#Nietzsche’s breakdown | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

libbee · 2 years ago

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Understanding Scorpios/8th House

note: combination of all placements make up your personality, not just one planet or sign. when you read this post, try to envision the word into your mind, imagination, symbols of it.

There are no beautiful surface without a terrible depth - Friedrich Nietzsche.

Possession by the unconscious.

Periodically gets consumed by the psychological unconscious content, loses touch with reality.

Returns to reality, bringing up psychological content from the depths of the unconscious. Look what I brought from the ocean when I went fishing.

Intuitive eyes. 4 pairs of eyes; two biological, two spiritual. Spiritual (intuitive) eyes help see beneath the surface into the energy realm. Biological eyes see the physical world; Intuitive eyes see the imaginary inner world. The reflection of the outer world in the inner life.

When comes back to reality, there is desire to transform, shed previous skin, become as individuated as possible, find the core of being. Who I am exactly underneath all this skin?

But self destruction and reconstruction do not happen as fast, may take days or weeks or months. Irritated, highly sensitive to energy changes in people, sees himself/herself in others and hates it. Leave me alone, I am shedding my skin.

caption: everything that exists outside also exists inside the mind

Spends more time in the internal world, perception of the world, imagination world, the world that exists within. Interacts with the external world as the native will interact with the internal world.

Emotional States Of:

Life threatening | Deadly | Mortal | Emergency | This is important, nothing else but this, this is urgent and important.

Isolation | How do I tell others what psyche looks like, what is going on within me, whom do I tell what is going on within me? | Hidden | Secrecy | Private | Feels difficulty in expression | Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible - Carl Jung | Even if others find out what can they do? Only you can help yourself

Repetitive Nature:

You feel like you are in a state of emergency and tragedy although from the outside you appear calm. External conditions are stable and ordinary but emotional response is that of tragedy, emergency, alertness, chaos and pain.

Clock | 12 AM to 12 AM | Round and round and round

Transformation:

Sheds skin | New clothing | New skin

Chemical Reaction | A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another | a A + b B → c C + d D | Breaking up of reactant bonds and formation of new bonds

Metamorphosis | Metamorphosis means a complete change of character, appearance, or condition | Caterpillar to Butterfly

The law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed - only converted from one form of energy to another | Eg, Mechanical energy to electrical energy

Self destruction and self construction | Self decay and self development | Self degradation and self improvement

Evolution | Evolution is a process of gradual change that takes place over many generations, during which species of animals, plants, or insects slowly change some of their physical characteristics

Accident | Accident is an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss (in the conscious world)

Surgery | Surgery is the treatment of injuries or diseases in people or animals by cutting open the body and removing or repairing the damaged part (in the psychological, spiritual, emotional, physical, material life)

Flood | Flood is a temporary rise of the water level (unconscious psychic content) resulting in its spilling over and out of its natural or artificial confines onto land that is normally dry (conscious life)

Germination | Sprouting of a seed after period of dormancy

caption: transformation of soul

IMMATURE NATIVE: Externalizes, tries to control others, manipulative, power seeking, emotionally reactive.

MATURE NATIVE: Internalizes, deliberately controls inner processes, intentionally manipulates own thoughts, emotionally calm and composed.

HEALING:

Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer | Spring is known for life. It's the season of rebirth, joy and love.

Psychoanalysis | Therapy | Surgery | Treatment |

Stages of healing of wound: Hemostasis > Inflammation > Proliferation > Maturation | Wound no longer hurts | Painfree | Peace and harmony

"When the student is ready the teacher will appear. When the student is truly ready... the teacher will disappear" - Tao Te Ching

SACRIFICE:

Giving up something that is important or valuable to you in order to get or do something that seems more important | short term loss in return for a greater gain | Invest your money into stock market for future gains | Transaction, you give something and you get something back | Offering something or someone close to you to the Great source

Everything everywhere is a sacrifice | Relationship is a sacrifice of time, emotions, thoughts, feelings, | Shopping is the sacrifice of time, money, savings | Every sacrifice brings with it a finished product

To conclude, everything around you in the physical world and everything within you in the spiritual world has characteristic of death and rebirth. The duration of transformation will vary in each native. The nature of transformation will look different to the biological eyes. But in the intuitive eyes, the hidden psychological and spiritual transformation is sensed, recognized, acknowledged and identified.

If you would like to tip me this is my PayPal account.

#8th house #scorpio #astro tumblr #astrology blog #astro notes #astrology #astro #astro community #astro observations #astro placements #astroblr #astrology community #astrology observations #astrology tumblr #astronotes #vedic astro notes #sidereal astrology #vedic astrology #astrology notes

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yooo-gehn · 6 months ago

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You know what's funny, Nietzsche believed that morality is just a fiction used by the herd of inferior human beings to hold back the few superior men, then he died of syphilis, and by the end of his life he had an emotional breakdown watching a horse getting whipped, hugged him, and said something like "I feel your pain"

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catmomjudy · 8 months ago

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I’ve noticed that 9-1-1 likes these images composed so that the actors are looking down into an abyss or “bottomless pit.” They tend to occur shortly before a character (or characters) has to look inward to find strength or gain self-knowledge.

For example, this one from 3x15 (“Eddie Begins”) is Eddie shortly before he gets trapped underground and has to not only save himself, but face the demons of his past.

(Gif: @lover-of-mine) This scene from 4x12 (“Treasure Hunt”) takes place right before the whole 4x13/4x14 sniper arc. Obviously, Eddie fights for his life in these episodes. But Buck first wars with his past trauma, crawling under the ladder truck to save Eddie, and then battles his self-sacrificial demons in the face of having to live for Christopher. The others fight their own battles (Athena and Bobby come to mind, as well as Maddie and Chimney) during these episodes as well.

As a side note, for anyone who says “It’s a trunk, not a pit”: The adage “Greed is a bottomless pit” and the idea of calling something a “bottomless pit” when we have to keep throwing money at it both apply here. The arrangement of the actors is the same as other pit shots, with the camera filming them from below (I.e. from within the pit).

(Screenshot from YouTube video) This one, from 7x04 (“Buck, Bothered and Bewildered”) occurs while Buck is digging further into his feelings of jealousy. He battles with jealousy the entire episode, ultimately hitting rock bottom when he accidentally injures Eddie. The episode ends with his realization that he’s bisexual (I.e. he gains self-awareness).

(Publicity still) Strangely enough, this scene is from 5x15, the same episode where the mother falls into the abandoned missile silo. I think it drives home the message being highlighted by the pit imagery when Eddie says “Trauma often causes us to turn inward.”

(Gif: @tawaifeddiediaz)

While “abyss” is defined as “a very deep hole that seems to have no bottom,” its secondary definition applies here: “a difficult situation that brings trouble or destruction.” When someone is “gazing into the abyss,” they are quite literally looking trouble in the face. In addition, biblically demons are cast into the pit. So someone who “falls into a pit” is fighting their inner demons and trying to alleviate trauma and gain self-knowledge.

And, really, we don’t see ANY of that happening on 9-1-1, do we?

🤔

“He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

“It would do her good to have some demons to fight, to be swung out in space and held over some bottomless pit now and then.” -Josephine Tey

”Truth is found at the bottom of a bottomless pit.” -Jerome Facher

“You will have to fill in the holes yourself.” - Holes, Louis Sachar

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ P.S. I went back and looked because, after using the shots from 5x15, I wondered if there was any pit imagery as a precursor to Eddie’s breakdown in 5x13 (“Fear-O-Phobia”). The title itself of episode 5x11 provides the biggest clue: “Outside Looking In.” This parallels what I described above about the act of gazing into the abyss. Eddie is standing outside of himself and his old life and falling deeper into despair as the episode progresses. The entire episode points to the fact that trouble is headed Eddie’s way.

In addition, there are several shots of Eddie that subtly embrace the pit imagery. In the first, Eddie appears to be landing at the bottom of the pit. The next is shot from a similar camera angle as the pit shots, with Eddie on the stairs looking down at Bobby, and the camera filming from below. He’s literally screaming into the abyss.

