HARKEN (AGAIN)! NIETZSCHE IS PIETZSCHE AND SMARTRE THAN SARTRE

 

HIKING IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS

In my last blog post, HARKEN! NIETZSCHE IS PIETZSCHE, BUT SARTRE IS SMARTRE, I ended by confessing that I really did not if Sartre were smarter than Nietzsche, but now upon further reading and reflection I do know. As a follow-up to my last post, I can now declare that NIETZSCHE IS PIETZSCHE, AND SMARTRE THAN SARTRE, and my only reason for saying so is because NIETZSCHE believed that physical activity was crucial for intellectual vitality, whereas SARTRE did not!

NIETZSCHE believed that a well-functioning body was necessary for good health. Nietzsche was among those philosophers who were famous for taking longs walks. He considered his daily walks to be a vital activity to prompt clear thinking. Nietzsche valued physical exercise, as did most of the philosophers I briefly wrote about in my previous post.

SOCRATES believed the physical body to be deeply connected to the mind. In fact, Socrates was regarded as a macho figure, walking barefoot in wintertime and demonstrating prowess as a warrior in battle.

PLATO, the most famous student of Socrates, was a fitness addict. He stated that “lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being.”

ARISTOTLE wrote, “It’s a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”  Aristotle believed that too much or too little exercise was detrimental to one’s well-being, whereas a measured and proportioned amount was necessary for one’s ideal mental and physical health.

CONFUCIUS stressed the importance of a balance between the civil (scholarly) and martial (physical) arts. Confucius loved archery and driving chariots.

SARTRE was the only philosopher mentioned in my previous post who was not physically active. And unlike the others, never did he ever explicitly advocate any kind of physical fitness for enhancing mental health. Yes, NIETZSCHE was SMARTRE than SARTRE, and NIETZSCHE was PIETZSCHE for believing that physical activity would enhance everyone’s overall well-being.

 ‘Tis only fools who neglect the body in favor of the mind, or the mind in favor of the body. Yes. There is good reason why so many philosophers are famous for taking long walks. And yes, precisely the same reason why I love hiking. (See picture atop the blog post.) And, too, one of the reasons I love guitar busking, slinging my twelve-string and walking city sidewalks to strum on any given corner in the summer in the city of my choosing. Thrumming and thinking -- this is my guitar busking!   

I shall close with yet another philosopher, BARUCH SPINOZA (1632-1677), a Portuguese-Jewish philosopher who was not mentioned in my last blog post. Spinoza said that the mind and body are the same thing, and for us to be complete as humans, we must concern ourselves with both. Spinoza insisted we should strive to be strong and smart. Yes. Strong and smart.

SPINOZA

This blog post I confess that I am but the wannabe spox expressing this NEILOGISM (neologism):

GET STRONG TO GET SMART – GET SMART TO GET STRONG.

HARKEN! NIETZSCHE IS PIETZSCHE, BUT SARTRE IS SMARTRE.

 

AUTUMN IN WASCANA

Autumn is a beautiful season. But with the leaves swirling around the pumpkins in the ever-present strong gusts of wind, my busking is waning. Furtherance to busking, October pumpkin-sweater weather is never conducive to my traditional white t-shirt and blue jeans busking togs!

PUMPKIN WAY

For munificent guitar busking adventures, I need sunshine and summer breezes. Autumn is not for busking. Autumn is for hiking. Autumn is for hiking and thinking! Autumn is for hiking and thinking and listening to dead people. Yes. Listening to dead people. Listening to dead people means reading, reading, and more reading.

Factoid: We all have time to read, yet we don't. On average people play on their telephones five hours every day and watch 20 or so hours of television every week. 

Yes. We all have that superpower of being able to talk to the dead just by reading, and one of the best paths to gain wisdom is to travel back in time and read what the dead philosophers have to say about anything and everything. I try to never get too addlepated when thinking and discussing philosophy, and so I always need to dumb it down to my level of understanding. So, dear reader, here goes nothing and everything about what the ancients had to say about anything and everything.

I shall begin with the German atheist philosopher, FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE (1844-1900).

Nietzsche was famous for wanting us to be free spirits. Here are some of his quotes:

“God is dead. And we have killed him.” (Nietzsche had a load of haters for this one.)

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” (Oh yeah, we’ve all heard this one.)

“If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.” (Yikes. This is dark stuff huh.)

Second comes the ancient Greek philosopher, SOCRATES (470 B.C. – 399 B.C.).

Socrates was mostly famous for his “Socratic” method of teaching, questioning his students with his emphasis being on ethics and self-examination. Here are some of his quotes:

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” (Reflection and introspection are addiction issues for moi.)

“Know thyself.” (I know I am narcissistic know-it-all!)

“I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.” (I wish I could make my students think!)

Another Greek philosopher was PLATO (428 B.C. – 348 B.C.).

And it just happened, that Plato was a devoted student of Socrates. His famous quotes include:

“The measure of a man is what he does with power.” (Hmmm. I just finished reading the morning news from CNN, FOX, HUFFINGTON POST, and AL JAZZERA before writing this blog post.)

“Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil.” (This is easy to believe.)

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.” 

(This one, in particular, is perfect for this eve of REMEMBRANCE DAY.)

Another Greek philosopher is ARISTOTLE (384 B.C. – 322 B.C.).

Aristotle is most famous for the development of “The Scientific Method.” A few of his most famous quotes are:

“We are what we repeatedly do.” (Yes! Our last press release is always indicative of our current behaviors.)

“The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” (Rabbit holes beget rabbit holes.)

“In all things of nature there is something marvelous.” (My love for Zen and the art of hiking proves this!)

Everyone has heard of the Chinese philosopher, CONFUCIUS (551 B.C. – 479 B.C.).

Revered as a great teacher, Confucius is credited with advocating for education to be made available to all. This is the most popular quote of Confucius:

“Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself.” (The Golden Rule!)

“Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.” (Especially those who are not looking for it.)

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” (I’m trying, I’m trying.)

And my last to mention is the French philosopher, JEAN-PAUL SARTRE (1905 – 1980).

Sartre is famous for being awarded the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IN LITERATURE, but for political reasons declining it!

Being a founder of my favorite subject, EXISTENTIALISM, Sartre’s quotes are a treat to me.

“Existence precedes essence.” (In a line, this is Existentialism.)

“Hell is other people.” Uh huh and ha! You got that right!)

“I am condemned to be free.” (Deep, deep, and deep.)

‘Tis time for a couple of true confessions. I am attracted to FRIEDRICH NIETZCHE, mostly because his namesake, which looks and sounds close to my own first and second names NEIL FREDRICK.

To end, my macedoine mix of some famous philosopher quotes are written proof that I am a total palooka when it comes down my knowledge of philosophy. Furthermore, I do not have a clue if SARTRE was SMARTRE than PEITZCHE NITZCHE. I chose this catchy rhyme only because I am a SNAPPY TITLE GUY!

Yes. Harken and listen to the ancients. Yes. We can talk to the dead until we are dead.

LEST WE FORGET …

"ONLY THE DEAD HAVE SEEN THE END OF WAR" (PLATO)

LEST WE FORGET ...