Millerman Talks: Recent Episodes
Millerman Talks
Michael Millerman on political theory and other topics. Videos at millermantalks.ca. Blog and essays at michaelmillerman.ca.
Sometimes I stop reading "philosophy books" and turn to "literature" to help me connect with life in a new way. In this episode, I discuss the three books that have had the biggest impact on me lately.-BOOK A PRIVATE MASTERCLASS WITH MILLERMANhttps://millermanschool.com/p/masterclassMICHAEL'S NEWSLETTERRead Michael's musings on politics, philosophy, mysticism, and other topics. Sign up: https://millermanschool.substack.com/FREE INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHYGet my Guide to Great Thinkers at https://millermanschool.com/p/free-introduction-to-philosophy-pdfRELATED COURSESThe author of Zorba the Greek translated Nietzsche's Zarathustra, which you can study in course form here:https://millermanschool.com/p/nietzscheAnd in this video I mention Plato, whose Republic I teach here:https://millermanschool.com/p/plato-s-republic-seminarFOLLOW ONLINETwitter/X: https://www.X.com/M_MillermanLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/michaelmillermanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael_millerman/Personal Website: https://www.MichaelMillerman.comABOUT MEI teach politics and philosophy to professionals in law, education, finance, and tech through video courses and private tutoring at https://www.MillermanSchool.com.
"Fascism vs. Anti-Fascism" just doesn't cut it as a way of understanding the world.---------------------------------BOOK A PRIVATE MASTERCLASS WITH MILLERMANhttps://millermanschool.com/p/masterclassMICHAEL'S NEWSLETTERRead Michael's musings on politics, philosophy, mysticism, and other topics. Sign up: https://millermanschool.substack.com/FREE INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHYGet my Guide to Great Thinkers at https://millermanschool.com/p/free-introduction-to-philosophy-pdfRELATED COURSESI teach a lot of right-wing anti-liberalism in the schoolhttps://millermanschool.com/p/rightFOLLOW ONLINETwitter/X: https://www.X.com/M_MillermanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmillerman/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael_millermanPersonal Website: https://www.MichaelMillerman.comABOUT MEI teach politics and philosophy to professionals in law, education, finance, and tech through video courses and private tutoring at https://www.MillermanSchool.com.Please like, share, and subscribe to support the channel. If you're really enjoying the content, I also welcome your donations. THANK YOU!
Are visionary artists mentally ill? Reading and commenting on an article by Ted Gioia that discusses that issue. You can find his article here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-144759867. And here's my post on songwriting https://millermanschool.substack.com/p/on-songwriting and on music from earlier this yearhttps://millermanschool.substack.com/p/some-easy-thoughts-on-music. Enjoy!
In this episode, I discuss why I started the Millerman School, what I teach, how I teach it, why it matters, and so on. Even if you have no intention of taking any courses with me, I think you can learn something insightful from what I share. Thanks for listening.
The Republic, The Symposium, The Apology...there's no shortage of outstanding Platonic dialogues. But what do you know about Plato's longest work, the Laws? In this episode, I introduce you to what is arguably Plato's greatest writing and explain why you must read it. BOOK A PRIVATE MASTERCLASS WITH MILLERMANhttps://millermanschool.com/p/masterclassMICHAEL'S NEWSLETTERRead Michael's musings on politics, philosophy, mysticism, and other topics. Sign up: https://millermanschool.substack.com/FREE INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHYGet my Guide to Great Thinkers at https://millermanschool.com/p/free-introduction-to-philosophy-pdfRELATED COURSESI teach 12 works by Plato at my school:https://millermanschool.com/p/plato-laws-coursehttps://millermanschool.com/p/plato-s-republic-seminarhttps://millermanschool.com/p/the-roots-of-political-philosophyFOLLOW ONLINETwitter/X: https://www.X.com/M_MillermanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmillerman/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael_millermanPersonal Website: https://www.MichaelMillerman.comABOUT MEI teach politics and philosophy to professionals in law, education, finance, and tech through video courses and private tutoring at https://www.MillermanSchool.com.Please like, share, and subscribe to support the channel. If you're really enjoying the content, I also welcome your donations. THANK YOU!
