Stephen Hicks - Nietzsche and the Nazis (DVD Preview)

[tylerbugh1]

but the saddest thing about hicks is even though he has a phd in this shit, a 21 year old high-school college dropout stoner kid (me) can clearly see his extreme and slightly moronic desire to completely over simplify everything. he wants to narrow everything down to singularities and dualities as to make it easier for him to systemize a very chaotic and complex time in history.

[tylerbugh1]

and nietzsche even referrs to himself as one of the many sacrifices that will lead to the rise of the few supermen, its reminiscent of blakes line "to put another before oneself is the most sublime act"...i dont get how hicks can really think that nietszche, when talking of this mass sacrifice, was referring to the holocaust.

[cavaleer]

The Age of Pericles was based on the vision of one man- Themistokles....and the backbreaking labor and spirit of the Greek sailor.  Everything was built on their backs and his vision.

[eduardorenato]

This movie is one of the worst examples of bad scholarship I've ever seen, which in the background of early 20th century scholarship on Nietzsche (this film's intellectual milieu) says a lot. It's a tired question that has been rightly abandoned as an object of serious academic efforts, an abusive reduction of the complex and rich thought of an amazing mind (Nietzsche's), and a shameless, triumphalist plug for US neo-liberalism and exceptionalism. Who the fuck gave this guy a phd?

[xXL3GITAMACYXx1]

Why give Nietzsche this name? All of you fucking Nazis are worshiping Hitler and the slaughter of millions of innocent people either way; how funny is that?

[KajiCarson]

This is a fantastic documentary; I highly recommend it to anyone interested in philosophy and/or history.

[pyramidheadkitten9]

it is kinda funny how the nazis and many other political groups today try to align Nietzsche with their own political agendas, considering he hates pretty much anything. anarchists, authoritarians, conservatives, liberals, nationalists, socialists, he was against all of them.

[bondurango]

In the DVD, Hicks proves he's a Neo-con idiot who tries to equate Nazism with Darwin because he fails to know the difference between natural selection & selective breeding. The Nazis wanted to farm the human race & "cultivate" it like livestock.  Animal husbandry, even when it's applied to people is NOT natural selection. Agriculture is the OPPOSITE. It's unnatural selection & just because a rooster or a dog is bred for fighting doesn't make it wild. Even Michael Vick understands that one.

[spartan0187]

Don't be turned off by this movie's low budget, the research and knowledge of the subject displayed by Stephen Hicks is second to none, and the content kept me going even for a second viewing.

[joespauldingjr]

Wow, what a gross misrepresentation of both WWII and the philosophy of Nietzsche. Did Hicks really think anyone would miss his severe downplaying of the role the U.S.S.R. played in defeating the Nazis? I mean it does completely destroy his "collectivism leads to Nazism" argument, but only a hack would leave out a significant historical factor, while making a historical argument, simply because it goes against his thesis.

[americanliberal09]

national socialism sucks dude because its very dogmatic and it has no freedom in it. in Nazi Germany if you speak against it your consider to be a threat towards society and you will be killed. no matter how much intelligence and technology they have. they are warlike and tyrannical whom are willing to dominate everything in their path.

[americanliberal09]

this dvd sucks i think he doesn't know anything about friedrich nietzche at all

[menckencynic]

Well, they certainly were faithful adherents to his friend and his notion of a Will to Power, despite Nietzsche not really loving the Germans (respecting them in the individual, abominating them as a group), he would have been bemused by the Jewish attitude, among other things...

...but I can't help thinking ole Fritz would have been blown away by the sheer aggressiveness and good looking snappy uniforms.

I think he'd have had a similar reaction to them as to Wagner. Love hate with the Nazis.

[RickApple]

This video will cause you to have "racist" conclusions. Therefor, this video is evil.

[mebe84]

great movie, very insightful.

there are important similarities and differences between neitzsche and the nazis, but his influence on the nazis is certain.

[bohallor]

Basically minute 2-3 is Hicks discussing Jared Diamond books. "Guns, Germs and Steel" and "Collapse" both discuss these question. Phenomenal books.

Oh, and it is worth noting, Nietzsche is awesome. It would take a fool without even the most basic understanding of Nietzsche to believe that he would support the NAZI party.

[UserUK201]

This film was fabulous I recommend it to everyone. It gives great insight into Neitzsche and Nazism.

