Nietzsche’s “Great Noontide” Explained

The final episode of season two of The Nietzsche Podcast, “At Noon”: open.spotify.com/episode/27nU...
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#nietzsche #philosophy #philosophypodcast #morality #religion #zarathustra #books
We discuss some of my favorite passages from Nietzsche, concerning the feeling of liberation one has upon finally and fully accepting the Nietzschean affirmative philosophy, and what this means for our future. Nietzsche urges us not to interpret him as giving us a definitive way of life to follow, but furthermore does not wish us to seek for a state of finality, rest, or utopia. The great experience of noontide is the perception that one is truly halfway between animal and that which is super-human, and that transformation into something greater is possible: that we can overcome our previous limitations that we believed once were set in stone.
The episode concludes with a thank you to the fans, a teaser of what is to come in the podcast. The reading of Nietzsche's Aftersong for Beyond Good and Evil, "From High Mountains" is not featured on this video, you can find it on the podcast stream.

[@effergerg1]

Hi, I'm an italian living in London. I've been listening to your podcast for quite some time.. I've been reading Nietzsche for over 12 years and I always find something new to think about after each video you post. So thank you.. and yes, your videos are for a niche of people but I'm sure that each and everyone of us are worth more than your average listener.. we appreciate all the work that goes into this.. thank u

[@h80096]

When are you gonna move on from Zarathustra huh

[@alexanderleuchte5132]

On a sidenote in the german language the word for pity is "Mitleid" ,literally "suffering with", meaning the expirienced misery when one opens himself emotionally up to the suffering of others, as Nietzsche says "shared misery is doubled suffering" inverting the german saying "shared misery is half the suffering". We also have the word "Mitgefühl", "feeling with" meaning empathy

[@gingerbreadzak]

