So glad I found this channel ,I'm in my 70s and left school aged 15 so I'm learning so much ,we were factory fodder and not destined for higher education, but it's never too late to educate yourself internet makes it possible.Thanks Rocky.

"The man who does not wish to be merely one of the mass only needs to cease to be easy upon himself."

"It is not a lack of love that leads to an unhappy marriage, rather a lack of friendship."

I love this narration...it has more knowledge than most universities today

Excellent. Thanks for posting this. This, by the way, is taken from "The Story of Philosophy" - Will Durant. It appears to be the entire Nietzsche chapter pgs 522 - 583. What Durant appears to be doing, is taking some declarative, sweeping statements of Nietzsche's, and then fleshing them out with points that either Nietzsche had previously made, or the ancient sources themselves that had influenced him. No one encapsulates any philosopher to everyone's liking, but what Durant has done here is create an excellent foothold for beginning to explore Nietzsche. Or he illuminates a few things for those already familiar. I point out the book because after listening to this for a few minutes it is clear, at least to me, that the scope of some of the sentences quickly spoken actually deserve, instead, to be mulled over and absorbed slowly. In short, this audio is an excellent find !!

Will Durant does such a great job ridding the illusion that hovers around these thinkers. Making them human once again.

“Ah.. I too have written some good books.” ... and the lucid moment passed.. Beautiful

Damn, so much of what he said is still true today, radical in its own sense, but demonstrates a deep understanding nonetheless.

People who smoked or drank were incapable of clear perception of subtle thought! A good quote.

Great,heard it all...,a man with free thinking,admiration,as many suffering in short time,as many insights.

Durant’s books including ‘The Story of Philosophy ’ and the History of the World were two of the books that I enjoyed during my college years. He is a story teller who weaves a tapestry of biography and thoughts of many a philosophers. And, there is no hatred in his writings. His love for his subjects shines through his pages. Neitzche occupies an important part of the book. So does Spinoza and all the others who followed them in the 20th century. In the world of ideas, there are disagreements, differences in perspective. But hatred, that is for just those who have lost their capacity to reflect and enjoy the kaleidoscopic colours that illuminates the world of philosophy.

This is one of his best and more complete lectures.... in others he is just describing issues, here he does more than that... I've listened to this lecture many times, and like all great books in history, I get more and more from it each time. It is like he adopted or became a semi- Nietzsche here, so profound and concise in his presentation.

I must just add that Nietzsche's work, in my eyes, is also an attempt to reach out for others, to communicate to them his worth and validity. I am sure he was deeply hurt by his inability to communicate with his fellow men due to his extreme sensitivity and giftedness. He was reaching out for them and didn't enjoy, at least at times, his solitude but his giftedness condemned him to a life of solitude!

The problematic issues here are that MOST everything can be INTERPRETED from so many different angles... so we choose (depending on our temperament) which one is truer than the other... which one we like?? And that is my "fear" ---that I (and we) may be choosing the points of views we LIKE and not what is true? And furthermore, why should we choose the one that is true over the more useful?? Most truths are true enough for survival, so why choose a truth that diminishes our chances of it??

Thank You for posting !

"Will to Power" is not the same as "Will for Power". Nietzsche uses the term "Will to power", which is the most misunderstood of his premises. The term "Superman" is wrong. It must be "Overman" "Beyond-man".

My aunt gave me 'Voltaire & the Age of Reason' for my 20th birthday. It & his works have been profound at different points in my life. Also learned some tricks in a tavern. Colld hold a lit cigarette between my thumb & forefinger if I froze thèm first with an icecube under the table. Won many bets but always revealed the truth as a matter of honour . . .

This single video is basically what prompted me to read Thus Spake Zarathustra. So many good quotes in here.

Will Durant describes the genius (Nietzsche) poetically, music to the ears of the students of philosophy!

