Thank you for watching and commenting! I think this episode turned out pretty good. Better than I had expected. Spheres will be even harder to do, but I think it's probably the most important work of the era, so it's worth the trouble.
You did an amazing work! I couldn't find any good content in my language (portuguese, I'm from Brazil), so I found this video and you spoke everything very clearly. Thank you!
Great video! I'm also going to watch the other ones! Hope you continue to make them! This book in particular gave me a headache, so your explanation was very useful!
Hey, German Sloterdijk kind-of-afficionado here - by happenstance stumbled upon your vlog, just watched the video (actually never read his foundational works cynical reason + spheres trilogy) and am very glad i found it. - One interesting note, regarding the biographical and by that ideo-historical localization of PS: He, of course, was immersed in Critical Theory in the 60s - he said, Adorno was the "Fixstern" all thought back then was circulating around. And Sloterdijk's stance since inception as somewhat of a rogue philosopher, ('despite' being the literary giant of contemporary German intellectuals), as a black sheep in academic circles, a nuissance, a factum-one-would-rather-not, is still due to his not merely leaving the tradition of orthodox "Critical" thinking in the vein of the Frankfurt School (to this day represented by Habermaas) but turning it against them. - Goes almost without saying that he's been the target of several attempts over the decades to frame him as some kind of crypto-fascist,or at least fascism-enabler of sorts. - It's a whole thing.
Thanks for this! Reading 'You must change your life' currently, nearly finished and was considering trying this next... Though am even finding YMCYL a bit of a slog at times so maybe one for later. Though I'm skeptical of some of his politics and almost worried that I'll absorb some of it without knowing much about it simply by getting deeply into his works and in a sense being intimidated into just taking them in as I'm fairly new to taking philosophy seriously and likely quite impressionable as a result, I think the exhilaration of having someone speak to the spiritual hardships I have felt deeply but had difficulty expressing/articulating is very special and it would seem from what you say that critique of cynical reason explores that terrain as well. Thanks very much for this, wasn't finding much to really get a sense of what I may be in for by reading this but now I'm convinced I will, even if not for a while. Great work!
Thank you for your comments! I do think that he's very worth reading, and I can also understand it being a 'slog'. Haha. I think these two things are not ultimately or necessarily contradictory. Critique of Cynical Reason is really a great work, and I think holds a lot of important insights into our moment. And yeah, depending on what you're talking about, the diagnostic utility of the work may also apply at a kind of personal-spiritual level. I can't speak for you, obviously, but I think you shouldn't worry too much about being politically or philosophically impressionable.On the one hand, I mean, you might characterize it positively as openness, right? Which is a great thing. Being open to deep insights, plumbing the depths, etc. In his longer works like this and Spheres his politics aren't even really visible. More universal. In any case, thanks again! I hope that you do find this stuff helpful in working through your hardships. I've been on a bit of a hiatus because of some hardship in my life too, actually. But I'll be back to making stuff soon, and that'll very shortly include Spheres, so stay tuned!
@@thinkculture6106 Thanks for the reply! Yeh, I think what spoke to me in 'you must change your life' was his illuminating that a deep impulse to reach a self-satisfaction in relation to our conception/intuition of what our greatest, even most extreme potential/self-realisation (hard to think of terms which haven't been bastardised by the deluge of self-help products) has been persistent throughout numerous cultures and social settings. I've found myself deeply skeptical about following any impulses like these before. Afraid of being a dupe or that what I'm pursuing is just a modified version of the dominant capitalist impulse to gain a certain type of power and that I'm just following that social conditioning with a splash of moral language clumsily thrown onto it. It seems like similar themes are explored in Critique of Cynical Reason from what you've kindly explored and described in the video. The feeling of ungroundedness which follows from the sense that any comprehensive assertion of value or importance can be seen through, critiqued and deemed ridiculous is something that has -still does to some extent- bother/ed me. Perhaps this book will help me get a better sense of that. And yes, I think especially at the beginning, characterising this impressionability as openness could be helpful. Though, I just remember thinking something similar when exploring other types of philosophy. For example, thinking that if I were to try to come to an opinion on say, free will, I'd likely adopt the opinion of whomever I read first, making the vital decision being who I read first rather than the quality of the positions as I would feel so unqualified to challenge whatever thesis was given. Though I guess the more I read, the better I'd become acquainted with counter points and the more confident I'd feel coming up with an opinion of my own. Perhaps just recognising my amateur level currently, without feeling insecure about it is what I need most. Yes, I think the universality also asserted in 'You must change your life' was what almost felt like it gave me permission to try to go for these far-reaching goals/ways of life/practices, without feeling i was just some blow hard Tony Robbins clone using fancier language to conceal my superficiality and short-sightedness. I guess feeling more confident in these impulses is the visceral new feeling which the book gave me. Hope you're doing better now man, very grateful for this vid and will check out more of your content. All the best!
