Thus Spoke Zarathustra - A Reader's Guide

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes - Nietzsche discusses the attitude of hardness, courage, and bravery we need to have towards our lives and the process of becoming.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes - In this episode, Zarathustra describes another type of human who can't harness the power of the "wild dogs" in their soul for the purposes of development and growth, and instead hates life. These haters are either depressed and lack the energy to push themselves beyond mere suffering, or ignore suffering and the development of their souls by focusing on the many distractions offered by life.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes - Zarathustra comes across a youth who is beginning the process of self-development, and deals with some of the issues that we will face in this process.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes - Nietzsche takes a brief pause from demolishing old idols to give us some insight on how he writes, and how we should be reading him. He also transitions into some more of the psychological dispositions we should have in our journey to self improvement: spiritual strength, courage, boldness, violence, laughter, and levity.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes - Nietzsche discusses what happens when a person has passions that they are unable to control and develop with their rational minds.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes - Where do we find value in our lives? Nietzsche denies that we can legitimately get value - the things in our lives to care about, aim at, and develop ourselves around - from either religion or rationality. Instead, these must come from the Self - the sum totality of who we are, the biological impulses that are then guided and analyzed by the rational mind. We must search within ourselves for what defines us, what we consider important - we must understand how our virtues (idealized bodily impulses and desires) speak to us and develop, and how to orient our lives and actions around those to live a life filled with meaning.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes - Part 2 of "On Despisers of the Body" goes into more depth around how the Platonic/Christian focus on reason, rationality, the spirit, and honesty led to the scientific mindset. The tendency to focus on spirit over the body has led to interesting positive and negative impacts on our lives and societies, including nihilism. Alex discusses how an overemphasis on rationality can be debilitating to humans, and expands upon Nietzsche's belief in the primacy of the body, and how our minds are simply tools of our body.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes - Alex discusses the Nietzschean view of language and reason, and how when humans believe too much in language and the categories of reason, we tend to mummify the living, moving reality we're trying to describe. An overemphasis on reason and language can lead to belief in Platonic/Christian "worlds we cannot know", and also worlds that are static. Nietzsche wants to correct this, and return understanding and reason to being tools of the body, rather than ends in themselves.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes - To understand Nietzsche, one must understand Plato and Christianity. To bring you up to speed on this, Alex explains the mystical religious experience, how this leads to a certain interpretation of the world, how this metaphysical worldview, in conjunction with how language and human thinking operate, created the ethical system, institutions, ideas, and customs that we have today. Nietzsche is severely critical of this several-millennia old way of seeing things, and in our path to better understand ourselves and the world, we must take the long trip from Plato and Christ's static Good reality to Nietzsche's dynamic, good & evil, and physiological interpretation of human reality.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes. In this episode, Alex discusses the attitude of passionate engagement towards the things in our lives that we care about. If we take all the right steps and do all the right things, but with the wrong attitude, we will not grow, and we will not develop.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes. In the first chapter of the actual book, Zarathustra describes the transformations that our minds will go through in the process of mastery - the camel, the lion, and the child. With the camel, our minds are well laden with heavy responsibilities, heavy thoughts, and humility towards things we need to learn. With the lion, we kill the notion of duty to these higher imperatives, and create freedom for ourselves to be creative individuals who build upon our own personal virtues. Finally, with the child, we play and are creative with our newfound mastery. An understanding of the evolution of our mindset and perspective is CRUCIAL for understanding TSZ, and for understanding where we are in our growth process.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes. Alex closes out the prologue with a discussion of who Nietzsche is attacking when he talks about the "Good and the Righteous" and "Believers of Right Belief" - the people in every society who are enforce and uphold "correct thinking" and "correct behaviours". Nietzsche also discusses the type of people who will be his best readers and companions, and who will enjoy the teachings of Nietzsche and Zarathustra.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes. Reclaiming Nietzsche from the Nazis - while often cited as the philosophical justification of Nazi ideology, Alex discusses this relationship in depth, and shows that Nietzsche wasn't a genocidal maniac.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes. Here we meet the Last Human - what will happen to humanity if we take it too easy, relax too much, and don't push ourselves, challenge ourselves constantly to get better, become more. The downward path of evolution compared to the upward path to the Overhuman.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes. Zarathustra provides some of the personality and dispositional characteristics of the types of humans he loves, and which lead through the generations to the Overhuman.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes. Meet the Übermensch. Nietzsche's first description of how the Overhuman is the meaning of the Earth, and the meaning of Human Life. How development is the fundamental characteristic of human life, and something real to believe in as a source of meaning for our lives. Zarathustra discusses some human characteristics, and their value or disvalue for the advancement of life.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes. Zarathustra meets his foil - how following Western/Christian thinking through to its end leads to the old holy man and his lifestyle. Alex discusses love of humanity, and the contrast between the old Western/Christian way of life, and that which Zarathustra & Nietzsche proclaim to bring to humanity.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes. An overview of the purpose of the podcast, a brief history of Nietzsche and Thus Spoke Zarathustra, some notes on the text, and a brief introduction to Alex Drake.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes. Alex discusses some of the key historical, religious, and philosophical ideas that Nietzsche is dealing with in TSZ. This will help you better understand what the hell Nietzsche (and Alex) are talking about.

Based on the translation by Graham Parkes. First part of the actual book! Alex reads and reviews TSZ Prologue section 1 - our introduction to Zarathustra as a character, and his tribute to the overflowing, radiant, benevolent Sun. Zarathustra as benefactor and celebrant of life; profound thankfulness for existence.