This portrayal of Nietzsche is the most comprehensive I've encountered, aligning closely with my own perspective on the philosopher. While acknowledging his brilliance, it's apparent that he grappled with instability, evident in his chaotic and contradictory writing style. "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" presents profound wisdom alongside elements of chaos and contradiction. Nietzsche's analysis of human nature and the underlying motivations behind societal norms is undoubtedly masterful, yet it's noteworthy that many of these themes are also explored in Dostoevsky's novels, an influence Nietzsche himself acknowledged. The excessive self-praise in "Ecce Homo" can indeed be off-putting, particularly when considering that many of Nietzsche's ideas have roots in earlier philosophies and literary works. For instance, concepts such as the Übermensch and the beyond good and evil mentality bear resemblance to the philosophy of Raskolnikov in Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment," who idolizes Napoleon and grapples with similar themes. Additionally, ideas like amor fati have parallels in Stoic philosophy, and the concept of eternal recurrence can be traced back to ancient Greek thought. In conclusion, Nietzsche was undoubtedly brilliant, but it's fair to question whether he is sometimes overrated, given the extent to which his ideas draw from earlier sources.

"Love itself is only a desire for possession...Courtship is combat and mating is mastery."

An excellent digest of Mr N - and a good spice of ironic humour with it.

Thank you for these videos. I appreciate them. 😊

Thank you for the upload. You are doing the world such a great favor!

this is very enjoyable, I do not see any problem with the way Will Durant explains things, he just explains them as close to what NIETZSCHE thought

I like this fella. I think he’ll make it to the big times

I've discovered Will Durant!

“How he longed to be a sinner, this incorrigible saint.” 🖤

Love the narration, the information. No frills, no gimmicks, to the point and educational. New subscriber, and looking forward to learning about more amazing people of history.

many a philosopher has died when his child was born. lol. true words.

Not masses but the creation of genius is the goal of evolution

Great overview and detail. Well done!

Durant's History of Philosophy is still very readable!

very good! thank you

"Nietzsche said that the life we lived we're gonna live over again the exact same way for eternity. Great. That means I'll have to sit through the Ice Capades again."

Thank you.

Living alone far from others for an extended period of time made Nietzsche's views sound extreme for those used to live in 'society'. But who said that their view of life was the right one, wasn't it for democracy that gives them the right to voice their opinions? Here comes the heart of the problem as I see it! Nietzsche was clearly a genius, of course, incomparable to Durant who can, at best, try to understand Nietzsche. Regarding Master morality, anyone who ever tried to help someone, torn by inner turmoil and infected by sloth and mediocrity, realizes soon enough that the help and support one gives them never bears fruit and they will used by the mediocre just to get these brief moments of warmth before reverting back to their lazy life. Master morality says you have to leave them to perish and I think Nietzsche is right here because anyway, the effort won't bear any fruit but just keeps them and mediocrity with them alive and comfortable. Slave morality comes into the picture to oblige the strong to give a helping hand to these mediocre out of solidarity and compassion! This is the lie that the 'slaves' use to gain control of the strong. Again, as with most other ideas, Nietzsche can be understood only by people who have similar experiences and he never ceases to mention that. Those who live in the comfort of their jobs and homes; who never deeply struggled with life; who are not extremely passionate and gifted will not see themselves in Nietzsche and will criticize him as being strange, egotistic, insane and so on! He actually warned against this in 'the problem of Socrates' where the herd will have the upper hand with dialectics. Nietzsche has his readers and those who identify with his philosophy (those who have new ears for new music); the others shall not waste time criticizing this in-their-eyes-lunatic man. The fact that Nietzsche stands today and is spoken about so widely within and outside the western culture and is considered a major event in philosophical thought, proves beyond doubt that the man changed our view of the world and imagined new ways for humanity. Durant judges Nietzsche with the morality reigning in our times because Durant is fully a product of his time; while Nietzsche had the privilege and the misfortune of living alone i.e. speak in the spirit of his time but also himself.

From Wiki: William James "Will" Durant was an American writer, historian, and philosopher. He became best known for his work The Story of Civilization, 11 volumes written in collaboration with his wife, Ariel Durant, and published between 1935 and 1975. He was earlier noted for The Story of Philosophy, described as "a groundbreaking work that helped to popularize philosophy".More at Wikipedia Born: William James Durant, Nov 5, 1885, North Adams, Massachusetts, United States Died: Nov 7, 1981, Los Angeles, California, United States Occupation: Historian, writer, philosopher, teacher

Does anyone know what this series is? All the videos that Rocky C uploads of Will Durant - who is reading his work? Is it an audiobook series? Which one? Thanks!! Love these videos!

