I was interviewed for Cosmoetica by Dan Schneider, mostly on themes from my Nietzsche and the Nazis documentary and book, but also on the nature of values, art, religion, corporations, and the meaning of life. Other interviews in the series include those with Daniel Dennett, Larry Sanger, and Steven Pinker.
Interviewed by Dan Schneider for Cosmoetica Read More »
Subject: Emanation of Zarathustra… Dear Professor Hicks, I’ve noted in your “Overman” piece: “Nietzsche gives a name to his anticipated overman: He calls him Zarathustra, and he names his greatest literary and philosophical work in his honor. “Zarathustra will be the creative tyrant. Having mastered himself and others, he will exuberantly and energetically command and
I received an email from the Übermensch today Read More »
We are currently working on a new documentary with the working title Artistic Genius: When It Flourishes. The question I take up is why art flourishes so awesomely in some places and times — classical Athens, Renaissance Florence, the Dutch Golden Age, nineteenth-century Paris — but is stagnant in others. Some of our production team
Artistic Genius documentary — Europe locations Read More »
Every original thinker attracts those who are eager to learn and build upon the new discoveries — and “true believers” who want to follow mechanically and turn the new system into a museum piece. Maria Montessori’s outstanding educational philosophy is designed for independence, creativity, and freedom. Many Montessorians are applying and developing her system in
Geniuses and their followers, Montessori version Read More »
One question on the final exam for my Philosophy of Art course asked students to identify the best or worst theorist of art we studied this semester. We devoted significant time to five major philosophers — Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Nietzsche, and Rand — and discussed a few others along the way more briefly. In deciding
The best (and worst) philosophy of art Read More »
In my Philosophy of Art course, we’ve been reading Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy for the last two weeks, and we can add him to the list posted here of intellectuals across the ages bemoaning the poverty of their own time’s culture. Nietzsche on mid-19th century Germany: “What else, in the desolate waste of
More on “the constant decline of civilization” Read More »
The great Rachmaninoff on what the creator needs and what this implies for others: “A creator is a very limited person. Always he revolves around his own axis. There is nothing for him but his own creative work. I agree that the wife has to forget herself, her own personality. She must take upon herself
Creative geniuses as selfish — Rachmaninoff version Read More »
Ending the year on a lighter note — my humor posts collected below and into one page: What I Have Learned about the History of Philosophy from My Students. Existentialism meets high-tech . From the Office of the Reproducer-General. Professor Walsh gives an “A” to a Jain monk. Computing’s environmental impact. The best footnote ever.
Philosophicalish Humor Read More »
At Amazon’s Kindle books section, my Explaining Postmodernism holds two of the top ten places for books on postmodernism. The first edition is second, and the expanded edition is ninth [update: now seventh]. They are neck-and-neck with The Routledge Companion to Postmodernism and The Cambridge Companion to Postmodernism, two traditionally strong-selling series. Also: Both editions
Explaining Postmodernism 2nd and 9th at Amazon Kindle Read More »
Philosophicalish Humor: What I Have Learned about the History of Philosophy from My Students. “Should I Marry You?” Answers From the Philosophers. Existentialism meets high-tech. From the Office of the Reproducer-General. Professor Walsh gives an “A” to a Jain monk. Computing’s environmental impact. The best footnote ever. Sinistromanualism. Zach Weiner’s cartoon metaphysics. On affairs with