but they only have this power because that leverage point exists. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Why are so many clinging to a tribe, instead of their own comprehension of the good? — Athena
I would say the latter. The "world-historical individual" only ever wields their great power through the emergent whole. — Count Timothy von Icarus
There is that word again "leverage". how does it come that people are using that word? I am questioning a consciousness shift. Of what I think is happening is happening, that would be very exciting. What if we saw history as something that includes everyone? Would our moral perspective change?leverage point — Count Timothy von Icarus
I think great leaders ride on a wave that is created by the circumstances of the moment. I think we should be paying more attention to the masses and what is driving them. Why are so many clinging to a tribe, instead of their own comprehension of the good? — Athena
We are totally confused and screaming for a great leader who can put an end to this chaos. — Athena
What if we saw history as something that includes everyone? Would our moral perspective change?
Perhaps though the question is askew? To many it will make perfect sense to 'cling' to a tribe as that is their notion of a good, and a more powerful one that an abstract 'comprehension'.
In this sense I feel the contrast in the original question is misplaced. If we consider the Scandinavian body politic, for instance, where social democracy remains strong, mutuality is a powerful element in what binds people together. Max Weber is in this respect an interesting figure. He was in one sense a Kantian promulgating the notion of the enlightenment autonomous individual; but his foundational work in establishing sociology as a discipline, and his political beliefs in the benefits of (some kinds of) partisanship place the individual clearly at the nexus of social networks. — mcdoodle
I'm not quite sure how Nietzsche is lumped into the prior when he himself discusses the latter. — Vaskane
But Calvin also taught that God, in his infinite mercy, would spare a small number of "elect" individuals from the fate of eternal hellfire that all mankind, owing to their corrupt natures, justly deserved. That elect group of "saints" would be blessed, at some point in their lives, by a profound sense of inner assurance that they possessed God's "saving grace." This dawning of hope was the experience of conversion, which might come upon individuals suddenly or gradually, in their earliest youth or even in the moments before death. It is important to emphasize to students that, in the Calvinist scheme, God decided who would be saved or damned before the beginning of history--and that this decision would not be affected by how human beings behaved during their lives. The God of Calvin (and the Puritans) did not give "extra credit"--nor, indeed, any credit--for the good works that men and women performed during their lives. — Christine Leigh Heyrman
However, this ability of some individuals to have an outsized role in the course of historical events is instructive for "every day people," as well. Gavrilo Princip happened to be positioned to change history when he shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Mohamed Bouazizi's self immolation likewise set off a cascade of world shaping events in the form of the Arab Spring. — Count Timothy von Icarus
[12] Matthew v, 34.
The life of the Saviour was simply a carrying out of this way of life — Nietzsche, The Antichrist
Neitzche brings out the warrior in me. — Athena
(I. 17: The Way of the Creator)But the worst enemy you can meet will always be yourself ...
BY OUR best enemies we do not want to be spared, nor by those either whom we love from the very heart. So let me tell you the truth!
My brethren in war! I love you from the very heart. I am, and was ever, your counterpart. And I am also your best enemy.
Your enemy shall ye seek; your war shall ye wage, and for the sake of your thoughts!
Maybe I just read Nietzsche all wrong but as a woman who was left alone in a harsh environment with children to keep alive, I question some male values that underestimate the value of putting others first. — Athena
I can be as self-centered and oblivious of the needs of others as Nietzsche... — Athena
(Prologue, 2)Zarathustra answered: "I love mankind."
Who knows, but I might meet a future Gavrilo on the street today, and just a friendly smile divert him from the path of destruction? For certain every mover and shaker needed to suckle and have their diaper changed before they rocked the world.
Why would we value the opinion of a man who appears to have a severe emotional/social problem? How does Neitzche benefit the whole of society?
suspect the end of the metanarrative has led us to an atomized culture of chaotic pluralism and divergent values, eroding the idea of a single unified culture (which was probably always a type of myth) which could be led under a unified vision. You can see how 'Make America Great Again' is an appeal to get back to shared presuppositions of a 'golden era' which many seem to fondly recall or imagine to have existed. Great leaders often search for and develop the great story which will bring everyone together. — Tom Storm
Negative Freedom is defined by a subject’s freedom relative to the external world. It is freedom from external barriers that restrict one’s ability to act, e.g., the government or thieves seizing your tools so that you cannot work.
Reflexive Freedom is defined by subject’s freedom relative to themselves. “Individuals are free if their actions are solely guided by their own intentions.” Thus, “man is a free being [when he] is in a position not to let himself be determined by natural drives [or circumstance].” i.e., when his actions are not subject to contingency. Other philosophers have also noted that authenticity, and thus the free space and guidance needed for us to discover our authentic selves, is another component of reflexive freedom.
Social Freedom is required because reflexive freedom only looks inward; it does not tie individual choices to any objective moral code. This being the case, an individual possessing such freedom may still choose to deprive others of their freedom.
Since individuals will invariably have conflicting goals, there is no guarantee that anyone will be able to achieve such a self-directed way of life. Negative freedom is also contradictory because “the rational [reflexive] can come on the scene only as a restriction on [negative] freedom.” E.g., being free to become a doctor means being free to choose restrictions on one’s actions because that role entails certain duties.
I don't understand the "controversy." Some individuals may be considered "great." Clearly, it doesn't follow from this that "we" are "great." Neither does the fact that "we" are great mean that each of us are "great." — Ciceronianus
I apologize for getting defensive over Nietzsche's works. I'm high functioning on the spectrum. High — Vaskane
Postmodernists, feminists, and certain strands of communitarian thought reject in general what they take to be the Enlightenment's inadequate conception of selfhood and individuality — Isaac Kramnick
What do you like about that talk of enemies and war? — Athena
Become who you are.
Nietzsche takes an exhortation from the Greek poet Pindar:
Become who you are.
To know and to be who you are is a struggle. It takes honesty. We too easily lie to ourselves about ourselves. And honesty takes courage. The warrior's virtue.
To become who you are requires becoming an enemy to that which you come to hate about yourself. Nietzsche uses the analogy of the art of the sculpturer who, unlike the painter who adds to a blank canvas, removes all that is extraneous, superfluous, and false. — Fooloso4
Shall we begin with why a mother must hate herself and how this is going to help her? — Athena
How do the young go about knowing who they are before they have the life experience that is essential to knowing? — Athena
Do you think war makes a man a better husband and father? — Athena
Warning, if a person is not willing to fight for his/her life make sure there is a "Do Not Resuscitate" request registered because if a person does not have that, everything will be done to keep the person alive and living may mean being bed ridden and completely incapable of caring for oneself and living out the rest of life without the ability to communicate. — Athena
A mother hating herself and a mother hating something about herself are not the same. The latter is a practice of love, the former need not be. If it is, it is misdirected. I am not a mother, but I was "Mr. Mom" back when this was either a joke or something seen as suspicious or wrong. To borrow a phrase from Thoreau, as the artist of my own life, the form it has taken is not something foreseen or foreknown. — Fooloso4
I don't know if I understand the form that life has taken is something unforeseen ... — Athena
Number one, in our younger years, we don't know enough about life to know if we are fish or fowl. — Athena
Pray tell, what is to be learned by looking inward? — Athena
I am not a mother, but I was "Mr. Mom" back when this was either a joke or something seen as suspicious or wrong. — Fooloso4
For darn sure women's lib changed my experience of being a woman. I crashed from being a Mother Goddess to "just a housewife". — Athena
Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you.
How can we tell what is to be learned by looking inward unless we look inward? — Fooloso4
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