Some thinkers are like Jazz - essential in terms of evolution of music, even if now less popular or ignored. Nietzsche and Freud are like this, with the added fact that everybody thinks they understand them both. Freud had interesting thoughts, whist not being entirely right about many things; he's important to understand as someone who heavily influenced the formation of the modern sense of self. We take for granted many of his ideas without realizing it. Talking cures. Sexual identity and healthy sex lives, etc. We were different before he came along. To some extent, he sort of invented many ideas that became integrated into 'what we think being a human actually is'. He created myths, in other words, which go unquestioned today. Now, Nietzsche? He had this penetrative way of looking through myths. He was sort of the first 20th Century person. Like, Hiliary Mantel describes (in her novels) a Thomas Cromwell as a sort of first Modern man - but Nietzsche (one might say) was the first actual punk. He saw into the future and predicted something dark coming in the 20th century. He's not a person to read without the good commentaries. Much of it is just critical of the Christian philosophy, and how it makes men ashamed and weakened and small of spirit. He uses irony and hyperbole, and (limited-minded) people take him far too literally. Overall, one of the good guys but - there are plenty of university professors who don't understand him, sadly. But more pressingly, I think Marx is a really more relevant thinker today :)
I have had Thus Spoke Zarathustra in my must read cupboard for some time, so...I must read.
I know Freud and Jung were important theorists and made some points, and opened up new ways of thinking about ourselves, but I personally feel that a great deal of what they wrote was bunk and that they both might have been a tad bit, ummm...unbalanced 🤔.
Thank you, as always, for a witty, astute, and hilarious post. I love the story of your idiotic "intellectual" neighbor and how you dealt with him.
Thanks, this made me laugh out loud
I like to start talking endlessly about the physiology and habits of mustelids, that makes people's eyes glass over and then they go away.
PS I'd love if you spoke about Nietzsche for three hours as I'm interested but lazy, so you could fill me in.
Some thinkers are like Jazz - essential in terms of evolution of music, even if now less popular or ignored. Nietzsche and Freud are like this, with the added fact that everybody thinks they understand them both. Freud had interesting thoughts, whist not being entirely right about many things; he's important to understand as someone who heavily influenced the formation of the modern sense of self. We take for granted many of his ideas without realizing it. Talking cures. Sexual identity and healthy sex lives, etc. We were different before he came along. To some extent, he sort of invented many ideas that became integrated into 'what we think being a human actually is'. He created myths, in other words, which go unquestioned today. Now, Nietzsche? He had this penetrative way of looking through myths. He was sort of the first 20th Century person. Like, Hiliary Mantel describes (in her novels) a Thomas Cromwell as a sort of first Modern man - but Nietzsche (one might say) was the first actual punk. He saw into the future and predicted something dark coming in the 20th century. He's not a person to read without the good commentaries. Much of it is just critical of the Christian philosophy, and how it makes men ashamed and weakened and small of spirit. He uses irony and hyperbole, and (limited-minded) people take him far too literally. Overall, one of the good guys but - there are plenty of university professors who don't understand him, sadly. But more pressingly, I think Marx is a really more relevant thinker today :)
I have had Thus Spoke Zarathustra in my must read cupboard for some time, so...I must read.
I know Freud and Jung were important theorists and made some points, and opened up new ways of thinking about ourselves, but I personally feel that a great deal of what they wrote was bunk and that they both might have been a tad bit, ummm...unbalanced 🤔.