(Publicity still; Gif: @marril96)

P.P.S. OK, one more. I found it earlier, but discarded it as not applicable. But, now that I’ve argued out the rest, I can see it fitting this pattern. This is from episode 2x15 (“Ocean’s 9-1-1”). The hole here is into the bank vault (the bottomless pit of greed, represented by the convoluted bank robbery). This incident starts the chain of events that leads to Bobby’s suspension, the “Bobby Begins Again” arc, the death of Shannon, and the bomber/ladder explosion arc. Note that the three people knocked about by life in episodes 2x16, 2x17, and 2x18 are the same three who are looking through the hole: Eddie, Buck, and Bobby.

(Publicity still)

#911 abc #911 on abc #911 #911 meta #911meta #A fall into the pit a gain in your wit.

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mangocheesecakeicecream · 2 months ago

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Dionysus approves and organizes the lynching of the single victim Jesus and the Gospels disapprove this is exactly what I have said and keep on saying myths are based on unanimous persecution Judaism and Christianity destroy this unanimity in order to defend the victims unjustly condemned and to condemn the executioner's unjustly legitimated as incredible as it may seem no one made this claim but fundamental discovery before Nietzsche no one not even a Christian so on this particular point we must give Nietzsche his just due but beyond this point sad to say the philosopher becomes delirious rather than recognizing the reversal of the mythic scheme as an indisputable truth that only Judaism and Christianity proclaim Nietzsche does all he can to discredit the Christian awareness that this type of victim is innocent he sees perfectly well that one is dealing with the same violence in both cases quote there is not a difference in regard to their martyrdom and quote but he doesn't see or want to see the injustice of the violence he doesn't see or want to admit that the unanimity always prevailing in the myths has to be based on mimetic contagion which possesses the participations in which they don't recognize whereas the Gospels recognize and denounce violent contagion as do the story of Joseph and the other great biblical texts Nietzsche to discredit the Jewish Christian revelation tries to show that its commitment to the side of victims stems from a paltry miserable ressentiment observing that the earliest Christians belong primarily to the lower classes he accuses them of sympathizing with victims so as to satisfy the resentment of the pagan aristocrats that is the famous ‘slave morality’ so this is how Nietzsche understands the genealogy of Christianity he opposes so he believes the crowd mentality but he does not recognize his Dionysian stance as the supreme expression of the mob in its most brutal and its most stupid tendencies Christianity does not yield to ulterior motives of resentment in its concern to rehabilitate victims it is not seduced by a contaminated charity of resentment what it does is to rectify the illusion of myths it exposes the lie of the satanic accusation since Nietzsche is blind to memetic rivalry and it's contagion he doesn't see that the gospel stands toward victims does not come from prejudice in favor of the weak against the strong but his heroic resistance to violent contagion indeed the Gospels embody the discernment of a small minority that dares to oppose the monstrous mimetic contagion of a dionycean lynching Nietzsche had to trick himself to avoid clearly seeing this to escape the consequences of his own discovery and persist in a desperate negation of the biblical truth of the victim Nietzsche resorts to an evasion so gross so unworthy of his best thinking that his mind could not hold out against it for it is not by accident in my view that the explicit discovery of what Dionysus and the crucified have in common and what separates them occurs so shortly before his final breakdown Nietzsche's devotees try to empty his insanity of all meaning we can understand perfectly why the nonsense of madness plays a protective role in their thought just as madness itself functions for Nietzsche… the Philosopher was unable to sit back comfortably in the monstrosities into which the need to minimize his discovery was driving him and so he took refuge in madness

René Girard- I See Satan Fall Like Lightning

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loneberry · 2 years ago

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From The Philosophical Pathos of Susan Taubes: Between Nihilism and Hope by Elliot R. Wolfson. According to the endnote, the block quote by Susan Taubes is from a letter to Jacob Taubes. Susan, the punctilious scholar of Simone Weil that she was, knows the grandeur of the blade of grass and all things fragile. As Weil writes: "The fall of the petals from fruit trees in blossom. ... The vulnerability of precious things is beautiful because vulnerability is a mark of existence."

This was the essence of the presentation I gave—in the Nietzsche class I audited—on one of his last texts, The Antichrist. During my presentation I quoted Nietzsche's disturbing passage on pity: “Suppose we measure pity by the value of the reactions it usually produces; then its perilous nature appears in an even brighter light. Quite in general, pity crosses the law of development, which is the law of selection. It preserves what is ripe for destruction; it defends those who have been disinherited and condemned by life; and by the abundance of the failures of all kinds which it keeps.” I then addressed the class: I find this quote haunting when I consider that Nietzsche suffered a mental breakdown in Turin a year after composing this text, a breakdown from which he never recovered. Supposedly, it was his pity for a horse that was being flogged that marked the beginning of his mental breakdown. How are we to read Nietzsche’s critique of pity in light of the events that took place later? If we construct a life philosophy based on strength, a philosophy that overlooks the sick, so-called failures, and those condemned by life, do we also miss out on the lessons that suffering has to teach us? Simone Weil: "Unconsoled affliction is necessary." Weil again: “All suffering which does not detach us is wasted suffering.”

As Elliot R. Wolfson writes in relation to Susan's critique of Nietzsche's will-to-power: "the pledge that life must go on is the deceit that tragedy and mysticism share, but, in the end, the excruciating recognition that death is the incontrovertible terminus of living is what gives shape to the tragic orientation and the mystical vision. Both of these perspectives illumine the empowerment that results from the diminishing rather than the intensification of the will. The moral-pietistic demand is for one to become a hollow reed, to decimate the autonomy of the self, which allows the divine to enter and to sustain the vitality of the soul, an incursion that is compared intriguingly to a dream of rising waters." How memorable--the dream of rising waters as the fecundation of the soul...

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ghelgheli · 9 months ago

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🔥 Nietzsche

people are of course right to be critical of nietzsche as a misogynistic, racist, anti-semitic, proto-fascist etc. philosopher. but I also think his bunch of post-breakdown letters are more interesting than their obscurity suggests, e.g. these two:

#ask answer #the easier answer here would have been that the “god is dead” passage is actually good but people made it uncool

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 1 year ago

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⚠️🧵A lot of men are suicidal & don’t realise it because they sit with something known as “passive suicidal ideation' so, let’s talk about it, and some of its relatives. Please look after yourself whilst reading this thread & don't leave judgemental comments...

It’s important to say that suicidal thoughts in themselves are not normal for every man but they *can* be a normal reaction to severe life stressors/trauma, especially with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) or other traumatic experiences in adolescence.

https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/aces-and-toxic-stress-frequently-asked-questions/

Suicidal thoughts can be similar to a 'sense of foreshortened future' (born from trauma) This is where you don’t plan much in advance (a few weeks etc) because, subconsciously, you don’t believe/trust in making future plans or think you'll be alive.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4166378/

There's also “l’appel due vide” (‘call of the void’) & “high place phenomenon” where you get that sudden urge to jump off a high place or crash your car. This isn’t a suicidal thought & scientists believe it’s a safety “miscommunication” from our brains.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032711006847#:~:text=The%20experience%20of%20a%20sudden

Passive suicidal ideation is the wish of ‘not waking up’, a terminal illness to ‘make the decision for you’ or decreased risk aversion; the acknowledgement that you don’t want to ‘be here’ (alive) without having a plan or intent to carry out your thoughts.

https://happiful.com/what-is-passive-suicidal-ideation

Passive (not the same as intentional) suicidal ideation can (potentially) offer some comfort during times of distress because it offers you (psychologically) a ‘way out’ when you feel you have no good options or choices left to a several life stressor or trauma.

"The thought of suicide is a great consolation: by means of it one gets through many a dark night." -- Friedrich Nietzsche

The problem with passive ideation is that many men will minimise & dismiss their experience because they wrongly believe that either no one else has these thoughts or that they’re ‘not bad enough’ to get help , something I call “comparative suffering”:

https://twitter.com/toniwriter/status/1639368910788018176

A lot of men will spend years coping with passive ideation but an unexpected life stressor can suddenly turn these thoughts to acute intent & action i.e a man can feel passive for years, have a relationship breakdown & within hours he's acutely suicidal & goes missing/dies.

It's important, therefore, that we first help our men to recognise their thoughts are not 'normal' to general population & that they're potentially feeling suicidal &, through non-judgemental conversation, encourage them to seek support from peers & professionals.

If we can help men acknowledge & understand their passive suicidality, especially their stressors & triggers, we can help them cope with & manage them better, whether that's through talking, medication and/or a change in life circumstances.