00:00 🌅 Nietzsche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" concludes with the idea of a "Great Noon," symbolizing a significant event, self-knowledge, and a halfway mark in Zarathustra's journey. 02:31 🧙‍♂ Zarathustra has undergone significant changes throughout the narrative, including giving his wisdom, defeating the spirit of gravity, and introducing the idea of eternal recurrence. 05:46 🤝 Zarathustra's final challenge is to overcome pity, which Nietzsche considers a harmful psychological force that destroys the potential for greatness in individuals. 10:59 😢 Nietzsche opposes pity because it multiplies suffering, removes joy, and supports a universalist, other-directed morality, which he believes smothers extraordinary individuals. 18:51 🔄 Nietzsche's fundamental critique of pity is that the quest to eliminate suffering inherently seeks to eliminate happiness, making it a central pillar of the slave morality he opposes. 21:50 🌟 Nietzsche used the concept of "pity" in a complex and contradictory manner, suggesting a more noble form of pity and caring for other souls that involves suffering and hardship, which he views as a path to greatness. 24:24 🌄 Zarathustra, in Nietzsche's writings, symbolizes the liberation from sentiments, feelings, or beliefs that limit human potential, emphasizing the importance of shedding these limitations and embracing freedom. 26:31 🌞 Nietzsche's concept of "great noon" represents the pinnacle of human knowledge and the moment when humanity stands between the animal and the overman, celebrating the potential for transformation and growth. 33:16 🔄 The overman, in Nietzsche's philosophy, is an infinite and ever-receding horizon, representing the potential for transcending human limitations and embracing a value system dedicated to life and the world. 37:28 🌈 Nietzsche's philosophy celebrates the capacity of humans to recognize and revel in their own happiness, emphasizing the importance of embracing life, despite its mortality and suffering. 42:05 📚 Nietzsche distinguishes great individuals by the duration of their high moments, emphasizing that exceptional people have prolonged experiences of elevated consciousness, unburdened by societal limitations and constraints. 44:08 🕛 Nietzsche experiences a moment of perfect noon, a sweet and serene moment of rest. Zarathustra is tempted by the idea that the world has become perfect at noon, but he realizes it's a seductive illusion. Nietzsche's use of paradoxical imagery in this passage highlights his poetic style. The passage touches upon the concept of returning to an idealized past, a recurring theme in Nietzsche's works. Noon represents total freedom but is also a cheerful and dreadful abyss, a state without moral tethers or purpose. Zarathustra's experience at noon spurs him to keep moving forward, emphasizing the importance of seeking and striving in life. Nietzsche's rejection of the idea of resting in happiness and the need for constant struggle is highlighted. The passage underscores Nietzsche's belief that true happiness is not found in stagnation but in continuous pursuit and growth. The reference to "excelsior" in Nietzsche's "The Gay Science" reinforces the idea of rejecting resting and seeking continual progress. 01:06:25 🌅 Nietzsche's concept of eternal recurrence means loving both war and peace, emphasizing the pursuit of goals and struggle in life rather than acquiring goals. 01:07:07 🌊 Nietzsche's idea of feeling liberated is not a simple or easy experience, and it involves preventing our vitality from flowing into nothingness, akin to a rising lake. 01:08:04 🙅 Nietzsche encourages us to renounce the idea of an after-world or metaphysical justifications and to stay faithful to the Earth, treating certain habitual thought patterns and sentiments as vices to overcome. 01:08:47 🌍 Nietzsche suggests that our faith should be grounded in humanity as a bridge to something greater, emphasizing a future-oriented perspective. 01:11:19 🚫 Nietzsche criticizes various ideologies, including petty nationalism, liberalism, and progressivism, asserting that they are unattainable fantasies in the fragile state of transition. 01:14:29 🏛 Nietzsche identifies as a "good European," emphasizing a cosmopolitan outlook and rejecting both extreme nationalism and racial self-admiration. 01:16:07 🕊 Nietzsche celebrates the idea of a hidden "yes" within individuals, representing a faith that transcends doubts and maybes, essential for pursuing greatness. 01:25:38 🚀 Nietzsche encapsulates his philosophy as a quest for a "great health," characterized by being new, nameless, and in constant pursuit of new values and desiderata. 01:27:30 🌟 Nietzsche emphasizes the pursuit of "the great health," an ongoing process of acquiring well-being and vitality, even if one repeatedly gives it up and must give it up. 01:28:43 🌎 Nietzsche describes an "undiscovered country" beyond current ideals, a world rich in beauty, strangeness, and divinity, sparking an insatiable curiosity and desire in those who seek it. 01:29:11 🌀 Nietzsche introduces the idea of a spirit who plays naively, transcending traditional values and standards, potentially appearing inhuman and in stark contrast to earthly seriousness. 01:30:19 ❓ Nietzsche raises questions about the changing destiny of the soul, the beginning of tragedy, and the potential for great seriousness in confronting this new, dangerous ideal. 01:31:56 🎙 The host expresses gratitude to the podcast's audience, comparing the historical reach of the podcast to past philosophers' limited audiences and thanking listeners for their support. 01:33:34 📚 The host recommends reading Nietzsche's books in addition to listening to the podcast, as the podcast is not a substitute for a comprehensive understanding of Nietzsche's works. 01:34:47 📖 The host announces an upcoming inter-season project focused on a section-by-section reading and analysis of Nietzsche's "The Birth of Tragedy" and highlights its value for gaining insights into Nietzsche's early ideas and later developments.

[@gus8310]

Your podcast is a home for those who want to be free. This is a place we can all laugh and dance together but then depart from one another back into our own paths. It is like a pit stop for me. I am grateful for your time.

[@nicolaswhitehouse3894]

One of the most beautiful passage of thus spoke Zarathustra, is the prophets encounter with the ugliest man and his hatred of pity. When I read this passage, I felt that even the ugliest, most horrible man, can be more generous, more life affirming, than the good and the just; so long as everybody respects his ugliness. For the ugliest man, pity is a sin precisely because it deviates the true nature of one self, in this case his ugliness, hence why in my previous comment, the virtue of probity is the ultimate virtue of the higher men for Nietzsche, and more important than any other virtue, hence why the supposed ugliest man, is not the last man but is a higher man because he possesses probity.

[@user-lr2ib1cv4d]

@nicolaswhitehouse3894 What is meant by the last man. I'd like you to expound on that.

[@rogurishimaru]

Tuning in from Italy. I'm loving every bit of this! This is pure gold, man! Nietzsche is one of my heroes, so stumbling upon your channel was the best thing could've ever happened to me. I'm going through all your episodes and I won't miss any of those to come. And I gotta say it's really pleasant to listen to you, your voice has such an awesome tone, it never tires. And another thing, you play in a doom metal band. That really blew me away, being a metalhead myself.