Confused about Heidegger's word DASEIN? I've got you covered. This episode is designed to make the notion slightly easier to understand. You'll get the most out of it if you listen until the end but if the lightbulb goes off at any point, thank God for that! MICHAEL'S NEWSLETTERRead Michael's musings on politics, philosophy, mysticism, and other topics. Sign up: https://millermanschool.substack.com/FREE INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHYGet my Guide to Great Thinkers at https://millermanschool.com/p/free-introduction-to-philosophy-pdfRELATED COURSESYou’ll find several courses on Heidegger at my school:https://millermanschool.com/p/heidegger-essence-of-truthhttps://millermanschool.com/p/martin-heidegger-being-and-timehttps://millermanschool.com/p/martin-heidegger-contributions-to-philosophy-of-the-eventMY BOOK ON HEIDEGGERhttps://heideggerbook.comFOLLOW ONLINETwitter/X: https://www.X.com/M_MillermanLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/michaelmillermanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael_millerman/Personal Website: https://www.MichaelMillerman.comABOUT MEI teach politics and philosophy to professionals in law, education, finance, and tech through video courses and private tutoring at https://www.MillermanSchool.com.
"God as law, awe and fortune...LLM analysis reveals that the concept of God is well-defined in semantic space by this three-word combination. It provides a closer match than, for example, Lord, Yahweh and Elohim."That's what Jordan Peterson posted today, referring to research by Victor Swift at https://www.collectivelabs.ai/semantic-core-clarificationIn this video, I walk through the claims of the paper to see whether they deliver on the promise of clarifying our concept of God. Why would we prefer the LLM to other ways of learning about God, like through the study of theology, mysticism, and philosophy? Is the LLM uniquely insightful?Enjoy!Brought to you by MillermanSchool.com
In this episode, I explain why I use philosophy, politics, and mysticism to make sense of the world. What are they and how do they differ? Why do we need all three? What's the connection?It's the approach I use on this channel and in my online courses at MillermanSchool.com. You'll also see it reflected in my Heidegger book and, to a slightly lesser extent, my Dugin book. What do you think? Is this a good approach? What's yours?Like, share, comment, subscribe!
What's up with the "everyone I don't like is Hitler" phenomenon? It's strange but not incomprehensible. Post-war liberal zealotry (combined with leftist antifascism) coded a lot of things as "far-right" and made them taboo, including some important things that we need in order to understand political and human life well. That's the argument of this video.Brought to you by MillermanSchool.com.
In this spontaneous musing, I dive into the surprising connections between two films: Whatever Works and Another Round. Both movies explore the complexities of love, life, and personal growth, showing that there's no one-size-fits-all approach to finding happiness and meaning.Drawing on insights from philosophy, I discuss how these films reflect the idea that life's advice isn't universal; what works for one person may not work for another. This theme is echoed in the characters' experiences with love and drinking in the movies, highlighting the unpredictable nature of life.But I also discuss how Whatever Works doesn't mean that Anything Goes! There is still room for good life advice, and you'll hardly find a better of that than Socrates, especially the down-to-earth version we get in Xenophon's Memorabilia. If you enjoyed this discussion, don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more musings on philosophy, politics, and life.
He's been called a proto-communist and a proto-fascist. Why? And can both be true? Let's take a closer look...By the way, my comments are deliberately introductory. There are other factors I didn't mention, like the issue of free speech vs. censorship, since the Republic includes a defence of censorship! But the goal of this short presentation is to whet the appetite of newcomers, not to provide a comprehensive overview. That's something I do in my Plato course (PlatoCourse.com).Thanks for listening!
This article by Quillette got me thinking that it's important to defend Derrida against his liberal detractors. https://quillette.com/2024/05/07/how-french-intellectuals-ruined-the-west-foucault-lyotard-derrida/ What do you think?
Listen to my Tucker-Dugin afterparty, where I go deeper into "Putin's Brain." For more Millerman School materials on Dugin, visit DuginBook.com and MillermanSchool.com. Follow youtube.com/@millerman and millermanschool.substack.com for free. Enjoy!
Discussing two ways to re-enchant the world, and why I prefer one over the other. Brought to you by MillermanSchool.com
What was Ratzinger's political philosophy? What role does Christianity play on the modern left? What about on the Radical Right? Those are the topics discussed in episode, drawn from my Tuesday morning article reading livestream. Enjoy, and make sure to visit MillermanSchool.com for great courses on political philosophy.
In this episode, we take a look at Orientations: 11 Points by Julius Evola, written in 1950. Brought to you by MillermanSchool.com
What was the philosophy behind the success of NVIDIA and the original Open AI, back when Elon Musk was still involved? We explore this question by pursuing a clue from a recent photo of Jensen delivering the first NVIDIA AI system to Open AI. This is a livestream reading and commentary. Subscribe for more great content on political philosophy.
Livestream article reading about the risk of AI, written by Iain McGilchrist, author of The Master and his Emissary, and The Matter With Things.
Reading and commenting on Alex Karp's recent time article about Silicon Valley and political philosophy. https://millermanschool.substack.com/https://www.youtube.com/@millerman https://www.MillermanSchool.com
Reading and commenting on Agamben's Pardes essay from Potentialities, which discusses the story of the four rabbis in Paradise, Derrida's trace, the passive intellect in Aristotle, and more. Challenge yourself with this difficult, illuminating text.
