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The Digest #222

Nov 4, 2024 | newsletter.rationalwalk.com | Chris Arnade |Johnathan bi

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”― HeraclitusBerkshire Hathaway’s Q3 2024 Results were released over the weekend. I no longer provide commentary regarding Berkshire’s quarterly earnings but I have included links to the filings for the convenience of readers. BHE and BNSF file separate reports with the SEC which may be of interest to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders.
Transcript for Lecture on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Nov 1, 2024 | johnathanbi.com | Johnathan bi

Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is one of the most important achievements by the greatest master of the English language about a world historic event concerning the most influential political leader in the West, and that alone makes it worth reading. But what makes this a must-read is two reasons. First, it describes a collapsing Roman republic that has frightening similarities to contemporary America. The central question it asks is, can Rome be saved? Can liberty survive?
Transcript for Interview with Brian Leiter on Nietzsche's moral Antirealism

Sep 27, 2024 | johnathanbi.com | Johnathan bi

When you say something like abortion is right or wrong, you think you're stating an objective fact, like that dinosaurs roamed the earth, but Nietzsche thinks you're just expressing a subjective taste: I like vanilla over chocolate. This position is called Moral Anti-realism, that there's no objective right or wrong. In this interview, we're going to discuss Nietzsche's fascinating arguments for moral anti-realism.
Transcript for Interview with Katharina Volk on Roman Epicureanism

Sep 6, 2024 | johnathanbi.com | Johnathan bi

I try to stay as far away from politics as humanly possible. I don't vote. I don't protest. I don't follow the news. All of it just seems so burdensome and unproductive. This is why Epicureanism comes so naturally to me, because one of its key doctrines is to withdraw from political life and tend to your own garden. The idea is to not get too caught up in worldly affairs, and just build a small community of like-minded people.
How to Combine Action & Contemplation | Katharina Volk on Cicero & Caesar

Aug 23, 2024 | johnathanbi.com | Johnathan bi

Interview with Katharina Volk on Cicero & CaesarRead the Full TranscriptCompanion lectures and interviews:Lecture on Shakespeare's Caesar: Coming soon. Katharina Volk on politically-engaged Epicureans: Coming soon. Katharina Volk on Stoicism: Professor Volk's Book (affiliate):
Transcript for Robert Pippin Interview | Overcoming Nihilism with Nietzsche

Jul 12, 2024 | johnathanbi.com | Johnathan bi

Johnathan Bi: My guest, Robert Pippin, is one of the great philosophers of our age. But you’re going to hear why he’s turned away from philosophy, and towards literature and film for meaning. The topic of our discussion today is Frederick Nietzsche, who expressed very similar discontents about traditional philosophy. Nietzsche became disillusioned with academic philosophy because he thought it was impotent in resolving one of the most important challenges of our age, nihilism.
The Digest #206

Jul 10, 2024 | newsletter.rationalwalk.com | Ted Gioia |Johnathan bi |Erik Rostad

“Not unconscious in the outset of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes of others, has strengthened the motives to diffidence of myself; and every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome.
Transcript for Fred Neuhouser Interview on Rousseau | Self-Esteem Requires External Validation

Jul 6, 2024 | johnathanbi.com | Johnathan bi

Johnathan Bi: Fitting for Rousseau, I begin with a confession. As an undergraduate studying with Frederick Neuhouser, I'd only read his seminal work, "Rousseau's Theodicy" so carefully because I was guilty of all the absurd foibles it cataloged. I was obsessed with status and prestige and winning the approval of the very peers that I sought to one up.
Rousseau's First Discourse: Science & Art Are Poisoning You

Jun 15, 2024 | johnathanbi.com | Johnathan bi

An introductory lecture summarizing the key ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Discourse on the Arts and Sciences Some links to further guide your study: Companion lectures & interviews: Rousseau on the importance of heroes: Coming Soon Texts I referenced (affiliate): Best translation of the First Discourse: https://amzn.to/3Xr4NyO My book notes: https://www.johnathanbi.com/p/discourse-on-the-arts-and-sciences Best reading companion to the First Discourse: https://amzn.to/4chZeXG My book notes:...
The Digest #203

Jun 12, 2024 | newsletter.rationalwalk.com | Conor Mac |Johnathan bi |Erik Rostad

I published three articles over the past week on my website, The Rational Walk. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I no longer send out individual articles via email but I will mention all of my work in issues of The Digest and I also provide a RSS Feed. The Other Side of the Trade, June 6, 2024.