If we do the above when men are passively suicidal, we have a better chance of intervening & preventing their deaths if & when their ideation becomes acute, because they're comfortable talking about it & bcos their cognition might win over the acute suicidality when needed.

It's worth speaking to a med professional (GP/therapist etc) if you're passively suicidal, so that you can explore why you feel this way to try & stop or manage the thoughts but remember, there's nothing to feel ashamed about in experiencing passive SI & you can get better.

There are a great many organisations, charities & support available for the whole spectrum of your suicidal thoughts: @samaritans @theCALMzone (for men only) @GiveUsAShout @PAPYRUS_Charity @JamesPlaceUK (men only) @ChasingStigma & many more. You're not alone 🙏🏼 End

[ Archive: https://archive.md/chkKQ ]

#male suicide #suicide #suicide ideation #passive suicidal ideation #call of the void #high place phenomenon #mental health #mental health issues #religion is a mental illness

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anaxerneas · 2 years ago

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Nietzsche’s unmasking of Christianity is a potent challenge. It is, I believe, unanswerable without apokatastasis. But with universal reconciliation, Nietzsche’s charges fall by the wayside. The accusations of secret animosity, of glee in the face of eternal suffering, become untenable. Nietzsche himself is not beyond the scope of redemption and we can—and must—learn to love him too. We will have no need for masks in the afterlife, for we will be unafraid to bare our faces in all honesty. “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”

I believe, in his own way, Nietzsche knew this. In 1885, after winning a settlement against his publisher, the perpetually impoverished Nietzsche came into some extra money. Once he took care of his debts, the first thing he did was buy an engraved tombstone for his father. Pastor Carl Ludwig Nietzsche had been dead for over thirty-five years, but it is clear that Nietzsche continued to love him and think about him, even as he turned so viciously against his father’s faith. As he wrote in Ecce Homo only a short time before his breakdown, “I regard it as a great privilege to have had such a father.” In this new tombstone, Nietzsche carved an inscription, a truth we have been striving towards this entire essay. He chose “Love never fails.”

#christopher howell #friedrich nietzsche #christianity #love

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herunswithscissors · 1 year ago

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By the way, friends, if you ever have a mental breakdown or are suicidal or anything like that don't go to the emergency room. The following is not just one bad hospital. It's basically all of them. I've talked to other people in other parts of the country.

I had a massive breakdown a few weeks ago from a new anti-anxiety med and a lot of stress. And maybe I got too high. We called for an ambulance and got 4 cops instead. And I got a nice strapped down ride to the ER. To be fair, I was not in my right mind at the time and was unpredictable.

But it wasn't fair.

ER psych wards are straight out of 1923. They use hours of stress positions and cold to torture the inmates into "submission" ("coercive measures"). And it doesn't matter if you are already submissive. I was obviously sober and cooperative. The bastards wanted their fun anyway. After the hours of stress positions, they continue to keep "patients" unsettled with over medication of "anti-psychotics", verbally shame them from being sick, and keep them in a constant state of anxiety and discomfort after they have "coerced" them into submission while way too many heavily armed cops roam around doing their own bullying. All the whole denying them obviously needed medical care including simple first aid. The "nurses" and "doctors" themselves have lost their empathy and replaced it with sadism. And they ruin the good hearts the younger ones to be just like them.

I didn't hear a single compassionate word given to anyone.

I have so many stories just from 18 hours of being in there witnessing the worse psychological and physical tortures they were doing to the people they knew had nobody. It was a constant provocation of the most vulnerable people in the hospital in order to excuse more "coercive measures". The only reason I got out so "soon" was I had an advocate (spouse) trying to bring me home.

And they take away even the ability to escape by suicide. An escape so many would surely make if they could. I doubt hell would be much worse.

They, like prisons, don't help anyone. It's just for storage and terror. And it caused me trauma that continues to give me flashbacks weeks later. I'm not sure what state I would be in now without a loving family and a spouse who loves compassionately and deeply to heal me. Or my long-time counselor. Or my chickens. I held my little bunny for hours as my little angry little tribble did his best to comfort me. I slept with terrible dreams for nearly 48 straight. I couldn't even eat for a week. It feels even now like it set me back a year in my recovery from the pit I only recently crawled out of.

I think the second worst thing was the insanity of it all. Why hurt people who are already hurting so much? I get the whole Nietzsche thing is in play. So fucking what? It's still insane.

The worst thing was meeting a young resident doctor who was obviously gay and Latino. He knew what it was like to be oppressed. I could still hear some basic goodness in his voice. But he was already cold and compassionless. They were ruining his good heart just as they had done to so many others. And he will become twice as much a son of hell and traumatize thousands more over his long life.

And I know that is only a snapshot of the evil in our empire.

#civilization #empire #hell #mental health #mental illness #healthcare #mental healthcare #not an isolated example #PH4WG Original #ph4wg

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darkmaga-returns · 2 months ago

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OPERATION DRONE AMERICA & OPERATION COVID-19: An NWO One-Two Punch……

Posted on December 17, 2024 by State of the Nation

https://stateofthenation.info/?p=9169

…but only if you permit these global psyops and satanic mind-control programs to control you.

SOTN Editor’s Note: The following penetrating analysis is so right on target that we wish we had written it. In any event, our gratitude to the Exoconscious Humans folks for doing such a great job with deconstructing two of the most complex and convoluted [AND TRANSPARENT] psyops in U.S. history.

As for important background information, the following post is recommended for the uninitiated concerning this particular realm of DARPA-directed black ops and NASA-conducted psyops.

Is OPERATION DRONE ‘EM the set-up for Project Blue Beam?

Just how proficient is NASA at carrying out multi-year psyops that have kept the whole world completely spellbound?

APOLLOgate: The Greatest Conspiratorial Fraud Ever Committed by the U.S. Federal Government (Photos)

As for DARPA’s Darth Vaders who rule the entire Earth realm from behind the curtain, this pet project of theirs is now coming to fruition because of how it essentially interpenetrates their utterly farcical Operation Blue Beam.

OPERATION CLOVERLEAF: The Most Dangerous Weapons Testing Program In World History

Back to “OPERATION DRONE AMERICA & OPERATION COVID-19: An NWO One-Two Punch”: Please carefully read the following insightful breakdown of current drone events because it truly is as prescient as it is weighty in its crucial message to all of humanity.

Then, if it comports with your understanding, please post it and send it out—EVERYWHERE & ANYWHERE!

State of the Nation December 17, 2024

Drone Discourse: Exoconscious Humans

What Contactees and Experiencers Know

Rebecca Hardcastle Wright Exoconscious Humans

Our Exoconscious Human Community gathered to discuss the recent global Drone Activity and express our observations, ideas, and creative wisdom as contactees. We represent hundreds of years of ET, multidimensional, and spiritual contact as a community.

As contactees, the recent drone activity—denied and dismissed by the government and military—comes as no surprise. This substack sums up our discourse, and we hope it will offer you information and insights.

Social media is saturated with overly traumatic statements connecting the Drone activity to the Disclosure of the ET Threat. Social media pushes phrases like catastrophic disclosure, existential threat (a philosophical nod to Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Tillich), and Iranian Mothership.

These trigger phrases point to the growing Omniwar theory, developed by David Hughes, that in today’s warfare, all matter of life is weaponized, especially the human mind. If the entirety of humanity’s mind can be controlled, why bother with war weapons? The winner is declared before the battle commences.

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grayheartart · 3 months ago

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The Curtain is Pulled on "Neutral" Parties in Post Election Breakdowns.

The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.” Those words came to mind as leading scientific and media figures lost any semblance of restraint or neutrality in bemoaning the results of the presidential election. After regaining their composure, the public was told to ignore what they had just seen...

...However, other news organizations like CBS News have long maintained claims of neutrality even as their networks were criticized for openly pushing the Harris-Walz ticket. That included the alleged biased handling of the vice-presidential debate as CBS insisted that its hosts and journalists were completely neutral in the election.

Yet, after the election, there was CBS News anchor John Dickerson getting choked up on national television in an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Dickerson chose to go on a show that has been openly anti-Trump for years. Nevertheless, many were surprised that, even days after the election, Dickerson was still overwhelmed by grief..."

absolutely ridiculous how even those claiming to be "Neutral" happily lie to the public in service of the Democrat party.