[@singh3100]

I am an Indian living in Scotland moving to Portugal soon I have to listen to every single work with no words how amazing it is 💖

[@cheri238]

I am now listening to all of your lectures. AMAZING!! THANK YOU. I live in Alabama and philosophy is the door to open and always learn from. My books never close.

[@michaelpattiani7230]

Patiently awaiting your next lecture ❤️❤️

[@jimmycardinale9693]

Amazing work you do! Thank you so very much!

[@6ixthhydro652]

Great job

[@user-lr2ib1cv4d]

I want you to hear you on the transvaluation of values, Kaufmann's omissions and derivations, and in this context, Herman Millville's White whale.

[@ceriasophis405]

Well done..and resonable. Freedom has no need for choice if one is indeed free otherwise it implies the lack of it.

[@makashanidze8443]

Thank you ❤

[@joshlopez9056]

“And only when you have all denied me will I return to you”

[@The-Interpreter]

Sympathy, Pity, Love, these are the propelling forces of man into the world. The enlightenment is about knowing the psyche in the self. Morals is surrendered and the world is not considered for this. This is not being selfish but a path of great minds.

[@andrebenoit283]

I just don't know how to build my city on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius without asserting some kind of ought, at least in the hopes that the attempt to will yield something of value hermeneutically. The ought seems to be a product of human purposiveness, the future oriented aspect of human being that asserts my own mode of being [over all others], and an inalienable aspect of human being: the life I was born to choose. Thus the ought can be realistic or idealistic, pragmatic or dogmatic, but you can't escape it. I think I'm biased by Heidegger on Nietzsche in Intro to Metaphysics, where the complaint against Plato is summarized as "separating the Nomos from Phusis" and Heidegger is now trying to reunite these in Dasein's "Ek-sistence" by returning to the better/older/pre-metaphysical term "Ethos" [as I recall]. Does Nietzsche simply realize the final stage of this separation, turning his back on Nomos rather than trying to explore the proper role of Nomos in human being? Is Nietzsche just too cool for school: an endless fount of self-defeating relativism that could never take the shape of a powerful, in-its-prime, world-affirming morality where the ought topples decrepit Roman Empires with the back of its hand, etc.? Maybe I should watch more of these videos to cure my bias.

[@olavhv5666]

Can't help but want an essentialsalts-esque channel for everything now; history, sociology, economics, politics. Anyone got any suggestions?:)

[@herbertunkraut]

For history and politics, I can recommend the channel Kraut.

[@HappyQuailsLC]

Would someone please tell me the significance of the three sectioned plant held in the hand shown in the illustration here? Id look it up but I do t know the name of this painting. Thanks

[@victorvispetto2367]

Fantastic, very nice comments at the end, later stages of living this is truly chicken soup for the soul...

[@sandragrunwald8988]

I love this series

[@fluffykitties9020]

What is the name of the art word during the video?

[@fugu_3467]

Zoroaster Clavis "The Illuminated Alchemist" in case you haven't found it.

[@alekderijan8348]

Does anyone know the name of the painting in the video?

[@untimelyreflections]

The Alchemist who has achieved Illumination. Clavis Artis by Zoroaster, 1737. Clavis Artis is the title of an alchemical manuscript published in Germany in the late 17th or early 18th century and pseudoepigraphically attributed to the Persian Zoroaster (Zarathustra).

[@alekderijan8348]

@@untimelyreflections Thanks a lot. Your content is amazing, keep it up!

[@paulrowe4409]

What is the name of the picture used?

[@untimelyreflections]

Zoroaster Clavis - “Illuminated Alchemist”

[@tinamann3400]

You are wonderful. Let me say your voice is lovely and I have tried many other like podcasts but their voices are awful . Keep up the great work !

[@TheDanksNewGroove]

We love you too.

[@windowshaman]

I thought he was thirsty to drink of the golden sun .

[@user-jr9po9fu7z]

Which copy/translation of human, all too human, are you reading from ?

[@tomjmdalton8855]

the best never to be born, we may have thought it would be ok or that we could bare it

[@user-ku5lc3sj6q]

Nietzsche did not just create a new religion to replace other religions. He created a religion that is a mirror of our culture and religious beliefs. It's meant to expand our thoughts and in the end our reality. That's what the tightrope walker represents. His balancing pole represents the opposite concepts between Nietzsche's ideas and the world's. We find ourselves by balancing them.