Five minutes into it, and already I am disgusted. The author (Will Durant, presumably) seems not only to have a lot of beef with Nietzsche (something apparently noted by the reader - presumably one Rocky C - since his voice is downright dripping with hate) but also with Bismarck and with Germany in general. Just for your information, Bismarck did not say that "blood and iron" SHOULD decide all matters. He simply pointed out in one speech that the Prussian defense budget was too low at the time, saying essentially to the parliamentarians: "Do you really think that an enemy, after having defeated our forces, will care about the majority decisions of this house? Do not be naive! Blood and iron decide in the end!" The latter phrase is taken from a patriotic poem, "The Iron Cross" by Max von Schenkendorf, calling people to fight against the tyranny Napoleon Bonaparte (saying in one of the last stanzas, butchering it and losing the rhyme: "only iron can save us, only blood can redeem us, from the heavy chains of sin, from the wantonness of evil." - a typical patriotic poem as many were made in times of war, however in this case one known to every Prussian in the mid 19th century). In other words, Bismarck is reminding the audience essentially: "Remember what liberated us from Napoleon! It wasn't parlamentarian decisions but arms and fighting!" The whole allusion that Bismarck said good-by to all principles is mistaken, or, quite often, a deliberate untruth, spread by anti-german propagandist (politicians, journalists and historians among others, usually with the practical purpose of justifying the two world wars the Anglo-Saxon nations have fought egainst Germany, in both cases siding with abject dicatorships and employing the most cruel means of warfare, treating the defeated Germany in the most brutal way in the aftermarth of each, all of which needs justification). But to depict it as if 19th century Germany was an utterly immoral nation in a Europe "rotten by democracy and ideals", as the author prefers to frame it in a cynical, pseudo-"German" view, utterly distorts the nature of things. The "altruist" principles of the actually very imperalist powers France and Britain are not very far reaching (please feel free to check this for yourself, it is not so hard to find three examples for it). The nation of France has traditionally (and consistently through the ages) a very ruthless nature, whereas Britain, with its distinctly cynical character, feels a strong urge to hide ist own (very considerable) ambitions under a thick layer of hypocrisy. The Germans in turn, had always a very good-natured (albeit naive, which may be only the flip-side of the coin) outlook. To be virtous, as well as to be perceived as virtous by others, has always beeen the great tick of them (understand this and you understand a good deal about Germany). It is in this environment that a simple PRAGMATIST (and not immoralist) like Bismarck stands out ("We need a strong military, if the push comes to a shove being right and lawful won't help us!"). Had Bismarck been a French prime minister, nobody would have noticed anything out of the ordinary about the man's attitude. Or in other words, the whole introduction about the ruthless, immoral (just use the word: "evil", don't be shy) nature of Germany, rising to power to do God knows what, of which Nietzsche became the voice, is, pardon my French, utter poppycock. Actually, the newfounded German Reich (which was never much of an Empire as in Imperium) was a surprisingly peaceful and highly civilised nation, successful in science and industry because of its cultural (especially Prussian) outlook, its resourcefulness and protestant work ethic. It was in fact not much less democratic than England. (Surprised by this assertion? Yes, the parliament in London had more powers, however the German Reich had a WAY more modern and fair franchise - it actually warrants a discussion which of the two nations was the more democratic one). What is more, Nietzsche himself did not like the defeat of France in 1871 - he held France in highest esteem (England not so much btw), and he did not like the idea of a German Reich (the latter word meaning just "Realm") at all. He suspected that this would only cause the rise of democracy and egalitarism, which in turn would give way to socialism, to the complete detriment of refinement and culture. In other words, he saw democratism and nationalism as steps on the road of collectivism, while being very much an individualist himself. If it sounds surprising to have a German, even a born Prussian, as a great individualist (and it is difficult to outdo Nietzsche in this regard, idiosyncratic as his thinking was), well, he left Germany soon enough, to live in Switzerland, later he preferred Italy. In his later works he endlessly rants against Germany, Germans and German culture (possibly having something in common with Mr Durant, albeit for different reasons), also complaining that he would be read and appreciated everywhere, from England to Spain, from Russia to America, but not in Europe's "large flatland", Germany. Or to finally sum it up: In my opinion, the author of the above suffers from the most serious and malignant of misconceptions about the nature of Germany, Bismarck and Nietzsche himself. My thanks to any reader who has made it down this far for his or her marvelous attentiveness. :)

Thanks Will, may all souls rest in peace!