#politics #democrats #biden administration #left wing #joe biden #liberals #democrats are corrupt #leftists #progressives

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psychreviews2 · 3 months ago

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Lou Andreas-Salomé Pt. 3

Ideal versus the Real

As Nietzsche's life at his end was eclipsing his ability to hold people to account for their misreading of his works, the many different strands of Nietzschean interpretation were beginning to deviate and move into different paths, both towards what would turn into modern psychology, but also dangerous stumbling blocks in politics. For example, Lisbeth's adventure in Nueva Germania turned to a disaster. The farming methods didn't work in the climate they were in and debts piled up leading to her husband Bernhard to suicide by poisoning himself. Lisbeth returned to Germany to never come back in 1893, but by then her brother's famous mental breakdown had already occurred and he was already an invalid. He eventually died in 1900. She fought for the estate of Nietzsche's books and made publications to live off the subscriptions.

During this period before Lou's next book, she was undergoing criticism for her interpretation of Nietzsche's works. Lisbeth also criticized Lou for insinuating herself too much in Nietzsche's collection, which was partially fair, but Lisbeth later on was also accused of forging letters in Nietzsche's name. "In 1900 the Archiv began publishing Nietzsche's letters: forged ones to Lisbeth reviling Lou and Jews plugged untoward gaps. A year later The Will to Power appeared, a concatenation of Nietzsche scraps presented as Nietzsche's supreme work—as if to render Lou's study obsolete." Camps on both sides of the argument between Lou and Lisbeth began to form where interpretations of the true Nietzsche developed and moved in their own direction. Regardless of theory, one has to live life as one does in practicality, with all the imperfections of interpretation and their consequences when treated as advice.

A running theme in Lou's real relationships were the assessments of her situation in power differentials that pleased or displeased her. Again, like the Kuno character in Lou's first book, she was not able to make her marriage into a satisfactory one. "The reason why she could not engage with her husband must be sought partly in the shock she suffered from his violent attempts to subdue her, and partly in the fact that she saw in him not so much a husband as a father. All her life she remained her father's child. Andreas, fifteen years older than Lou, could indeed have been her father, and he perhaps shared other similarities in character and temperament with General von Salomé. In her intimate diaries Lou often refers to her husband as 'Alterchen' the 'little old man,' an expression that shows the ambivalence of her feelings. On the one hand, she was genuinely fond of him and did not want to hurt him, but on the other, his advances evoked in her something akin to the dread of incest. Her refusal to yield to him was not mere willfulness on her part. It was caused by a fear so deeply imbedded in her subconscious that it defied rational solution."

Eventually, there had to be some compromise. Andreas refused to give Lou a divorce, and she consented to this "only on the condition that he would no longer exercise any control over her emotional life. She wanted to be free to follow the dictates of her heart. The only way to make such a 'marriage' work was for Andreas to find a 'wife substitute' and for Lou to leave their common household the moment she sensed danger. After months of struggle some sort of agreement was reached. It left Lou outwardly bound but inwardly free. These were the years of her long travels through Europe."

Others could sense the lack of bond between the spouses as she and Andreas met and were introduced to others. For Lou, this happened when she met the writer-politician Georg Ledebour. He was a "strong and self-assured man. He threw her into an emotional vortex when, in confessing his love to her, he told her point-blank that her marriage was a fake, and not only because she did not wear a wedding ring. He sensed that she was still a virgin. Lou was startled and dismayed. How could anyone know? The painful secret of her marriage had been locked deep in her own and her husband's hearts. Fascinated by Ledebour's personality, sympathy and understanding, she wavered for a time as to whether she should accept his love. But she soon realized that her husband's fierce temper ruled out any thought of an illicit affair. He would have killed them both if he had found out. As it was, he demanded that she stop seeing her friend."

The leverage Andreas had over Lou slipped further because his private lessons and articles provided little more money than for one person. "Fortunately Lou still received some financial support from home, and her work for literary journals, to which she now applied herself seriously, brought in some money. But it must have been humiliating for Andreas to feel that he was partly supported by his wife." Ledebour eventually went to jail for his political activities and when he was released, Lou returned to see him. "Now he was curt with her: he would talk to her divorced or else to Andreas alone." Lou was stuck between two men, but eventually Georg lost patience and went his own way. "Ledebour married one of his pupils in 1895—one of approximately Lou's own age and social standing whom he had known, like Lou, since 1892. She made him a tender companion through a stormy career and a long exile, following Hitler's advent."

Andreas on the other hand was beginning to make some of his own moves towards an open marriage. "[He] would occasionally accompany her. But for the most part he stayed behind in their Berlin apartment with a housekeeper to take care of him. This woman, Marie, a simple and uncomplicated creature, was Andreas' 'wife substitute.' She became so much a part of the household that to all intents and purposes she took over Lou's duties. When in 1903 Andreas finally found the academic berth for which he was suited, the chair of West Asiatic Languages at the University of Gottingen, Marie went with them and took charge of their house on the Hainberg. She had two illegitimate children. One of them died young, leaving Andreas grief-stricken; the other, Mariechen, grew up and married but continued to live with Lou even after the death of Marie and Andreas. She took care of Lou in her old age and inherited Andreas' house when Lou died. In the eyes of the world she was an illegitimate child, but she always considered Andreas her father."

Back at the turn of the century, Lou's aim was still that one of moving beyond the chalk circle of a woman's destiny. "To attain [freedom] she had to work. Her economic freedom depended, in part at least, on what she earned. And work she did. Article after article came from her busy pen, and book after book. In 1892 her book on Ibsen appeared, two years later her book on Nietzsche, the following year her novel Ruth, a year later From a Troubled Soul, followed in quick succession by Fenitschka, Children of Man, Ma, and in The Land Between)."

Her book Ruth, was in the same autobiographical vein of Struggle For God, but this time it was about her youthful experience with Gillot. "It abounds in psychological observations about the various forms of love: the aggressiveness of the male, the female's longing for surrender, the adoration of the child." The character of Erik symoblizes Gillot, but the eventual transformation from being a tutor that Ruth idealizes, to a common suitor, dispels the illusion of his superiority. To the Ruth character, to divorce his wife in this fictional account, and to debase himself by falling in love with her, he loses his holy aura. "Quietly she tells him that she must leave him now because she wants to remain his child. She does not want him to step down from the pedestal upon which her love has placed him. Her refusal to submit to him does not mean she is afraid for herself: he had to stay up there where she had placed him, his life had to remain what it had always been. Everything depended on him. Otherwise was he still Erik?...She realizes, of course, that she is not being realistic, that she closes her eyes to life as it actually is and that some day she will have to face it. But not now, not yet. For the present she prefers to remain in the world of her childhood...Offended, Ruth departs with the ideal Erik in her heart, leaving the real one behind on his knees. This final option for unreality shows Ruth to have been imperfectly cured—and herein the story was true to life again." There's the symbol of God in her ideal, but she also wants to trade places with the ideal as well and alternate with it. "She tells Erik that she would rather be the gardener than the gardener's tree." The book was popular with the current audiences at the time, even if some of her Nietzschean friends found the book less clear. "It ran several editions while the controversy raged as to whether Ruth was to blame for tempting Erik half knowingly or Erik for acting like a child."

In a way, From a Troubled Soul, ended up being the third in the trilogy of dashed ideals. In this book a foster-son of a pastor looks to him as an ideal, and like in the running theme of Lou's struggle, is how the follower is connecting with the ideal that the leader has. They both share the same ideal, but a double disappointment occurs when the human never lives up to the ideal, as no human does completely, but then the pastor's unbelief in God becomes discovered leading to even more disappointment, where even the idol loses their ideal. Putting people on a pedestal puts unwanted pressure on an idol, and human imperfection guarantees criticism and scandal. Idol-worship already has a form of aggression from the outset, which celebrities attempt to avoid experiencing at the hands of their most critical audiences. René Girard called this horizontal transcendence, where people want to escape themselves by imitating, which is a form of worship regardless of religious belief, that will always be destined for conflict and disappointment. When following a religion, when you are imitating God, and following principles that go above human standards, there's less conflict in renunciation, but from the nascent modern view of enjoying the discharge of as many intensities as possible, renunciation as suppression is considered an emotional dead end.

