantions are his distillations

[@vulekv93]

An hour and a half spent on a single 45min KZbin video...

[@myleg...]

14 hours on a single KZbin comment...

[@motemints]

@Jovan Jovanović Thats too much but I have a similar experience with TSZ, Stuff hurts my soul and rips my hearth, i'm trying to trespass it in a lighter way, reading the whole thing fast, so you can gain perspective of the chapters in relation to the others and the general meaning of the book as a whole, Nietzsche once said he hated his readers who stumbled and hurt with each stone they encounter.

[@motemints]

But he also said that the one who writes with blood knows that blood is spirit, and he who writes with sentences wants not to read but to be learned by memory. And man they sure get imprinted on the sensitive, he's also a poet besides being a master. His critics have called him a spider who catches the gullible, in his net of sentimentalism and romanticism, which I found partially true, there's plenty of suffering on incarnating his philosophy, understanding it... for a while I questioned the validity of wisdom itself, I changed to other literary generes and backed off.

[@5days61]

vule it took me 2 years to finish this response

[@marshmelows]

That must be a good solid time. And it's no joke man!

[@unmasked1728]

I believe that our lives are a string of tiny triumphs, whether conscious or unconscious. And, which collectively, aim toward achieving happiness, or, at the least, a life experience that is not wasted. Listening to and mentally digesting Dr. Peterson's analyses reminds me, joyfully, of listening to my father expound upon the writings of many philosophers as he sipped his Port wine and filled his audience with thought. Thank you.

[@michaelconnell3778]

Around 30:40 Peterson talks about the fundamental deconstructionist claim: "It doesn't matter what the content of the text is, what matters is that the text can be used as a tool for power and whether the person who wrote the text knew it or not that's what they were doing. and they were doing it in a way to privilege themselves above other people." I hear echoes of the PC game in this claim -- where it doesn't matter what someone else says, the person saying it is either being dominated or dominating other people and in the latter case trying to maintain that dominance through every action they take. What I'm taking from this is that the deconstructionists shook their fairy dust over reality (in the form of their fundamental claim, applied to all sorts of texts and simplified in the form of cognitive algorithms that can be easily transmitted) and it has started dissolving reality in an important sense. Or, more precisely, they are dissolving the linkage between objective reality (the world of objects) and subjective reality (the world of meaning). Which frees people up to invent their own subjective replacements for physics, biology (claiming, for example, that biological sex is a social construct), psychology, etc. -- unmoored from evidence or rational scientific method. They seem to be trying to reconstruct the structures from the world of objects within the plane of meaning, where things are more fluid. So we have objective biology and subjective biology now, and objective biology is being labeled as a tool of oppression, which means it's marked for destruction. So, this is rather terrifying. But I think there's evidence that it's actually happening all around us. The video footage documenting the current free speech debate is loaded with examples. Which raises an interesing question: what is the nature of Order in relation to the planes of Object and Meaning? Order must fundamentally be a belief system, yes? I mean, Order cannot be something "out there" -- otherwise there would be no process of transformation, so Order must be a human model of something out there -- which is what a belief system is. So, following, this line of thinking, the deconstructionists are basically trying to corrupt the fundamental nature and/or operation of the Logos. Because the Logos operates on two aspects -- object and meaning. But if everything is basically dissolved from the object plane and moved over to the meaning plane, that is not simply a revision of the existing Order but also a transformation of the fundamental mechanism by which Order is created out of Chaos. It's a radical change to the foundation of belief systems. In a world based on that kind of belief, Truth is obviously not a primary value. In fact, Truth would tend to be quite disruptive, and naturally defenses would evolve that would protect against Truth -- like silencing any opposition (again, see the video on the free speech debate at UoT). What would happen if everyone were inculcated into this way of thinking? Who would operate all the machinery that actually depends on objective physics, biology, and psychology? How would decision making about important object-world issues like economics and climate change be negotiated and plausible solutions produced? I would imagine this would cause the whole social system to collapse into chaos before too long.

[@katfyte]

Michael Connell What happens is Dr. Peterson is hounded by students accusing him of using his power words to not only dominate them but deny them of zhere existence.

[@ingold1470]

It makes them really annoying to talk to. I had a friend who took "global development studies", and whenever the conversation drifted to something substantial, there would always be the questions about what common words really mean, and imputations of cultural bias on every evaluative claim.

[@magouliana32]

Look at the Old testament for answers to your questions about how the new world will become if we allow it, because it is the followers of that book that have always fought Hellenism and still do to this day.

[@trapped_monkey]

magouliana32 explain more

[@bluegiant13]

More videos like these please such a wealth of insights. I learned more about my life in 45 minutes than I did my entire life.

