John Kaag | Hiking With Nietzsche & The Journey To Becoming Who You Are

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John Kaag & Hiking With Nietzsche

John Kaag and his magnificent book, Hiking With Nietzsche, is the subject of this episode of the podcast.

The book is a decompression on two journeys, separated by 15 years. John journeyed to Sils Maria – this beautiful mountainous village in Switzerland where Nietzsche published, what some would claim as his masterpiece, a fictional title – Thus Spoke Zarathustra – which is, of course, an allegory on becoming who you are

John first took this journey when he was 19 – and as you will hear in the podcast, he did not experience the philosophical enlightenment he was hoping for – he then returned years later in his 30s with a wife and child – again with the underlying hope that it was here he might be able to discover who he really was. But as you will see, it is not in the footsteps of someone else that you can hope to discover truly who you are. That is a path unpaved – untrodden – unique to you and although it could well contain a concurrent route at stages from those who you admire and those who shape you, this part of the path is only a fleeting overlap, it is never wholly the same. Ultimately there is not a destination or a final point to becoming who you are. It is a lifelong pursuit along a path that has no decisive ending. 

And in the context of hiking a mountain, a common allegory for individuating and becoming one’s self, in the book, John beautifully puts it this way – The higher one climbs the more one can see, but it is also true that no matter the height, the horizon will always bend out of view. 

In this podcast with John Kaag On Hiking With Nietzsche you can expect to hear about some of the following. 
  • How philosophers romanticise to the point of worship, walking.
  • Nietzsche being misinterpreted later in life.
  • The impossible trade off between fostering a family and pursuing the individual path.
  • Nietzsches commentary on killing ones own father – metaphorically of course.
  • And finally – nothing to serious, just how John responds to being asked what his life purpose is.

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🎙️ Listen To The Podcast On Hiking With Nietzsche ↙️

On – Apple Podcasts Here 🎧

On – Spotify Here 🎤

Or – Everywhere Else Here 🎙️

Timestamps For My Podcast With John Kaag & Hiking With Nietzsche

  • 00:00 – Introduction.
  • 04:43 – Is There A Mysticism To Sils Maria?
  • 15:38 – John’s Experience Intentionally Fasting Himself Into Deleriousnousness.
  • 25:38 – Did Nietzsche Ever Intentionally Harm Himself?
  • 27:19 – The Problem Of Taking Nietzsche Literally.
  • 33:43 – Great Philosophers & Their Devotion To Walking.
  • 38:58 – The Impossible Trade Between Family & Becoming Who You Are.
  • 56:59 – Nietzsche’s Call To Kill Your Father.
  • 1:05:23 – How Does One Become Who They Are?
  • 1:08:57 – What Is John Kaags Great & Impossible?
  • 1:10:23 – Conversation Between Any Two People Of History.

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