Girardian Primers:

Totem and Taboo - Sigmund Freud: https://rumble.com/v1gsmvn-totem-and-taboo-sigmund-freud.html

The Origin of Envy & Narcissism - René Girard: https://rumble.com/v1gsnwv-the-origin-of-envy-and-narcissism-ren-girard.html

Case Studies: Dora and Freud: https://rumble.com/v1gu2dt-case-studies-dora-and-freud.html

Stalking: World Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Day: https://rumble.com/v1gvhk1-stalking-world-narcissistic-abuse-awareness-day.html

Love - Freud and Beyond: https://rumble.com/v1gv5pd-love-freud-and-beyond.html

Psychoanalysis - Sigmund Freud and Beyond: https://rumble.com/v1gvgq7-psychoanalysis-sigmund-freud-and-beyond.html

Object Relations: Fear Of Success Pt. 2: https://rumble.com/v1gvuql-object-relations-fear-of-success-pt.-2.html

Object Relations: Fear Of Success Pt. 7: https://rumble.com/v3ub2sa-object-relations-fear-of-success-pt.-7.html

Object Relations: Melanie Klein Pt. 8: https://rumble.com/v50nczb-object-relations-melanie-klein-pt.-8.html

Fenitschka moves along the same lines of narcissistic intensity as in Ruth. There's a playing hard to get that adds to the intensity, but instead of there being just criticism of men, there are some lessons for them to learn. In the story, a man takes notice of a woman who appears to be "pure" in some way that makes him start to fall in love with her. There's a theme in the book where cities and buildings are like a bunch of boxes where men try to trap their women by wooing them in the guise of a hero, but then dominating them afterwards. In traditional relationships, it's not entirely unexpected. After being rebuffed for his imposition towards Fenia, some time passes and he finds her later with another man, but somehow "she has not become less pure, for in her self-confidence, in the freedom she arrogates to herself, in her contempt for the conventional, there is 'an icy undoubtable purity.'" Her expressions of emotion are more authentic, but less idealistic, yet still free in the sense of self-acceptance and self-assuredness. By dropping the ideal, and the intensity that goes along with it, Fenia can roll with the hot and cold of passion. This ever moving emotion and lust cannot be caged, otherwise its resurgence may never return. "Passion is nobler than intellect, because [it's] uncalculating and indivisible. The other half is that this is only so while passion remains undivided and whole, which it cannot be in the framework of marriage. 'Love and marriage are just not the same thing.' When her lover insists on marrying her, her feelings disappear, she gives him up..."

A lot of critics see the beginning of modern relationships in Lou's work. Because Fenia is altering her behavior towards this man, he is unconsciously forced to adapt, which allows him to see things in a different way. "He puts himself in her place, becomes part of her space and interior, rather than trying to make her a feature of male rooms and spaces. It is in her space, as well, that he strikes poses quite at odds with those of the dominant male and conquering hero that he has tended to favor...With his critical reflections and unheroic postures alike he represents a nascent parallel to Fenia. She is at the window, free and on the threshold of a future yet to be told, perhaps untellable. He abdicates his stance as dominant hero to know her position, while nursing private insights yet to be articulated," but "articulating—for the reader perhaps more so than for himself—the possibility of new male insights and stances."

The new possibilities enter in when Max is able to see himself into Fenia as opposed to her just serving a social utility. There's also an understanding that some of the traditional typologies of a woman do apply, but there are varieties of women who want to pursue careers much more, as well as their intense exploration of hobbies, so that more can be included in a woman's life beyond traditional marriage and childrearing, even if Max feels that women could suffer more than a man if they pursue this avenue independent of traditional culture. "Initially, he sees only two alternatives for women: enduring love on the one hand, and superficial sensual pleasure on the other, beloved wife or whore. Because his schematic perceptions of women have been undermined by his conversations with Fenia, however, it gradually occurs to him that given Fenia's independent life, similar to that of a man, she should not be judged in terms of the traditional categories applied to women. By conventional standards, Max reflects, an inferior woman, perhaps, but surely not one of higher standing, would lack the depth and commitment of love to devote her entire existence to the beloved man. Yet he now senses that Fenia, having taken her life into her own hands, must, like any independent man, likewise set boundaries between her love and other parts of her life, placing her love 'beside' but not 'above' her other 'interests in life.' Here Max transcends the tendency to apprehend woman in Manichean categories: as either pure or tainted, devoted or frivolous, Madonna or whore. Yet he remains able to reflect on Fenia's predicament only by considering it analogous to a man's..."

Lou is able to convert religious fervor into a life-fervor. "Though the absence of the previous religious sensuality is just what makes this book refreshing, the heroine retains her nun-quality to the very end, giving herself first to intellect and then to sex with exactly the same fierce religiousness." By letting go of suppression and rejecting cultural repression, the intensity of experience can flow more easily and be allowed to change objects, by including more activities, and maybe even more partners. The catch with this style of relationship is it would require a man who has a similar attitude. Anyone more traditional that likes routine would find this repulsive. Conversely, those who hate routine would find traditional marriages stifling. For example, in Children of Man, the character Irene does become one with the environment, only when she is allowed freedom to control. She is a misanthrope, but because harmless landscapes, assuming there are no major predators where Irene is frequenting, they provide peace and escape from social control, and therefore love cannot be trusted to make one free, which predicts Freud's death drive and nirvana principle. "'I shall find what I need in every blade of grass, in every cloud.' She admits that she has something deathly in her and believes the feminists recognise this and are therefore drawn to her, since they too have in themselves the smell of death." Ella is not judged in the story and her viewpoint is simply a different preference but one should be allowed to choose. Again, the choice to support the life drive against death has to be made by each person right away, to prevent compulsion from tainting the spontaneity found in free choice. The choice has to be deliberated and made before compulsion acts on an individual rendering their feelings dull under such compulsion.

So for a woman who engages in the world, there needs to be a space to rest and time for deliberation so that action is considered to prevent exploitation, which thrives on people who can't make good decisions for themselves and choose in haste. A traditionalist may see value in customs and choose it without a feeling of being stifled, whereas a person who seeks variety, has at some point in life, made the choice to explore worldliness. If there is to be a switch between one type or another, it has to be an authentic exploration to sample and tryout another path as opposed to a choice done under pressure, and therefore made into a chore. To act without compulsion, or realistically, with less compulsion, is to be closer to an animal that is one with the instincts and satisfies them without being caged in a human hierarchy. In Ma, love is seen to be something that doesn't always have to extend to a man. There is that respect from a distance, but if relationships construct love to be only towards the man and not allowed to extend to other areas of life, it turns into an inner and external conflict coming from unsatisfied preferences, as seen in the following Deviations. In The Land Between, maturity is increasing as Lou herself is now accepting the pain between daydreaming and reality. Reality must be faced so that personal goals are acted on to finally make the dream a reality.

The Pleasure Principle - Sigmund Freud: https://rumble.com/v1gurqv-the-pleasure-principle-sigmund-freud.html

Beyond the Pleasure Principle - Freud & Beyond - War Pt. (2/3): https://rumble.com/v1gv855-beyond-the-pleasure-principle-freud-and-beyond-war-pt.-23.html

Now the danger with permissiveness is the fact that intense pleasure has an end. Boredom is a consequence of it, and Lou is moving into a more mature phase in her writing where she understands this. "These first novels present a torrid dream-world of dire sexuality, full of an inescapable desire for things that scarcely exist." Wanting what you don't have is what intensifies envy and jealousy, and it can make the consummation more pleasurable at first, but consumption always leads to tolerance, boredom and the common place. The search continues ad infinitum.

Deviations

Found in the short story Deviations, Lou described her early imprint that led to her searching and exploring personality style, starting from her parenting and continuing with her experiences with Gillot. Those early experiences prevented her from having the enlightened modern relationship that Fenitschka pointed to. In a way, this early description of modern narcissism injects the influence of sadomasochism into it from the get go. The character Adine views different women and their experiences of more or less intensity, via imitation, and this starts all the way at the beginning of her life. "'On a hot summer's day, 'way back at the frontier between Germany and Galicia, where my father was stationed at the time, my old nurse was holding me in her arms. I was a very little girl still, and I watched as her husband hit her hard across the neck while she looked at him with an expression of enamoured submissiveness. Her strong and sun-tanned back, bare because of the heat, broke out in deep red welts. I started to cry at the shocking sight, but my Galician nurse turned to me with a serene, happy laugh. My poor little girl's heart must have got the impression that undoubtedly such a brutal blow was one of the particular blessings of her life. And maybe this was indeed the case: She had nursed me for nine months with her own milk; and afterwards, with the dog-like loyalty common to some Slavic women, she had refused to leave our employ. Now she lived in constant fear that her husband would stop visiting and have neither love nor anger left for her. However, he hit her a lot when he came over, and the folk tunes she sang never sounded lighter and brighter than after such a festive reunion...[Furthermore] my parents' marriage seemed exemplary to me, one of those marriages that exist quite rarely, where the child grows up in an intimate and harmonious environment without upsetting experiences. But the facts behind this harmony were these: my dear little mother did everything as my father wanted, and he in turn did everything that I wanted..."