[@kiliankiel1250]

First and foremost thank you for this video and your elaborations: Some critical words permitted? 1.The sentence on which Dr. Peterson reflects upon could be written somewhere in the video... Otherwise one cannot really watch this video without a copy of the original book at one´s hand. Second comment: Or even a German - English study version of it. Although English might be a partially "German based - language" - one might loose twists and gists by the rendering of a translation! For me, it felt always harder to think properly in English than it was in German. I´d say German is more straight forward were as English is so much more poetic hence the multi - layered versions of synonyms - therefore it´s much harder to think straight in English. But some people like Alan Watts and Dr. Peterson do a phantastic job... Please don´t mind if I made any spelling mistakes.

[@brutallyremastered4255]

Great comment. Also: Hoch Deutsch is very pleasing to the ear whereas English easily suffers the indelicacies of locality!

[@kiliankiel1250]

@@brutallyremastered4255 Thank you for your answer (comment). Well, in my outlook the English language is much harder to master when it comes to formulating clear sentences. It is a much broader, wider and more poetic language. Therefore examples of witt and eloquence like Alan Watts appear to be much rarer. It is on the other hand far easier to think straight and outright using the German language. At least this is what I have experiences so far. Hochdeutsch ist natürlich auch so eine Sache. Denn in allen Landesteilen verstehen dich die Leute, was nicht heißen muss, dass du sie auch verstehst.

[@kiliankiel1250]

@@brutallyremastered4255 Thank you for your answer. In my understanding English is a much broader, wider and thus more poetic language. It is therefore much harder to "master". Hochdeutsch hat auch so seine Tücken. In allen Landesteilen verstehen sie dich, was nicht heißen must, dass du die anderen auch verstehst.

[@notthedroidyourelookingfor8056]

This paragraph is so great a playlist was created on Peterson's channel labeled "great paragraphs" and in it is just two instances of this video.

[@Grassisgreenism]

Great video, really interesting perspectives. As a philosophy student I can't help but comment on what I didn't agree with, rather than on the many things that I got out of the video. Discussing what one agrees on isn't that interesting anyway! So here is my 5 cents on the first sentence: "Gradually it has become clear to me what every great philosophy so far has been: namely a personal confession of its author and a kind of involuntary and unconscious memoir" (Taken from the Kaufman translation). I don't take Nietzsche to really be "alluding to the fact that the desire to make an autobiographical recounting is so deeply imbedded in people" (paraphrasing around the 18 minute mark). I take Nietzsche to be saying that philosophical systems say more about the philosopher and the culture in which he (at that time presumably a he) is imbedded in, than about the issues that the philosopher claims to be investigating -such as "truth". In which case "personal confession" and "memoir" aren't to be taken literally, they are about how philosophers subjectivity and personal context shine through their feeble attempts of dressing their investigations in a veil of objectivity. The fact that professor Peterson interpreted Nietzsche to be saying something profound about humans proclivity to tell our stories is kind of funny, seeing that she herself has developed a self-authoring program. Maybe Petersons (or anybody elses for that matter) interpretation of Nietzsche is "a kind of involuntary and unconscious memoir"!

[@tux1968]

Peterson's interpretation of Nietzsche, all of Peterson's papers and published work, _are_ an involuntary and unconscious autobiographical memoir. We're learning about him as an individual, about his current environment, and about his evolutionary history going back to the beginning of time. It's inescapable. Just as such works reveal say the language of the author, they reveal pattern's of thought, specific axiomatic foundations, and an infinite number of other autobiographical facts are hinted at and can be gleaned by careful reading. The meta analysis of any such work can't help but be a richer well of truth than just the surface pronouncements made.

[@ingold1470]

Almost like that time when he talks about how you always need a high goal in life, and then reveals that he scored extremely highly in conscientiousness and spends his weekends fixing up some house in the woods.

[@neilhaughey6869]

Depends on whether you interpret Nietzsche to be a philosopher or a prophet.

[@yonahdieeowjwjm7927]

+Eric Guier Or you could say his 99th percentile conscientiousness is a consequence of his understanding of the imperative of having a worthwhile goal, not the other way around

[@FreddyBNL]

I wish I had someone like Peterson as a friend, as someone to talk to. I think that he makes live hard for himself, thinks to much and lacks in simple joy for live. Sometimes I get the urge to console him, which I understandable knowing he suffers from depression, which often manifests as over thinking. I am far from as intelligent and well educated as he is, but I have an intense feeling of recognition. Forgive me the possible string mistake, since English is not my native tongue.

[@manlyarts795]

Exceptional video. Your analysis is superb. Thank you sir!

[@jag2039]

What I like about Mr.Peterson is he puts it in layman terms we're we can really understand. Thank u Sr. ✌🏻😎