[vanderbilt887]

I actually hold the not too popular opinion nowadays that there are clear proto-fascist and even racist elements in Nietzsche's writings. These have been part of German culture for a long time.

This in spite of my admiration for his genius, which he *without argument* was.

[vanderbilt887]

That being said, as a disclaimer I want to make it clear that Nietzsche's has *nothing* to do with the empty-headed pseudo-philosophy of the Nazi's.

[KenMacMillan]

@vanderbilt887 Watch the documentary.

[UserUK201]

National Socialism is far from an empty-headed pseudo-philosophy and there is certainly more to it than Communism. In fact most of the Nazi party's early supporters were nobel prize winners, professors, university students, etc. Germany at the time was the most educated country in the world and the fact that National Socialism appealed to its most educated members, individuals who were by no means intellectual light weights, demonstrates this. To dismiss it off hand is dangerous and idiotic.

[NORMANGODS]

@vanderbilt887 i know what u mean,people are such sheep and so scared of being different,they wouldnt dare say nietzsche was racist and fascist,he was very racist he thought blacks werent as evolved as others and he said jews are parasites

[TheSlimySeconds]

@NORMANGODS I think you are thinking more on the lines of Wagner. Nietzsche never hated the Jews.

[rigu1984]

"Nietzsche is famous for his statement that 'god is dead' "......unfortunately most do not truly understand what F.N. was getting at...and most who use this as a talking point on F.N. are extremely reactionary with it. .....Apologists for ideologies on all sides...the kernel in which sits a huge concern and problem.

[pantopem]

Almost everybody talks in "we"... and yes, this video is a waste of time!

[blastingcaps]

This is racist against Germans. Like most WWII propaganda.

My blood is slav, ans my grandfather fought in WWII.

And i am saying this is bigotry toward the German people who should be treated with much more respect. There may have been some worse than others involved in WWII but there were no good guys...NONE. All nations were murderous.

So get real.

[netcyrus]

good and evil are relative, and you are watching a nietzche video, but i agree, they all killed a whole bunch of people

[tjmuller]

One thing about history is the victors of it's wars can completely manipulate it. America killed more innocent people then Germany did via the atomic bomb. Yet Germany is considered the evil country because of the holocaust, which is a subject that's actually illegal to question at all even in attempt to study it. Why is that? If mass numbers of people realized that the so called holocaust was really nothing compared to what happened in Japan or even Dresden.. what would that mean for America?

[kornblumentopf]

You think the Shoa was nothing compared to the bombings?! I wonder what mindset brings you to this conclusion. I am really sick of the opportunity for all kinds of idiots to reveal their views in the anonymity of the internet. fuck off!

[saved03]

Oh that old arguement of the big scary Atomic Bomb. Oh yes we Americans are the evil ones for using it. Look you idiot. The A-Bombs stopped a war and saved many more civilians and GI's if we would have if we went Normandy on Japan. Yes we were the first and only to use the atomic bomb but we used it to stop a war that killed millions before those bombs were ever dropped. Secondly the atomic bombs have to this day kept the world out of World War 3. They kept Communism at bay. Give it a rest.

[dannidandannikins]

tjmuller:

You are a fool. approximately 6million Jews were killed in the holocaust. There were far fewer than 1 million living in Hirosima; how could that nuclear bomb have exceeded the holocaust? And in what sense were the civilians in Dresden and Hirosima - who were all co-operating with the fascist regimes who began the war by contributing to the civilian war effort - innocent?

[dannidandannikins]

Further, the holocaust killed Jews for being Jews, the bombs were dropped on Hirosima and Dresden because it was deemed militarily necessary. There is no equivalence at all.

[Omadus]

How the fuck do you know they were all cooperating? What God came down from the sky and gave you such clairvoyance? Or such authority to judge? It is idiotic, and insulting, to say that dresden or horishima were on the same scope, or of the same sadistic calibre as the holocaust. But how dare you say that the people of Dresden and Hiroshima -deserved- to die such horrible deaths?

[teton99]

I highly recommend this video, not for the production which is minimal, but for information, which is excellent. This is not an exhausted work on Nietzsche nor does Prof Hicks claims that Nietzsche is a Nazi; he merely states in this DVD how ideas can shape the mindset of a people. What I found even more interesting was Nicks description of socialism and the absolute power of the state over the individual, something that is very relevant today.

