hmm, nietzsche might be more interesting than I thought.

[recursivelyenumerable]

quoted in a blog post I stumbled upon.

"In fact it can be observed that the vast majority of our actions are either performed unconsciously, or highly constrained such that the level of conscious choice required to perform them is relatively small. Indeed as Heidegger points out, most of the time we only use conscious analysis when something has gone wrong. Most of my decisions are made for me either due to biological pre-programming or force of habit. Habits are in turn generated by socialization within a society constituted initially by one’s family, and then by teachers, friends, colleagues and other people we encounter. So actual conscious thought and deliberation is effectively a very small tip which depends for its emergence upon a very large iceberg which lives submerged below the level of conscious experience. Nietzsche, a contemporary of Tolstoy’s, knew this very well: “Man, like every living being, thinks continually without knowing it; the thinking that rises to consciousness is only the smallest part of all this–the most superficial and worst part–for only this consious thinking takes the form of words, which is to say signs of communication, and this fact uncovers the origin of consciousness” (The Gay Science, section 354). Nietzsche in fact believes consiousness “has developed only under the pressure of the need for communication” (idem), a fact he would have had confirmed for him had he read Darwin’s The Origin of Species.

Nietzsche writes of the will that it is “above all something complicated, something that is a unity only as word … a complex of feeling, but above all an affect: and in fact the affect of command … ‘Freedom of will’–is the expression for that complex condition of pleasure of the person who wills, who commands and at the same time identifies himself with the executor of the command–who as such also enjoys the triumph over resistances involved but who thinks it was his will itself which overcame these resistances. He who wills adds in this way the sensations of pleasure of the successful executive agents, the serviceable ‘under-wills’ or under-souls–for our body is only a social structure composed of many souls–to his sensations of plasure as commander. L’effet, c’est moi: what happens here is what happens in every well-constructed and happy commonwealth: the ruling class identifies itself with the successes of the commonwealth.” (Beyond Good and Evil, section 19)."

how come I've never seen these passages before?   seems to prefigure Minsky's Society of Mind etc.  the actual works of these philosophers are always so much more interesting than the dumb cartoon version you get in "intro to philosophy" survey courses and books (see also Hume, Rousseau), and this shouldn't surprise me but somehow it does every time.

[recursivelyenumerable]

I suspect Nietzsche takes this in a direction that's opposite what I want to do with it, basically in the wrong direction but I probably need to grapple with whatever argument he makes.

[BlueTsunami]

Nietzsche has a blog?

[TVC15]

I always preferred Nietzsche in bite sized bits.  Trying to read an entire book of his requires a lot of diligence, enough that I'd only do it if I were being paid (or paying) to do so.

[Madrun Badrun]

Nietzsche has a blog?

If Nietzche where here today he would be an internet junky.  He would also probably post on GAF OT. 

[Mondain]

I always preferred Nietzsche in bite sized bits.  Trying to read an entire book of his requires a lot of diligence, enough that I'd only do it if I were being paid (or paying) to do so.

yep, it reads like a mish-mash of random thoughts with a small coherent flow to them, and not only that but it's awkward to read, it's obvious that Nietzche attempts to humor us at times but it sounds more like german humor that is hard to convey through a translation, so you're never sure of what he truly means

trying to read Zarathustra is such a chore

[FlameOfCallandor]

Nietzsche has a blog?

If Nietzche where here today he would be an internet junky.  He would also probably post on GAF OT. 

It's interesting to think about all our great leaders and what they would have been like in modern times? Would George Washington be a little Halo shit punk kid?

[Madrun Badrun]

I always preferred Nietzsche in bite sized bits.  Trying to read an entire book of his requires a lot of diligence, enough that I'd only do it if I were being paid (or paying) to do so.

yep, it reads like a mish-mash of random thoughts with a small coherent flow to them, and not only that but it's awkward to read, it's obvious that Nietzche attempts to humor us at times but it sounds more like german humor that is hard to convey through a translation, so you're never sure of what he truly means

I didn't experience any of this with BG&E.