[@sviatoslaviigorevich7360]

Does there ever come a point where the ego stops interfering with philosophy? Zarathustra's relinquishing of the pity for the higher man just seems like a dictation of the ego. Seems strange to mistrust the ego due to its flaws only for it to be key to affirming higher philosophical realizations. Any thoughts?

[@untimelyreflections]

Sometimes a realization coming into conscious reflection does not necessarily indicate a dictate of the ego. That is personally how I interpret Zarathustra's revelation.

[@sviatoslaviigorevich7360]

@@untimelyreflections I will ponder on your response

[@MegaSudjai]

I don't think that the Ego is necessarily a good thing or a bad thing. Instead, I propose that one must understand the Ego as like a tool for which the true-self uses to project one's self onto the world. It has direct links to one's internal drives, instincts, cognitive schemas, and pathologies. The problem arises when the true-self is bound by ressentiment, and, as a matter of course, the carrier becomes a slave to their (herd-like) Ego. Consequently, the herd-Ego becomes a weapon of destruction and revenge, in the name of "justice", "equality", and "safety". The cure to this sickness is to enact the discipline of self-mastery, upon which the Ego can then be used as a tool for constructive purposes. Only the very rare higher types, after many years spent metamorphosising into the Child and forgoing nihilistic pursuits, has this ability.

[@garrycraigpowell]

Another terrific video; thanks too for your final remarks, which really hit home. My published books have had iny audiences, but maybe that doesn't matter. Keep up the good work, anyway.

[@tomato1040]

The🌎smallness of humanity is the🫦envying, copying📀, following🏃& simulating🎥of one😎another is the inferior factor in people who haven't yet become Self🧘Luminous😇so Marry Merry ME=mc2 2👣TRUE=mc2♂️♀️LOVE=mc2💞!

[@christopherellis2663]

I get the impression that servitude can provide a step up to the world for some. Certainly, many a slave has done well out of it. I would not recommend it though.

[@migueljames9752]

Stop thinking enjoy life

[@astrearibeiro]

Psique symbolizes the soul. Psique is a mortal girl who is maybe more beautiful than the Godess Afrodite. Psique and Eros, (Afrodite"s son) live together for eternity after Psique has gone through many different tasks. The myth of Eros and Psique is one of the most beautiful and touching ones. Because Psique is a girl, that might be the answer for Nietzsche seeing soul as feminine. As a footnote, Psique is many times trying to kill herself.. Eros' love saves her from death. We may interpret that we need love in order to be alive

[@FrankiePanaia]

FN was not a "msyognist" - to label him such is to be so cliche, so 'herdish'.

[@TheWilliamHoganExperience]

Is pity simply empathy perverted by moral judgment, elevated to a cardinal virture? Is it this overvaluation that leads to the pathology of resentment? Would we have The Blues as an art form without the pity it's tied to? Would we have tragedy at all? It's pity perverted by resentment that's the problem. Robert Johnson sang of a life profoundly shaped by post reconstruction racism and the brutal exploitation of southern black men. Not about brutality or racism or exploitation per se, but rather of the circumstances of his life independent of these injustices. In so doing, his personal tragedies and triumphs became universal rather than provincial. If we listen without judgment, we connect with something tragic and ultimately redemptive about the human condition though The Blues. The same goes for all great art. So there's something that doesn't quite add up regarding Nietzsche's rejection of pity. Let's start with definitions. Nietzsche wrote primarily in German. I am unfamiliar with the nuances and idioms of German, so I have to rely on translations of pity from German to English. In English, pity is listed as synonymous with empathy and compassion, but each term has it's own subtly different connotation in English. Pity has something of the pathetic about it. "Pitiable" being an adjective used to describe someone who's helpless, defeated, and ultimately contemptible. Contempt is a form of hatred. It implies disgust at some sort of moral failure. Personal agency and thus responsibility for ones pitiable condition in a just world. The moral corruption and free will this pitiable state implies, whether it's a product of tyranny or self imolation. Compassion and empathy are different however. These are instincts, not moral constructs. As such, they are integral to our nature. If this is so, they must serve life somehow - at least if managed appropriately. Empathy is reflexive, and driven by neuro-anatomy. I'm an Aspie (defined as autistic with normal or above normal intelligence) I lack certain cognitive empathetic neurons that most people have. This means I have difficulty reading and understanding the subtle non-verbal and indirect social signals normal people and groups use to communicate emotions and what's appropriate inter-personally. I do not lack affective (emotional) empathy however. My affective empathy is overdeveloped relative to normal people. I'm extremely sensitive. This leads to the emotional intensity those with autism are famous / infamous for. If someone is obviously in pain or very happy, it's contagious to me. I'm instinctively swept up in it - moved to tears of sorrow or joy. Without the prompting of an ethical system or moral judgment. I feel this empathy for animals and even inanimate objects and machinery. Art and science and philosophy can have this effect on me as well. It's this supposedly disordered empathy system and the compassion and engagement it generates that's behind my creative work as an architect, musician, writer, thinker, and artist. Art is to me one of the few things that gives me hope for humanity. From what I gather Nietzsche felt something similar. If empathy and compassion and the desire to connect emotionally are truly essential to the artist, then "pity" must be essential to it as well. It's vengeful moralizing that's corrupting, not pity. If we viscerally experience the pain and struggles of others without resentment towards what gave rise to their hardships, we connect with them and are elevated. Elevated and comforted as fellow travelers through a difficult and unjust world. We are empowered.