Thank you, this was a wonderful presentation for a book which, as you mentioned, seems to be difficult to summarize. I'll eventually check out the Spheres series. Hope you keep that good work and thinking going
Thank you! I'm struggling a bit with the format and everything (same old story), but I'm trying to push through. The time commitment is tough also given where my life is right now.
Thanks so much for this. I'm currently working my way through it as an extension of books i'm reading on Nietzsche and people influenced by him. Maybe when you have more time you can spend a little more time on this gem. I think it's a great introduction and summary of the Post Nietzschean world we live in today as well as the dangers (Extremist left and right wars) that lie ahead of us.
Thank you! I really appreciate it! Sloterdijk was definitely very influenced by Nietzsche. Particularly, in my mind, his concern (obsession) with Enlightenment''s destruction of our 'life-sustaining illusions'-- a major theme for him, and he quotes Nietzsche on this over and over in a variety of works. Also, and I may do a video on it as well, but Sloterdijk's essay Rules for the Human Zoo--there is a very strong Nietzschean influence there. Fascinating essay! And, yeah, I'm trying to figure out how to do the whole Spheres trilogy too. Ironically, I am currently trying to upload a casual (ie non-theoretical, mostly unprepared discussion aimed at a broader audience) video about cynical reason, applying it to present trends and trying to give some examples and stuff. I've been having some serious software issues. I may well return for a theory version pt 2 at some point as well. There's a lot going on in this book. I definitely agree about the danger of our present situation. Coming from like, both sides' extremes as well as, in my view, from the center. Haha. We're in quite a pickle. But maybe, as Heidegger liked to repeat, where the greatest danger is, the saving power also lies. Who are some of the other Nietzscheans you're reading? Any particular reason? I mean, not that you need one other than the fact that Nietzsche maybe had more insight into the nature and consequences of the modern world than anyone.
19:13 "Get rich or die tryin'."
Haha, that's a good gloss!
Nice overview, ty! Looking forward to your series on Spheres
Thank you for watching and commenting! I think this episode turned out pretty good. Better than I had expected. Spheres will be even harder to do, but I think it's probably the most important work of the era, so it's worth the trouble.
You did an amazing work! I couldn't find any good content in my language (portuguese, I'm from Brazil), so I found this video and you spoke everything very clearly. Thank you!
Great video! I'm also going to watch the other ones! Hope you continue to make them! This book in particular gave me a headache, so your explanation was very useful!
Thank you greatly for making this video! Good job, you’re well spoken.
Thank you! I'm still working on improving and gaining confidence with it, so that's good to hear. Thanks for watching!
Hey, German Sloterdijk kind-of-afficionado here - by happenstance stumbled upon your vlog, just watched the video (actually never read his foundational works cynical reason + spheres trilogy) and am very glad i found it. - One interesting note, regarding the biographical and by that ideo-historical localization of PS: He, of course, was immersed in Critical Theory in the 60s - he said, Adorno was the "Fixstern" all thought back then was circulating around. And Sloterdijk's stance since inception as somewhat of a rogue philosopher, ('despite' being the literary giant of contemporary German intellectuals), as a black sheep in academic circles, a nuissance, a factum-one-would-rather-not, is still due to his not merely leaving the tradition of orthodox "Critical" thinking in the vein of the Frankfurt School (to this day represented by Habermaas) but turning it against them. - Goes almost without saying that he's been the target of several attempts over the decades to frame him as some kind of crypto-fascist,or at least fascism-enabler of sorts. - It's a whole thing.
Even in more centrist, conservative feuilletons his work will be repeatedly attributed such terms as "fascinating yet with an air of danger" etc.
@@poltergeistfm Interesting, I never thought I'd really find a german appreciator of PS!
Thanks for this! Reading 'You must change your life' currently, nearly finished and was considering trying this next... Though am even finding YMCYL a bit of a slog at times so maybe one for later.
Though I'm skeptical of some of his politics and almost worried that I'll absorb some of it without knowing much about it simply by getting deeply into his works and in a sense being intimidated into just taking them in as I'm fairly new to taking philosophy seriously and likely quite impressionable as a result, I think the exhilaration of having someone speak to the spiritual hardships I have felt deeply but had difficulty expressing/articulating is very special and it would seem from what you say that critique of cynical reason explores that terrain as well.
Thanks very much for this, wasn't finding much to really get a sense of what I may be in for by reading this but now I'm convinced I will, even if not for a while. Great work!