[saved03]

Very relevant today indeed. With that much power over the individuals. You seem like a god. What I heard from this video about Nietzsche. Were words and ideas coming straight out of the mouth and mind of Satan himself. Wishing and wanting that Anti-Christ to come. National Socialism was just a preview of what the Great Tribulation is going to be like. And once again the Jews are going to be the number one target. The Holocaust Part 2.

[bahramf]

@saved03 You're a moron.

[saved03]

@bahramf Moron is a title for Mormon. I am not a Mormon. So why do you call me a moron? Is it because I believe is the One True Living God who came in flesh and died for the sins of the world? Where there is more evidence of this One True Living God than the philosophies Nietzsche came up with. Why do you so easily drink the Nietzsche Kool-Aid but yet refuse to drink from the One who gives you everlasting water?

[bahramf]

@saved03 Because I don't believe in fairy tales with little to no evidence in their support. I am a philosopher, not a sophist or a dogmatist. You my good sir, are a moron.

[saved03]

@bahramf I guess in the end we well see who the real moron is. Once it's over you will not get a second chance. There is an experation date on God's grace for you.

[bahramf]

@saved03 I'm not worried. Also, if God decides which people to grant grace, than we do not have free will; if grace is earned through free will than we determine the will of God. That's a problem in itself.

[saved03]

@bahramf I think that you have the concept of grace all wrong. It's not that God chooses to only grant a select few His grace. He has given His grace to every member of the human race. What I meant by His grace has an experation date. Is that date come when you are no longer living. You already have God's grace given to you. The question is will you accept it? Will you accept that the only way to God is through Jesus Christ?

[bahramf]

@saved03 If what you're writing is true, than we have the power to compel God to give us grace and therefore he is not all powerful.

If for instance, God must give Mother Theresa grace, than God cannot not give her grace and therefore human beings can compel God.

And thus, God is a logical impossibility if grace is given based on human actions (i.e. if you do x, y and z, he must give you grace).

If God can choose who to give grace to, than we don't have free will, so I can't help it.

[saved03]

@bahramf God's grace was given to every human being. Every sin mankind made, makes, will ever make has been paid for by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Sins will not be judged at the end. What will be judged are the good works you do and your free will decision not to believe in God's gift to you. The grace as already been given to you. In order to recieve eternal life is to believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins.

[bahramf]

@saved03 You're right to point out that grace isn't given for works, but merely for belief in God, however, this doesn't help evade the problem.

If grace has been given to me, than I have no control over my own destiny. If grace is given to me and I have to choose to accept it or not, than I can compel God, and therefore God is not all-powerful. Do you even understand the problem I am raising? Augustine and Boethius both raised and attempted to deal with it.

[saved03]

@bahramf You are not compelling God's Will when you believe. Faith is non-meritorious. Every human being has faith. Believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only requiement for eternal life. Having faith in someone or something cannot compel a person or thing that they had promised to you. If you promised to give me a 100 dollars next week and I believe in that promise. Is my faith in you giving me that $100 compel you to give me that $100? You've already made the promise.

[bahramf]

@saved03 That's an apt analogy. If I promise you some (x) if you believe in (y), if you then believe in (y), supposing I am not making the promise frivolously and that I keep all my promises I am then compelled to give you (x) if you believe in (y) which you have.

My hand is forced in as much as I keep my promises.

Likewise, if God promises salvation to those who believe and you believe in God, God is compelled to give you salvation. How many time do I need to explain this?

[saved03]

@bahramf False answer. Promises are made by the person. A person can not be compelled to deliver on their promsie. If I do not believe in your promise to give me a gift of a $100. Than I fail to recieve it based solely upon my lack of faith in your promise. Now I know and you know that we humans sometimes fail to deliver on our promises. However we still place our faith in those promises until the person fails to deliver on their promise. Delivering on promise is not an act of compelltion.

[emill40]

this video really is quiet pointless what, does it actually have to say? Nietzsche has nothing to do with it? waste of time!

[losse5656]

Also, I highly recommend T. K. Seung's excellent books Goethe, Nietzsche, and Wagner: Their Spinozan Epics of Love and Power, and Nietzsche's Epic of the Soul: Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Remember, Nietzsche said Zarathustra was his most important book. I believe Nietzsche has an exoteric and an esoteric side.