Reading and commenting on Peter Thiel's essay "The Straussian Moment," available here: https://gwern.net/doc/politics/2007-thiel.pdf
Reading and commenting on the article by Marc Andreessen that argues in favour of AI's world-saving capabilities. Apologies if the audio is slightly rougher than usual! I had an issue and tried to resolve it in post-processing. Original article is here: https://a16z.com/ai-will-save-the-world/Brought to you by MillermanSchool.com
The most scandalous philosophy book of 2023? Let's see! In this episode, I walk you through Costin Alamariu's Selective Breeding and the Birth of Philosophy. You can read my written summary here: https://im1776.com/2023/10/27/selective-breeding-review/ Make sure to visit MillermanSchool.com for great courses on political philosophy. And if you're a complete newcomer to the topic, PhilosophyIntro.com is the place for you.
Reading an essay originally published athttps://im1776.com/2023/01/20/bodily-noesis/ on my brief experience training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
What did Sartre think of existentialism? How did he object to the criticisms of communists and Christians that existentialists are moody, godless nihilists? Why did Sartre understand his project as optimistic?These are some of the questions covered in this walkthrough of Sartre's 1946 lecture called "Existentialism is a Humanism." This exposition is a prelude to a future talk on Heidegger's "Letter on Humanism."If you enjoy the talk, please like, share, and subscribe. And visit MillermanSchool.com for my paid courses.Thanks for listening!
Reading a nice article by Eric Hendriks-Kim on Chinese interest in Western conservatives.
Reading and commenting on the first part of Heidegger's book/lecture called: Introduction to Philosophy (Thinking and Poetizing).
Reading the article in Foreign Policy by Blake Smith about Fukuyama, Strauss, and liberal democracy.
Alexander Dugin wrote a book against the Great Reset. Here's my review of it. Originally published at europeanconservative.com/reviews/the-great-awakening-vs-the-great-reset/ For online courses on some the thinkers mentioned in this video (Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Strauss, Dugin), visit MillermanSchool.com. Like, subscribe, share, etc.
“In our tarot deck of political philosophy we cannot rest content with any one card, whether fool, magician, or emperor. Only the entire deck permuted will do.” -Beginning with Heidegger
This is about "On the Riddle and the Vision" from Part III of Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Get my whole course on Nietzsche's great book at https://millerman.teachable.com/p/subscribe
An essay on the Right.
im1776.com/2020/09/16/the-virtues-of-right-wing-anti-liberalism/
I will try to show that there exists an initiatory theological-philosophical tradition, the acknowledgement of which entails a set of considerations that I believe can shed light on the debate, as framed by JL Mackie in The Subjectivity of Values, about the ontological status of moral entities and relations and the intuitive faculty by means of which they are known.
https://www.academia.edu/36291083/In_Defence_of_Moral_Realism
Millerman.teachable.com
A short introduction to the idea of the soulful self.
The soul can return to psychology as a significant concept if the facts of mysticism are noted (Hood, 2002). After reflecting upon the construct of the soulful self, psychology can affect a return to positivity that is no longer transcendentally naïve (Davidson; Cosgrove, 2002). If psychology as a science wishes to be genuine – that is, if it demands insight in all matters - it must turn to transcendental subjectivity as a matter of primary concern, “for it is the [soulful self],” writes Smith, “that harbors the ultimate sources of meaning” (Smith, 2003). William Earle, too, agrees with this conclusion when he reminds us forcefully that “only […] the most naïve and incoherent empiricism would imagine that it can begin with ‘psychological facts’ of common life, hoping to end with a clearer notion or even refutation of the very soulful self which is their origin and active source (Earle, 1981). In James’ notes for Varieties, he states, “Remember that the whole [idea] lies in really believing that through a certain point or in part you coalesce and are identical with the Eternal.” As Ralph Hood suggests in his conclusion, "psychologists need not have that belief as a statement of faith, but it is not bad as an empirical hypothesis." (Hood, 2002)
https://www.academia.edu/36293738/Int...
MillermanSchool.com
Alexander Dugin and the Problem of Political Philosophy by Michael Millerman.
Read it here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTN5G4WcJGCyD69TSG5ZorapSdrcuAL1fSpUMfyyheYyFSQdfuCX6ryNieALksIFA/pub
Felt like reading some passages to you where Martin Heidegger talks about Oswald Spengler. Hopefully you find it interesting. Visit MillermanSchool.com for courses. Cheers!
How does a society fundamentally dedicated to the dignity of the mind banish certain inquiries to the realm of the inadmissible when those inquiries are themselves but expressions of the dignity of the mind?