Correction Mr. Durant... Zarathustra goes down to men when he is 40, not 30

51:50 Perfect!! 52:03 --- 54:28. That's almost all we need to remember. ""...not mankind but the overman is the goal. The very last thing a sensible man would undertake would be to "improve" mankind; Mankind does NOT improve, it does NOT even exist, it's an abstraction..." And we've all wasted so much damn time attempting to improve Humanity, the remnants of christian thinking, only to see it slip right back to where it was, saying and pretending it does want to improve, but really just sucking your time and effort and other resources and WASTING them on nothing.

Coming back to this after listening to durrant some more it's strange how hostile he is towards Nietchze considering he quotes and references him many times throughout his work. Maybe he considered Nietchze a good counterweight to his Christian even egalitarian leaning morality at times. Perhaps he started to appreciate Nietchze more when writing his long history overviews and realised just how darwinistic humanity is (and not a bad thing) and slave morality in religion became more apparent. Who knows.

9:16 "...from who's safe distance he could observe the bloody ironies of Bismarck." I'll admit I only caught it on the third listen.

Thank you for to share the true culture. Extraordinary voice.

44:07 I need to learn that phrase!

You open with this shot of Nietzsche posing with “the hidden hand“ of various secret societies. Tells me a lot right there.

"Seldom has a man paid so greater price for genius" - The trilogy of madness: "Hölderlin, Schumann, Nietzsche"

Thank you for the story and narrator is great and the sun is shining and the music is great and I'm liking the wine and thought accessories taste like dried mushrooms,life is good in Tennessee,stay safe everyone

The narration is so subjectively critical that it never attempts to describe Nietzsche's philosophy in a coherent way. I'd prefer to hear Nietzsche before hearing from someone who has an obvious negative opinion of the man.

I used to own this book. Found it in a used book store. It was my gateway to philosophy. On a side note - his beautiful house is in the Hollywood Hills. I think of him & Ariel every time when I drive by.

life repeats itself, though now with technology and generations more confused than ever since the first beginning. Past is the past and put it behind.

Our Oriental Heritage is excellent. One of his Story of Civilization series .

40:24 "eytemologies that are not quite beyond reproach" 57:40

What an amazing picture

Lmfao. Nice hidden hand pose right from jump street his first picture when he's 16 lol.

You know the thumbnail is a Freemason pose?

lol, almost as good as the one on Voltaire. "the nerves of a shelley, the stomach of a carlyle, the soul of a girl under the armour of a warrior"

That voice sounds like Grover Gardner. A good reader.

crazeee!

Reminds me of my friend Jeff and all our discussions...Jeff if you see this "Hi".

his nervous system seemed designed for his suffering....brilliant

Rocky C. Can you put the entire Story of Civilization, chapter by chapter on here?

Very interesting

Amazing ❤

Nietzsche is amazing.

Excellent book. I loved the section regarding the absurdity of democracy, sensitivity and the Germans antipathetic view of the superman.

Perhaps Durant would be an authority on Nietzsche in our Day had he understood Nietzsche's Will to Power as the culmination of a Higher Drive for Art and Music. Stimmt Das. Durant suffers from infection by the ideological WWI and WWII. C.f . Kaufmann and DeLeuze.

Is there a way to add this to spotify so i can listen to this in my car?

A wonderful review of the work of the most important thinker to date, I’d argue more so than Plato himself. The truth is so painful and unpleasant but still sweeter than the self deception.

Will Durant was exceptional.

Actually "Superman" stems from Emerson's "Over Soul" ...as is so much of Nietzsche's writing.

“Fitness” is not about strength. It is about one’s “fit” to the environment. A strong organism that is not fit for the current environment can easily perish.