Thank you for your comments! I do think that he's very worth reading, and I can also understand it being a 'slog'. Haha. I think these two things are not ultimately or necessarily contradictory. Critique of Cynical Reason is really a great work, and I think holds a lot of important insights into our moment. And yeah, depending on what you're talking about, the diagnostic utility of the work may also apply at a kind of personal-spiritual level.
I can't speak for you, obviously, but I think you shouldn't worry too much about being politically or philosophically impressionable.On the one hand, I mean, you might characterize it positively as openness, right? Which is a great thing. Being open to deep insights, plumbing the depths, etc. In his longer works like this and Spheres his politics aren't even really visible. More universal.
In any case, thanks again! I hope that you do find this stuff helpful in working through your hardships. I've been on a bit of a hiatus because of some hardship in my life too, actually. But I'll be back to making stuff soon, and that'll very shortly include Spheres, so stay tuned!
@@thinkculture6106 Thanks for the reply! Yeh, I think what spoke to me in 'you must change your life' was his illuminating that a deep impulse to reach a self-satisfaction in relation to our conception/intuition of what our greatest, even most extreme potential/self-realisation (hard to think of terms which haven't been bastardised by the deluge of self-help products) has been persistent throughout numerous cultures and social settings.
I've found myself deeply skeptical about following any impulses like these before. Afraid of being a dupe or that what I'm pursuing is just a modified version of the dominant capitalist impulse to gain a certain type of power and that I'm just following that social conditioning with a splash of moral language clumsily thrown onto it.
It seems like similar themes are explored in Critique of Cynical Reason from what you've kindly explored and described in the video. The feeling of ungroundedness which follows from the sense that any comprehensive assertion of value or importance can be seen through, critiqued and deemed ridiculous is something that has -still does to some extent- bother/ed me. Perhaps this book will help me get a better sense of that.
And yes, I think especially at the beginning, characterising this impressionability as openness could be helpful. Though, I just remember thinking something similar when exploring other types of philosophy. For example, thinking that if I were to try to come to an opinion on say, free will, I'd likely adopt the opinion of whomever I read first, making the vital decision being who I read first rather than the quality of the positions as I would feel so unqualified to challenge whatever thesis was given. Though I guess the more I read, the better I'd become acquainted with counter points and the more confident I'd feel coming up with an opinion of my own. Perhaps just recognising my amateur level currently, without feeling insecure about it is what I need most.
Yes, I think the universality also asserted in 'You must change your life' was what almost felt like it gave me permission to try to go for these far-reaching goals/ways of life/practices, without feeling i was just some blow hard Tony Robbins clone using fancier language to conceal my superficiality and short-sightedness. I guess feeling more confident in these impulses is the visceral new feeling which the book gave me.
Hope you're doing better now man, very grateful for this vid and will check out more of your content. All the best!
Thank you, this was a wonderful presentation for a book which, as you mentioned, seems to be difficult to summarize. I'll eventually check out the Spheres series. Hope you keep that good work and thinking going
Thank you! I'm struggling a bit with the format and everything (same old story), but I'm trying to push through. The time commitment is tough also given where my life is right now.
Thanks so much for this. I'm currently working my way through it as an extension of books i'm reading
on Nietzsche and people influenced by him. Maybe when you have more time you can spend a little more time
on this gem. I think it's a great introduction and summary of the Post Nietzschean world we live in today as well
as the dangers (Extremist left and right wars) that lie ahead of us.
Thank you! I really appreciate it!
Sloterdijk was definitely very influenced by Nietzsche. Particularly, in my mind, his concern (obsession) with Enlightenment''s destruction of our 'life-sustaining illusions'-- a major theme for him, and he quotes Nietzsche on this over and over in a variety of works. Also, and I may do a video on it as well, but Sloterdijk's essay Rules for the Human Zoo--there is a very strong Nietzschean influence there. Fascinating essay! And, yeah, I'm trying to figure out how to do the whole Spheres trilogy too.
Ironically, I am currently trying to upload a casual (ie non-theoretical, mostly unprepared discussion aimed at a broader audience) video about cynical reason, applying it to present trends and trying to give some examples and stuff. I've been having some serious software issues. I may well return for a theory version pt 2 at some point as well. There's a lot going on in this book. I definitely agree about the danger of our present situation. Coming from like, both sides' extremes as well as, in my view, from the center. Haha. We're in quite a pickle. But maybe, as Heidegger liked to repeat, where the greatest danger is, the saving power also lies.
Who are some of the other Nietzscheans you're reading? Any particular reason? I mean, not that you need one other than the fact that Nietzsche maybe had more insight into the nature and consequences of the modern world than anyone.
Very happy to find someone else addressing this.
Thank you; same! Anyone interested in this stuff--I suggest you check out this channel as well!