Sexuality Pt 4: Masochism - Sigmund Freud & Beyond: https://rumble.com/v1gtrq1-sexuality-pt-4-masochism-sigmund-freud-and-beyond.html

Sexuality Pt 5: Sadism - Sigmund Freud & Beyond: https://rumble.com/v1gtssd-sexuality-pt-5-sadism-sigmund-freud-and-beyond.html

Narcissistic Supply - Freud and Beyond - WNAAD: https://rumble.com/v1gveop-narcissistic-supply-freud-and-beyond-wnaad.html

In her shared home later in life, a woman, Gabriele, appeared to be this idol of a modern woman who fearlessly carves out a life for herself. She was doing sewing work that she didn't particularly like, but instead with a purpose that it would lead to more independent work. She seemed to have something that Adine only had when she pursued her art, which was her ability to put either love or meaning into her daily activities. Yet Adine's past experiences tilted toward a priority for intensity over and against her personality potentials, which the author Lou at that time was beginning to understand the limits of intensity. There was a conflict between developing her personal gifts against the intensity of masochism from her past, which was "the result of a long, passionate affair that has left me impervious to a serious and all-embracing love...I found joy in [art], suffered for it; but even long before I knew that I would wholly devote my life to art, my sensations and experiences prepared me for it, and I lived on its fringes...It occurs to me with surprise that our lives depend only to a minor extent on what we do and experience consciously. Secret and uncontrollable impressions on our nerves, which have no direct bearing on our development, play a much larger part...Thousands of coincidences must strike our innermost existence with secret violence and leave the hidden imprint of an early, very early, tremor with which they touched our nerves and our dreams...Habits and traditions of centuries long past, and the joys of slave women, long since dead, still murmur and echo in us in a language not our own, which we only understand in dreams and in the shivering of our nerves."

The entry way into intensity for Adine, was being able to put a powerful man on a pedestal. In this case it was her romantic interest in Benno. Part of the sadistic attitude of the male is to look severe, like there's a demand for respect and that one can be without neediness and withdraw love and attention at any time. Benno was a respected intern at the mental institution, where they lived close by, but the location became a symbol for the feeling of being trapped for the artistic part of Adine's personality. His respect was only interesting based on the tyrannical aspect of his vocation. "...He observed everybody silently through his glasses, to see if [others around him] did not really belong in his madhouse also...All those qualities, for which he had been praised so much, left only a vague impression on me...[though] Benno was very good looking."

Typical of hastily pledged relationships, couples conflict on what duties to attend to, where to live, and how to develop their skills together. Adine's character began feeling torn between Gabriele's freedom to pursue self-development and the intensity of submission to be controlled and the co-dependent need for approval from someone who has the ability to withdraw that approval at just the right moment to maintain this intensity. "Gabriele remarked disparagingly. 'A man—ha! I could run. Why, for goodness' sake, do you do everything he wants?'" She responded, "'I would like to grow into the person he expects me to be,' I answered nervously. But suddenly I became distinctly aware of the fact that I was not that person at all and that Gabriele impressed me greatly." Gabriele advised to "do your painting secretly too! And draw secretly! Did he forbid it?"

Adine continued in the same vein as before. "The consequences were inevitable: I grew pale and thin; I developed morbid feelings of insecurity and an ever increasing irritability. Benno's view of normal and healthy behavior was somewhat limited anyway; and though he had acquired an immense store of knowledge, he did not yet possess the necessary practical experience...In this forced submissiveness to him my most delightful feelings of passion became mixed with the most painful, even with horror. That is certainly not usually the case since women are already subordinate to their men. But it can add such enormous excitement to their love that all inner peace and balance of mind are lost."

The resistances ended the engagement leading to a life where personal development was more possible. "When I parted from Benno, I felt as if he had stamped on me and crushed me into miserable fragments. For a long time I suffered in semi-consciousness. But then my good fortune prevailed and turned it all into triumph, in that I began to live for my art. This happiness finally became stronger than the passion of my youth...I arranged a little studio of my own here, in Paris. That came to be a wonderful experience, the first truly successful and trouble-free period of my life. I started to breathe freely for the first time, and I learned to enjoy the lighter side of things."

She eventually received a letter from Benno that confirmed his moralist attitude and also the echoes of opinion throughout the community for her objectionable lifestyle. "His letter contained many bourgeois thoughts and worries which made me smile, and also much ignorance about life in a metropolis and among artists. His experiences had all been confined to his own special field and to life in a small provincial town." Yet this desire to control her managed to stir her nerves when she saw "Klinger's well known etching Time Annihilating Glory. I had frequently looked at the armed youth before, with his brazen expression of omnipotence, as he pitilessly kicks the poor woman prostrate before him...All of a sudden it awakened in me an association of ideas; suddenly it touched on something, and a long, long forgotten sensation from my own existence started to stir in me darkly."

As the town developed and removed it's charming older buildings with utilitarian constructions, Lou connected the demands for efficiency with the pressure to efface individuality as a means to that end. When returning to the town, she saw Benno again and both of their old attractions became charged up. She also realized the sacrifices her friends and her mother did for her in order help with her artistic career. If you read between the lines, the demands for efficiency also come from the protagonist who is looking for enough power to guide her life at the expense of others, for as long as they agree to it. Only those who have independent wealth, or enough customers for their business, can pursue their dreams more directly. Anyone else, which includes most of the population, have to make due with a certain amount of acceptance of subordination that a patient of Benno's, for example, demonstrated for Adine. This comparison of intensity with Benno began to overshadow her artistic inclinations again. "Maybe I will remain weak and limp for a long time yet from the strong and intoxicating wine you once gave me to drink. In comparison, all other drinks have left me sober...It really is not my fault that I cannot even fall in love properly. It is most peculiar."

Like a Freudian sublimation, Adine was still able to transfer some intensity of love to her painting, but the children in the end were still only paintings. With tension and release, there's always a need to find more tension to find more experiences of release, ad infinitum. That release that is a background of awareness, like found in meditation, would later factor in theories of a primary narcissism and oneness that all babies start with. The background of love and rest is covered over with effort in daily life. "Anyone who paints is always a little in love. You always paint something from inside, something with which you are in love, it seems.—But it is all so fleeting and strange, and you cannot marry it either. So how do I get you a little grandchild [mother]?" Yet, there are positive outcomes from her vocation when Benno notices "how well and healthy and happy you look—and how beautiful." To Adine's surprise, she found that her struggles were mirrored in Benno's. His study contained more books than related to his profession, including that of Schiller's.

Sublimation - Sigmund Freud: https://rumble.com/v1gv2fr-sublimation-sigmund-freud.html

There seems to be a lack of understanding in both Benno and Adine of the pleasure and release of mental peace that Gabriele was able to contain within herself and use as a guide for her life. She viewed the men of the town as "arrogant, still, and conceited and backward in their opinions. It starts with the lowest officials and continues right through the officers' ranks. Only the form varies, depending on their social class; the essence is the same. Can you imagine that any one of them would understand that our attitudes are no longer the same as those of our mothers and grandmothers? That we are no longer meek little Susies who grovel and whimper 'Your highness', but that we have become masters of our own lives? In short, that we are casting off the idea of subservience?" Gabriele was able to find meaning in what others viewed as "chores." Everything in her life was treated as emancipation and self-development even if she had an end goal in mind. Contrary to Adine, the means and the end were the same. "Meanwhile, I do not mind staying here and looking after the household. I can explain it to you. But you may be sure I am not doing it against my will."

One could only guess as to Gabriele's upbringing, and what her past experiences did to setup her emotions in such a fashion. Adine was still holding on to a different past. "I knew also that my life could never be truly linked with Benno's, and that it was not love for him which held me here. No, not love, something darker, some instinct, something eerie. Like lightning—a warning and at once a symbol—the etching by Klinger appeared to my inner eye. No, I could not leave...'Our poor great-grandmothers!' I said with a laugh. 'They had not the least idea about such innovations. The only form of love they knew was subservience. And into this mold they put all their tenderness. Some of this must also have been passed on to us. And why should we not use their valued inheritance?"