Nature goes on forever for everyone and everything to return as everyone and everything an infinite number of times through evolutionary processes. 🌌

I like Will Durant's analysis and critique.

"The ultimate ethic is biological, we must judge things according to their value for life. We need a physiological trans-valuation of all values. The real test of a man or a group or a species is energy, capacity, power." - Nietzsche.

where does the information come from? good video

I find power hunger individuals are paranoid....about staying in power....as a person with no aspiration to be lord over anyone...i find myself quite happy!!! ..i don't need to rule anyone...to be relevant ....THIS IS MY SHOW!!!!...WHEN I AM DEAD THE SHOW IS OVER FOR ME!!! SO I AM THE MOST RELEVANT PERSON ....IN MY LIFE...WHEN I AM GONE...SHOW OVER!!!

Nietzsche and Schopenhauer appealed to logic...their critics and champions of opposing ideals use appeals to your emotion. And it's ultimately always more effective to manipulate people through appeals to their emotion than their logic. Those that try to manipulate your emotions are trying to control you, those that appeal to your logic are trying to liberate you.

Nietzsche’s life in and of itself is a Greek tragedy. RIP Nietzsche. And thank you for all that you gave our world you. You brilliant mad bastard you ❤

Beauty.

It's good to hear those thoughts which run contrary to those most popular in our time. They refresh.

He was an incredible man,he tried to substitute the actual morality of this world ,but it is almost impossible to even mention such intention,we will embrace our interpretation of our decadent sense of morality and when he speaks of the Superman he refers to the great man or human that may be found only in the future, But that is so far in time that it will take centuries to find those that will be born in a society free of the toxicity injected in every human at the time we are born and then we spend a life time searching the truth.

Rob Sips describes in madness a dialectic of aha and anti-aha experiences, specifically of a succession of insights and counter-insights, which cancel out the previous insights. "The psychotic's real concerns are the philosopher's theoretical train of thought." (Wouter Kusters) "Reason needs but a moment to deviate from the path which the Church has marked out and paved, or it immediately loses its track. As soon as it loses the great common road, it disintegrates." (Montaigne) Nietzsche wrote: we free spirits are gloomy because we have no way. Without a way, no friends to meet along the way. Nietzsche also wrote: only equals are good company but free spirits have no equals. Free spirits have no tradition, no great common road. According to Nietzsche we have to experiment, build the way for the next 300 years. As experimenters we are merely intermediate forms. But out of our experiments a new tradition will be born. In that sense we are firstfruits, not epigones. What is at stake though in my opinion is friendship. Nietzsche's philosophy is at heart a philosophy of friendship.

Does anyone know which translation of Thus Spake Zarathustra Will Durant uses? Because whenever I search for this book, all I get is the version by "Thomas Common", and it's much less delightful.

I PREFER THE RULE OF SHOP KEEPERS TO THAT OF MADMEN, OR JABBA THE HUT.

SUCH A PRINCIPLE STRIPPED OF ALL DISGUISE IS THE MERE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE THAT MIGHT EQUALS RIGHT.

Excellent. Thanks for this; Nietzsche was the biggest western influence on Iqbal; one of the best thinkers of Asia.

Reading the 11 volumes of the story of civilization written by Will and Ariel Durant, one can comprehend the attitude of someone who’s had a running start at every topic in that monologue (to the Age of Napoleon.)

💘

I think this is my 10th time I listen to this or even more I love Will Durant.

Maybe I'm missing something, but at times, it's difficult to know when Durant is quoting Nietzsche vs. adding his own comment. Wish he had added a lot of "Nietzsche said." Perhaps if reading the book, it would be clear.

Why have you disabled closed captions? They really help me.

At 47:30 "Moral systems MUST be compelled FIRST OF ALL to bow before the gradations of Rank... it is immoral to say that what is Right for one is PROPER for another; different FUNCTIONS require different qualities" "If evil were NOT GOOD it would've disappeared..."

Master of the second veil

Philosophy starts at 40:20

Durant is a venomous contrarian who uses insult rather than rebuttal to combat opposing philosophy.

Nietzsche has something to say to us. However I'm still curious about the incident with the horse that was taking that beating. Anyone below want to interpret that event?

Know thyself and thee will know peace in the midst of chaos.