These remarks first appeared here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/rabble-rouser/201811/why-students-are-terrified-speak-their-minds
My conversation with Michael Michailidis, host of Ancient Greece Revisited and the On Tyranny podcast. We discuss his hero's journey from Greece, to the wasteland of London, then to Spain, and finally back to Greece. You'll hear him talk about Joseph Campbell, Greek myths, Castoriadis, the radical imaginary, Heidegger, Plato, the coronavirus, death, nihilism, mysticism, Leo Strauss, and much more. Enjoy.
Amazing conversation with Kenji Hayakawa, author of Echo and Groa. We discuss Heidegger, Hegel, Aristotle, Socrates, James Joyce, John Cage, Bjork, Andrew Yang, cybernetics, nocturnal thinking, dreams, conversations with animals, automation, translation, and more. A fascinating talk with a great mind.
Michael Millerman interviews Alexander Dugin about philosophy, the fourth political theory, education, civilizational studies, mysticism, and the theatre. Visit millermanschool.com and dugincourse.com for more of courses on Dugin's thought.
An overview of Friedrich Nietzsche's book The Use and Abuse of History. michaelmillerman.ca
My Jan 2021 conversation about Heidegger, Strauss, Dugin and others on the Big Ideas Podcast with Erik Torenberg.
This is an excerpt from session three of my introduction to Martin Heidegger's Contributions to Philosophy (of the Event).
I talk about three topics.
First, you will hear a discussion about the guiding question of metaphysics, "what is being," compared to the question that Heidegger thinks marks another beginning of philosophy: "what is the truth of beyng." Understanding what Heidegger means by "beyng" was a big part of the course.
Second, I discuss section 110 of the book, where Heidegger confronts Plato's cave allegory and tries to show what is at stake in overcoming the interpretation of being as idea offered there. It is an important passage, especially as concerns the idea of the good in Plato.
Finally, I respond to a question from a participant about whether by "care" Heidegger means something theological or ethical.
If you enjoy this excerpt, consider taking one of my seminars on Heidegger and other thinkers. You can find more information at michaelmillerman.ca under the Academy tab.
I talk about the applied Heideggerianism of Werner Erhard, tell some personal stories, and discuss the importance of having a mentor.
I read my essay from Athwart magazine on Leo Strauss and Martin Heidegger, available in print here: https://www.athwart.org/on-beyng-and-natural-right-thought-of-heidegger-and-strauss/
Audio from my recent YouTube livestream on the question "What is Dasein." I used a lot of hand gestures to try to illustrate some of Heidegger's ideas, so you might find it helpful to watch the video, available here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDkz_9p6iE8 Visit www.michaelmillerman.ca for more materials and consider donating to support my work. Thanks!
My analysis of Bronze Age Mindset by Bronze Age Pervert. For the essay PDF, please visit michaelmillerman.ca.
Reading and discussing the preface and first two chapters of Leo Strauss's Liberalism Ancient and Modern, "What is Liberal Education" and "Liberal Education and Responsibility." Includes an excerpt from Alexander Dugin's "Notes on Thought."
On the Introduction of Alexander Dugin's book The Fourth Political Theory.
Register for the Fourth Political Theory course/ reading group or sign up for the mailing list here: http://bit.ly/30rJ2zb
Read my essay on Dugin's Heideggerianism here: utoronto.academia.edu/michaelmillerman
The Washington Post ran an article on April 16th called “Why far-right nationalists like Steve Bannon have embraced a Russian ideologue” arguing that Alexander Dugin and Steve Bannon use a mythologized version of the Middle Ages to stoke white nationalism, promote Islamophobia, and further other hateful far-right goals. In this episode, I examine and criticize some of the claims about Dugin, not primarily in order to exonerate him, but to set a higher standard for the analysis of obscure, yet politically relevant matters, so that our journalists, intelligence agencies, academics, and other circles don’t become accustomed to taking cheap ideological distortions as the final word on these things.
On the influence Martin Heidegger has had on various schools of political theory (Leo Strauss, Jacques Derrida, Richard Rorty, Alexander Dugin).
In this episode, I provide a brief overview of the "Trump and the West" article by Brazil's Foreign Minister, Ernesto Araujo.
Intellectual Explorers Club Presents Michael Millerman: Sandboxing Dangerous Ideas by Millerman Talks
Episode 3 (The Alt-Right and the Classics, Marcus Aurelius, Steve Bannon) by Millerman Talks
Episode 4 (Plato, Xenophobia, Immigration, the Far Right, Open Borders, and more) by Millerman Talks
Episode 6 (Zionism, Classical Liberals, Fascists, Owen Benjamin, Dave Rubin...) by Millerman Talks