[losse5656]

bipartitegraph,

Nietzsche is apolitical? Why? Philosophy and politics go hand in hand. That is what Plato's Apology is about. Also, even if Nietzsche would not be a Nazi, he would not be a liberal which is what many moderns want him to be. People look at his State criticism and think he would be an anarchist. But, this is wrong. The state is a modern creation. Nietzsche believed hierachy was natural. The greek polis considered all foreigners barbarians, sound familiar?

[losse5656]

As far as the Nazis, I am amazed how little anyone ever talks about their Occult connections, and how some in the Zionist movement were in heavy communications with them. People should look at Lenni Brenner's interesting book. On second thought, it amazes me how little any serious scholar ever touches on occult, hermeticism or gnosticism. I wonder why?

[losse5656]

That's why we need myth and religion. That is also what ancient Greece and all socities in the past knew. Revelation is a way for people to practice order in society. Greek tragedy and religion have much in common. The rise of the Nazis happened in the vacuum which enlightment created. It also brought forth Historicism, Scientism and Positivism. Values cannot be justifed rationally and to show you this all we have to do is look at all the different cultures of the world.

[losse5656]

Uh, maybe it was the radical questioning and light of reason and philosophy which led to this. What makes you so sure that reason can justify a liberal society? Take away the holocaust from the nazis, and they were not far from the romans. Besides the treaty of versailles, which was horrible to the Germans, germany was delving deeply into ancient greek philosophy and questioning modernity. Reason breeds anthropology, skepticism and science. It also discredits values and can't justify itself.

[PeteUtonic]

Why? IQ. Even Max Weber put this before Calvinism.

[bipartitegraph]

To be sure, there is another way of looking at Nietzsche which is by ignoring vast quantities of what he said just like the Nazis did. With a limited understanding, post-enlightenment reduces to pre-enlightement, anarchism to fascism, egoism to racism, et cetera. The only real question left in my opinion was how much one can blame Nietzsche for the misuse and mis understanding of his words. One could ask the same question about Jesus.

[bipartitegraph]

From this understanding of human beings, what type of government should we seek? Nietzsche's answer is undoubtedly self-government. This is the strand of Stirner that one finds; this is the apolis of Nietzsche; this can only be called anarchism in my opinion.

[bipartitegraph]

But, here is exactly the trouble. Nietzsche is for a sort of post-enlightenment and all that would go along with that -- viz., the enlightenment, in sort, offers us a view of people as rational and autonomous from which we have a logical appeal for a new type of government: liberal democracy -- so what would be a post enlightenment. One should read Nietzsche directly to understand this, but it is a view of man as an organic creature who is constantly is becoming.

[bipartitegraph]

Furthermore, if one looks closer into Nietzsche's philosophy (i.e., beyond the concept of the overman which only prominent in two of his books), you will see that the closest polis strand is anarchy because of some similar views to another egoist Max Stirner. Now, Stirner was apolitcal as well but is seen as being an anarchist -- eventhough, he would not have joined an anarchist party. The point is that Nietzsche is closer to being on the side of liberty but not for traditional reasons.

[bipartitegraph]

Nietzsche's works by nature of the ideas contained in them offer one a multitude of interpretations -- a fact that Nietzsche would not dislike. One thing is clear, that in his time he hated the rising sentiment of German Nationalism. The other thing that is clear about his life is that he was apolitical. So, it seems from all criterion, Nietzsche would not have been a Nazi. This fact really goes without saying, but I find myself having to repeat it often.

[billandpech]

The first minute and a half are worthless. Worse, it makes it appear that the video has nothing rational to say, only emotional manipulation. If you just want to introduse it with impact, limit the Nazi sceans to 15 seconds.

[guitaoist]

and Nietzsche comes in..when?

btw,kant was a bore

Nietzsche:"Kant appears honest and honourable in the best sense, but insignificant; he lacks breadth and power: he has not experienced very much, and his manner of work deprives him of the TIME in which to experience things- I am thinking of course not of crude 'events' impinging from without, but of the vicissitudes and convulsions which befall the most solitary and quietest life which possesses leisure and burns with the passion of thinking"

[Lusitan1981]

Is there a sequel to this video?

[iLuvMargarita]

it depends on the zeitgeist of the times (NOT the movie btw). we are a collective when we engage in civilization- we cannot progress as quickly alone as we can in a civilization. sometimes new ideas can fire up a civilization

sometimes ideas can cause it's downfall. whenever the common man is allowed to express his interest civilizations thrive. when too much control is in the hands of government and they try to impose their will against the people's will, that civilization eventually collapses