Men also have pressure to behave under compulsion, including Benno. "'It is for me to apologize,' he replied without looking at me. 'The trouble is that everyone keeps to this routine for my sake, [to allow me to stay up late studying]. But that is the way with slave labor. Slavery from morning to night and never a chance to breathe freely like a human being...A person goes to rack and ruin if he gets stuck in a one-sided, narrow professional track, and that his full development becomes arrested. Eventually you see the professional as representing the whole person...In order to achieve more one has to have time and money, and therefore only a few can do it. What do you think happens to growth that is non-professional, personal, when one lives under so much pressure and lack of time as I have been doing? It seems to me that as far back as I can remember, even in my schooldays, I never had time for anything; and that was the reason for the worst mistakes of my life."

With a bookmark on Wallenstein's Death by Schiller, Benno betrayed the mourning of his loss of youth and wonder. "One remains a dilettante in whatever is not directly related to one's profession. I can only say it is a shame. Even in my own profession people would be more efficient if they combined with it a better grasp on life and the world...Gradually I understood why I had lost you, through the lack of insight in what was important for you, the inability to understand what was strong and healthy in you. You appeared to become ill, and I did not realize it was only because you were stifled in your development, because you were prevented from expressing yourself through your art...Instead of trying to control you and confine you within the limits imposed by my lack of experience, I should have let you guide me out of them and open them up through your wider knowledge. Just the way it happened after our separation."

Benno also blamed Adine for being so codependent and allowing him to keep on with his old ways, but unfortunately, she had to admit that the attraction to that old intensity would have fizzled and no relationship could be struck in the new fashion. She also accepted that Gabriele would have been a better match for his new temperament. Adine eventually was hit with the intensity of Benno's advances and furious kisses, which stirred up intensity in her, but the inner conflict continued. She could not let go of the freedom she desired, but on the other hand she was still attracted to the intensity. Even worse, the pleasurable intensity was diminished by Benno's last attempt on her, since he lost authority by the very fact that he needed her affection. Like a game that requires intensity to never decrease, unless Benno is able to be a player that stays on the pedestal long enough for Adine to bite, the sexual desire in her vanished. Ultimately, the reader has to project her destiny after the story ended. I felt that Adine would continue looking for new partners, but always making the decision to preserve her freedom, and thereby exiting any relationship before the sadomasochistic intensity fizzled.

Frau Lou: Nietzsche's Wayward Disciple - Rudolph Binion: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780691618609/

My Sister, My Spouse - H.F. Peters: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780393007480/

Salomé, her life and work - Livingstone, Angela: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780918825049/

The Will to Power - Friedrich Nietzsche: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780141195353/

Aus fremder Seele - Lou Andreas-Salomé: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780366012435/

Ruth - Lou Andreas-Salomé: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9783847838708/

Fenitschka and "Deviations" - Lou Andreas-Salomé: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780819176493/

Whitinger, R., & Andreas-Salomé, L. (1999). Lou Andreas-Salomé’s "Fenitschka" and the Tradition of the "Bildungsroman." Monatshefte, 91(4), 464–480.

The Human Family - Lou Andreas-Salomé: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780803259522/

Im Zwischenland - Lou Andreas-Salomé: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9783937211527/

Ma - Lou Andreas-Salomé: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780656565306/

The Death of Wallenstein - Friedrich Von Schiller: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9781714326785/

Psychology: http://psychreviews.org/category/psychology01/

#psychology #Lou Andreas-Salomé #feminism #fiction

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ivelplum · 5 months ago

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The Rise of Nihilism

Nihilism has emerged as a captivating philosophy for young adults. At base level, nihilism is the belief that life is meaningless, and nothing has any real value. Many people resonate with this philosophy nowadays since everything is so chaotic. Embracing the void of nothingness can bring comfort to many individuals. In this blog, we'll explore why nihilism has become increasingly popular among newer generations and how it can serve both as a coping mechanism and a destructive concept.

The concept may sound like a sad, boring, existential movie you watch with your grandmother, but it’s interesting. Nihilism got popular in the 19th century due to Mr. Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche both supported and criticized nihilism. He believed that our world lacks an objective structure or order and that the only order present is the one we create for ourselves. He argued that the rise of nihilism would lead civilization toward a catastrophe, as shown by the most destructive civilizations in human history. Nietzsche believed that by working through the breakdown of civilization, we could set up a new morality that drops prejudice and paves the way for a better future. However, he feared that nihilism might trigger another outbreak, as religion would no longer dictate what is morally acceptable (Mir). Living in a world where everything seemed meaningless suddenly was not common among the people of his time. Nihilism rejects the idea that there's an ultimate meaning or higher being guiding us. However, there are multiple different types of nihilism.

Some include political, ethical, and existential nihilism. Political nihilism is the idea that government and all social or religious orders need to be destroyed before we can move forward as a society. Ethical nihilism is simply the concept of rejecting all ethical and moral values and doing whatever you want. Lastly, existential nihilism is the main belief of nihilism, which is that nothing matters, and life is meaningless (Mir). While that might be slightly depressing, it can also be somewhat liberating. Believing that nothing we do matters can be soothing to people who get anxious about their impact on the world or if their moral choices will get them into whatever heaven-equivalent they want.

Now, we shall delve deeper into why exactly young adults gravitate towards nihilism. Nina Cipriani sums Gen Z and late Millennials' reasoning up perfectly by saying, “When so many things happen growing up, and continue to happen in your adult years, there is a feeling of anxiety about the future” (par. 15). We live in a constant state of upheaval. We experience chaos in every aspect of our adult lives: economically, religiously, politically, climatically, emotionally, physically, and romantically. With everything going how it is, you can’t blame the younger generations for feeling like the traditional paths may not be the paths to success or happiness. Here’s where nihilism comes in. Instead of trying to force meaning where there may not be one, they simply accept that there may not be a meaning and move on. When every day there is something new going wrong, a “nothing matters” mindset offers relief. It almost serves as a shield against chaos the same way humor does. Dark humor has gotten much more popular in our pop culture. Pop culture is full of nihilistic ideology and jokes. In 2023, “Pop culture nihilism [was seen] as an enticing, dark-humor-driven coping mechanism” (Romaine). From dark movies to cynic Instagram reels, it is so easy to get drawn into nihilism as it is EVERYWHERE.

While this ideology may not seem enticing to some, it is a powerful coping mechanism. Nihilism offers an escape from the pressures of life. It provides freedom from the weight of societal expectations. If nothing matters, then you are free to create your own path without that fear of failure holding you back, right? There’s a rebellious allure to nihilism which is also a reason why young people gravitate towards it. Rejecting all societal norms is an act of defiance, a way to carve yourself out from all the others. However, nihilism can also lead to feelings of existential dread and despair. J’Anne Ellsworth warns that “Existential dread poses a threat to adolescents' self-esteem, productivity, and life itself...reduce the amount of time youth languish in the throes of existential dread and lessen the threat of depression and suicide” (407). If taken too far, the belief can suck the energy and motivation from you, making it difficult for you to want to do things or find happiness. It’s a double-edged sword that could empower or drain an individual depending on how it’s perceived.

Nihilism is popular but it isn’t the only way to deal with the chaos of life. One alternative is called “constructive nihilism” or “optimistic nihilism” which takes the idea that life that life no meaning and flips it into something positive. Instead of seeing the lack of meaning as a bad thing, it is viewed as a good thing, an opportunity. A blank canvas where you create your purpose (Perton). Existentialism, a philosophy closely related to nihilism, acknowledges life's meaninglessness but encourages individuals to create their own meaning (The Ethics Centre). Another alternative to nihilism is connection and community. By forming relationships and occupying yourself with activities that feel meaningful to you, you can counteract the pull of nihilism. These connections can mentally anchor us and provide us with a sense of purpose rooted in experiences and interactions.

Nihilism can be both an enticing and dangerous philosophy. It offers a way to cope but could very well destroy your motivation. The key is finding a balance between acknowledging the uncertainties and seeking out your sources of meaning. Whether it’s through one of the ways listed earlier or another, there are ways to navigate through life without completely succumbing to despair. The struggle to find meaning is an important but personal journey that I wish everyone well on.

