29. Friedrich Nietzsche on Guilt & Bad Conscience

In this episode we unpack the Second essay in German Existentialist Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's classic work "The Genealogy of Morals" from 1887. This Essay Explores... The Origins of Punishment The Psychology of Guilt The Link Between Civilization and Bad Conscience Links to Reading & Articles mentioned ⁠On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche⁠ *note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode! Host: Zach Stehura  ⁠⁠⁠UnpackingIdeas.com⁠⁠⁠ Guest: Samuel Le Coutour Theme Music: ⁠⁠⁠Polyenso⁠ Time Stamps 00:00 Intro 03:16 Questions Nietzsche is Trying to Answer 04:12 Origin of Punishment vs. Utility of Punishment 08:25 Punishment Hardens the Individual 10:24 The Etymology of the word “Guilt” 11:01 The Creditor/Debtor Relationship 12:32 Suffering as Compensation 13:48 Suffering as Entertainment Throughout History  14:39 The Link between Sadism and Social Status 17:14 Grace as a Form of Domination 19:31 The Social Contract 22:52 Lack of Free Will in Early Punishment 24:20 Nietzsche’s Hypothesis on the Origin of Bad Conscience 24:30 The State of Nature Theory 27:10 Turing The Will to Power Against Oneself 32:30 Masochism  33:34 Punishment as Entertainment for the Gods 34:47 Aristocrats Create Bad Conscience in Slaves 37:46 Ancestor Worship 40:22 Original Sin / The Psychology of Guilt 44:43 Debt Becoming Spiritual and Internal 46:19 Internalizing the Creditor/Debtor Dynamic within One’s own Conscience 48:59 Nietzsche’s Views on Bad Conscience / The Sovereign Individual 52:40 Wrapping up/ Outro