[@intoxicatedmooneyes]

This was so beautifully written and well said. I have always questioned the pity thing myself with nietzsche and tend to lean more towards where you are coming from. I really enjoyed what you had to say

[@TheWilliamHoganExperience]

@@intoxicatedmooneyes Thanks for taking the time to read my post, and for your thoughtful response. I deeply appreciate it. More often than not, I feel like I'm speaking into the void, and that my insights don't matter or are misunderstood. Responses like yours give me hope, and motivate me to continue sharing my thoughts. This podcast is absolutely amazing, isn't it?

[@intoxicatedmooneyes]

@@TheWilliamHoganExperience I love this podcast so informative and since I don’t have anyone in real life to talk to about these things it’s good to hear another perspective

[@TheWilliamHoganExperience]

@@intoxicatedmooneyes Totally. Glad you found it here =)

[@The-Interpreter]

Without malice: these presentation covers too many items for introduction to philosophy. For the story of the feminine presentation: Nietzsche said, "Before the word is the power" but the power only affect the potential to become a word. The potential to become a word, knowledge, a desire, and all that we experience in the life, as female is the potential to produce, all potential is referred to as female. For the garden of Eden: This is before we are nine years old when the body produce pheromones where boys detect girls and girls detect boys; there they saw their nakedness and Yves said, " Bum, bum, bum, I like, I like" The want to know the 'potential to become' or the garden of Eden is the ambition of the wise after retirement. Learn a lot and learn to surrender.

[@michaelhason5310]

Cf. Jung and irruptions of unconscience to set the Self to whole direction.

[@joanmurray9141]

A

[@wes5614]

Gay Science is my favorite book.

[@astrearibeiro]

Maybe not Antarctica 😂

[@melaniefranklin7607]

Live the whole Nietszche series, except how you converted his beliefs to slightly favour christianity for its sublimation of the drives into purer forms, but he hated christianity overall, and was not anti semitic, but rather, anti religious and anti dogmatic. Chtistianity is as meekly and weekly as judaism. Theyre all of the same roots... dont twist Nietzsches atheistic views to match yours, dont soften him, dont humble him. Dont call him a religion. Hes writhing in his grave. The irony.

[@untimelyreflections]

Lol, I’m an atheist dude. It’s just an expedient way of communicating part of N’s project. Don’t get so attached to words.

[@shaughnessyneal9426]

I love all of your videos right up until the point where you start accusing people of misogyny. I always intend to upvote your videos, but I always downvote them because of your woke mindset.

[@untimelyreflections]

I love being called woke by people one minute and a nazi the next. It means I’m doing it right. Thank you.

[@tangerinesarebetterthanora7060]

You probably call everybody a snowflake while being a flakiest of snowflakes yourself.

[@christopherhamilton3621]

LOL! Virtue-signalling ‘anti-woke ideologues’ missing the point…😂