Works cited

Cipriani, Nina. "Opinion | Gen Z was destined for nihilism." UWIRE Text, 15 Feb. 2023, p. 1. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A737302985/AONE?u=lincclin_pcc&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=95abcde4. Accessed 3 Sept. 2024.

Ellsworth, J’Anne. “Today’s Adolescent: Addressing Existential Dread.” Adolescence, vol. 34, no. 134, Summer 1999, p. 403. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=a9h&AN=2244632&site=ehost-live.

Mir, Saida. “Nihilism: The Belief in Nothing.” What If Show, 18 July 2023, whatifshow.com/nihilism-the-belief-in-nothing/. Accessed 03 Sept. 2024.

Perton, Victor. “‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Perfects Optimistic Nihilism.” The Centre for Optimism, 9 Dec. 2023, www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-perfects-optimistic-nihilism#:~:text=Marcelo%20Meneses%20puts%20it%20nicely,get%20to%20choose%20our%20own. Accessed 04 Sept. 2024.

Romaine, Casey. “2023 Top Trends Spotlight: Pop Nihilism.” Catalyst, 23 July 2024, horizoncatalyst.com/top-trends-volume-2-2023-pop-nihilism. Accessed 04 Sept. 2024.

The Ethics Centre. “What Is Existentialism? An Ethics Explainer by the Ethics Centre.” THE ETHICS CENTRE, 26 Oct. 2023, ethics.org.au/ethics-explainer-existentialism/#:~:text=Existentialism%20is%20the%20philosophical%20belief,governments%2C%20teachers%20or%20other%20authorities. Accessed 04 Sept. 2024.

Grammarly was used to correct errors.

#nihilism

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semiramist · 1 year ago

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Nietzsche. The one who was an outsider at his time with his genius mind, and he is one of the most influential character that shaped our modern beliefs of humankind as well as mine.

When I was in high school, I delved into some of his words, quotes and ideas but at that moment, it was not just something more than intellectual curiosity, but as I start to look the past to understand where my ideas and behaviors influenced, I realize that he has greatly influenced me as well, something I had never previously considered.

Nietzsche, the one who challenges everything that comes from outside except the self. Understanding his stance and how it evolved over time is crucial, necessitating a look into his life.

He was born in 1844 in a quiet village which is called Röcken, which is a part of Saxony, Prussia at that moment which is located in the eastern part of Germany right now. He was born to a modest family living an ordinary, sheltered early childhood.

His father was a priest, and young Nietzsche was deeply immersed in the Christian faith by him. Tragically, Nietzsche's Christian faith was challenged when his father succumbed to a terminal brain disease at the age of 35, after suffering horribly for a year. Nietzsche was just five years old. Six months after his father's death, he lost his 2-year-old younger brother. Nietzsche's early exposure to the unreasonable pain and suffering experienced by good, undeserving people undoubtedly shaped his thinking about life itself as well as religion.

Following these personal tragedies, Nietzsche's life took a dramatic turn. He was raised by his mother, along with his younger sister, in a household dominated by female relatives. While nurturing, this environment was also confining and perhaps fostered his later critiques of traditional values and roles. He faced numerous challenges; he didn't get along with his remaining family, which can be seen in his words from his work Ecce Homo: "As for the Eternal Recurrence, well, the worst part of that is dealing with my mother and sister again!"

His genius was partially recognized when he was alive and sadly, when he was only forty-four, he experienced a mental breakdown when he saw a horse in a street being beaten by its driver and he ran over and hugging the horse while shouting that "I understand you, I understand you." Those was the last moments of his brilliant mind and those ending can be seen complete contrast between his own philosophy: pity, weakness and compassion. After, Nietzsche would be in state of complete madness for 11 years and died of a stroke. He couldn't hold the weight of his ideas but for me he died as a ubermensch.

Despite his tragedy, even if he may be seen as a failure in terms of his philosophy, and even if his books were not widely sold, his thoughts and feelings are important, even though he could not see this for himself. His philosophy was full of heroism and passion, about challenging ourselves to become the selves we desire by creating the term Selbstüberwindung (self-overcoming). The person who has a great soul is capable of embracing anything that life brings, and any difficulties can be shaped by one's true desires. It is about becoming who we really are, yet these words are among the most misunderstood and misused. Becoming one's true self is a path of agony, and it may only be achieved if we do not let go. It is about creating values for ourselves, which in turn creates a huge responsibility as we live. His tragic death may be seen as evidence that living according to his theory is not sustainable, despite the temptation and accuracy of his ideas, even to myself. Nietzsche witnessed the crumbling of Western religious faith and felt that the loss of religious faith would create massive voids at life's end, potentially leading to pessimism and nihilism. As a child, he felt the suffering of loved ones and could relate to how feelings change with religious faith, showing empathy not just for individuals but for all of humanity. His philosophy would essentially loosen the bolts on all contemporary certainties, concepts, all notions of good and evil, all knowledge of true and false, right and wrong.

"There are no facts, only interpretations"

Nietzsche denied any fixed truth, arguing that the quest for a truth claiming to represent the ultimate reality actually makes us less aware of it. There are lenses through which we can look, helping us shape the image of truth in our minds. This idea also opens doors to the argument that the pursuit of universal, objective truth or meaning beyond this life drains the spirit from the "moment" and the earthly human experience of meaning, which can be shaped by individuals in a subjective, independent, and expressive manner. This realization led Nietzsche to focus primarily on art and the humanities, believing that creative experiences such as music, philosophy, literature, and theater could be used as means to communicate deeper truths and fill the void that everyone experiences. He observed that these concepts of art and humanities could become stagnant, overly academic, or mere commodities, often losing their vibrancy and relevance. This realization led him to create a philosophy that detached the individual from dependence on any collective experience or cultural mechanisms, instead focusing on the individual pursuit of creative expression and subjective greatness, thereby giving the creation of meaning into individuals' hands. It is about using our own will to obtain what we envy. It is about employing the will to power not externally but within ourselves, even if it brings responsibility to the individual. This idea is an image of Nietzsche's term, Übermensch (overman or superman).

The Übermensch is confident, independent individuals who pursue their personal desires with passion and uphold their independent beliefs unapologetically; one who deviates from the collective, exhibits strategic selfishness, and acts with aggressiveness and grandiosity. This idea might feel like it invites invalid misinterpretations, which is not a problem since it represents something larger than itself. He idealized a version of one's self that is perfect and powerful, capable of overcoming all fears and deficiencies while striving towards one's goals.

"The world is the will to power- and nothing besides!"

His notion is not necessarily referring to physical strength nor power and dominance over others but power over the one's self.

Writing these words, I feel as though I am meeting with an old friend, even though I did not know he was there. The image of the Übermensch is about continuous self-growth, self-dissatisfaction, self-improvement, and self-discovery, over and over. Even though I accept these terms on how to live our lives, the tragic life of Nietzsche actually says something even as his ideas have shaped humankind. Becoming aware of who we are and how we behave is helpful, but continuous awareness is not sustainable and creates unnoticed problems, even if the Übermensch is the one who realizes himself. Paradoxically, the gap between what we say and what is actually happening can cause internal agony when we try to bridge it.

“Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed.”

Whenever I think about these ideas, even without realizing it, I was pushing myself and my loved ones to become Übermenschen, but there is no such thing. It is just an idea, a good one, but living is not something that has anything to do with being an Übermensch. Of course, there are valid points, but being an Übermensch continuously damages a person's subjective being and eventually leads to a death inside.

I have lived my life close to some of Nietzsche's ideas, and I still find some of them quite accurate, but whenever I think about him, I feel his nature, which is highly capable of understanding the feelings of creatures but, contrastingly, in his personal life, he did not have the satisfaction of acceptance and being loved. This may seem superficial compared to his thoughts, for sure, but even his idealized human, capable of being and creating meaning for oneself, needs loved ones to fill the void of meaning.

I lived my life close to Nietzsche, but I realized that Carl Jung is more realistic. I feel the ambition and passion of Nietzsche's genius mind, and I want to believe that we are in control of who we are like Nietzsche himself, but creating an idealized human that you are trying to fit is also killing someone inside somehow.

I hope my life will not face similar consequences to Nietzsche's, but if it does, I will find a way to overcome, or at least I will try.

#nietzsche #friedrich nietzsche

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