Johnathan Bi

Interview with Katharina Volk on the intellectual life of Cicero & CaesarSome links to further guide your study:* Join my email list to be notified of future episodes: greatbooks.io* Full transcript: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/transcript-for-interview-with-katharina-volk-cicero-caesarCompanion lectures and interviews:* Lecture on Shakespeare's Caesar: Coming soon.* Katharina Volk on politically-engaged Epicureans: https://youtu.be/HkPd2A0jQY8* Katharina Volk on Stoicism: https://youtu.be/tHbdG_Q4hbYProfessor Volk's Book:* The Roman Republic of Letters: https://amzn.to/4fsFD9K (affiliate)* My book notes: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/roman-republic-of-letters-by-katharina Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

An interview with Stephen Greenblatt on Shakespeare's views on love.Some links to further guide your study: * Join my email list to be notified of future episodes: greatbooks.io * Full transcript: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/transcript-for-interview-with-stephen-greenblatt-on-loveCompanion lectures and interviews:* Lecture on Shakespeare's Caesar: Coming soon.* Stephen Greenblatt on Shakespeare's social ambition: Coming soon.* Stephen Greenblatt on Shakespeare's literary genius: Coming soon. Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

An interview with Katharina Volk on the Stoicism of Cato.Subscribe to my newsletter if you want content updates, invitations to events, and to support my work: johnathanbi.comSome links to further guide your study:* Join my email list to be notified of future episodes: greatbooks.io* Full transcript: https://www.johnathanbi.com/p/transcript-for-interview-with-katharina-volk-on-stoicismCompanion lectures and interviews:* Lecture on Shakespeare's Caesar: Coming soon.* Katharina Volk on politically-engaged Epicureans: https://youtu.be/HkPd2A0jQY8* Katharina Volk on the intellectual life of Caesar & Cicero: https://youtu.be/I5qQztnTVPQProfessor Volk's Book:* The Roman Republic of Letters: https://amzn.to/4fsFD9K (affiliate)* My book notes: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/roman-republic-of-letters-by-katharina Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

A lecture on the intellectual history of “Innovation”Subscribe to my newsletter if you want content updates, invitations to events, and to support my work: johnathanbi.comI drew heavily from Benoît Godin's Book (affiliate):* Innovation Contested: https://amzn.to/3Wpp8n9* My book notes: https://www.johnathanbi.com/p/innovation-contested-by-benoit-godin Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

An interview with Robert Pippin on Nietzsche, Technology and Nihilism.Subscribe to my newsletter if you want content updates, invitations to events, and to support my work: johnathanbi.comFull transcript: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/transcript-for-robert-pippin-interview?r=2mzsg Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

An interview with Fred Neuhouser on Rousseau's amour-propre.Subscribe to my newsletter if you want content updates, invitations to events, and to support my work: johnathanbi.comRead the full transcript: https://www.johnathanbi.com/publish/posts/detail/146339067?referrer=%2Fpublish%2FpostsCompanion lectures & interviews:* Rousseau's first discourse lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ucJ29O1kM&t=224sProfessor Neuhouser's Book on Amour-Propre (affiliate):* Rousseau as Author: https://amzn.to/3LdOoqd* My book notes: https://www.johnathanbi.com/p/rousseaus-theodicy-of-self-love-by Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

An interview with Christopher Kelly on Jean-Jacques Rousseau's case for heroes.Subscribe to my newsletter if you want content updates, invitations to events, and to support my work: johnathanbi.comFull transcript: https://www.johnathanbi.com/p/transcript-for-christopher-kelly Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

An introductory lecture summarizing the key ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Discourse on the Arts and SciencesSubscribe to my newsletter if you want content updates, invitations to events, and to support my work: johnathanbi.comFull Transcript & other links at https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/transcript-for-rousseaus-first-discourse Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

An interview with Professor Brian Leiter on Nietzsche's critique of free will.Subscribe to my newsletter if you want content updates, invitations to events, and to support my work: johnathanbi.comFor the full video and transcript, visit: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/transcript-for-brian-leiter-interview?r=l66v&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

An introductory lecture to Friedrich Nietzsche’s On The Genealogy of Morality.Subscribe to my newsletter if you want content updates, invitations to events, and to support my work: johnathanbi.comFor the transcript & other links, visit: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/transcript-for-nietzsches-genealogy Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

Christianity exposed the injustice of scapegoating and, in doing so, robbed us of the cathartic tools which early human societies used to contain and resolve violence. Today, the Katechon which prevents violence from overflowing is three institutions that limit and channel violence: Law, Capitalism, and War. By tracing a genealogy for all three institutions, Girard comes to the terrifying conclusion that these final bulwarks against apocalypse are on the verge of collapse. More precisely, their collapse is already underway.Some links to further guide your study:* Join my email list to be notified of future episodes: greatbooks.io* Full transcript: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/transcript-of-girard-lecture-vii Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

Rescued by Christianity, modernity is distinctly different than the violent, deceitful, and stagnant societies of yore. We are the most loving, truthful, and innovative culture ever to exist. Resting uneasily alongside this fundamental affirmation of modernity, however, is Girard’s puzzling insistence that things have barely changed at all: we now simply persecute victims under the banner of love, rigidly adhere to scientific dogmas under the guise of free inquiry, and package trivialities as radical innovations. Despite our high-minded ideals, stubborn human nature refuses to budge and, so, the perversions of modernity take on the shape of hypocrisy. Even humanity’s greatest triumph is terribly ambivalent and limited.Some links to further guide your study:* Join my email list to be notified of future episodes: greatbooks.io* Full transcript: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/transcript-of-girard-lecture-vi Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

For Girard, Christianity is radically different from all other religions in one crucial aspect: it takes the side of the innocent victim and, in doing so, exposes the violence and deceit of worldly order. We will explore how this intuition of innocence begins to take root in the Hebrew bible and blossoms into a resounding declaration in the Crucifixion. Girard presents us with an anthropology of the Cross: a translation of Christian phenomena into this-worldly, humanistic language. Girard’s success in placing this world in the foreground, however, forces the other world and even God himself to retreat into the background. In Girard’s unorthodox Christianity, God’s absence is just as loud and jarring as humanity’s presence.Some links to further guide your study:* Join my email list to be notified of future episodes: greatbooks.io* Full transcript: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/transcript-of-girard-lecture-v Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

Starting from lecture IV, we will move away from psychology and into Girard’s history, beginning with the very first human societies. In times of internal turmoil, these early societies would converge on an innocent victim, attribute to him all the blame, murder this scapegoat in a brutal killing, and achieve peace through violent catharsis. These founding murders gave rise to institutions, cultures, and even gods themselves. Far are we from the comfort of social contracts. Girard’s unsettling conclusion is that peace is built on the corpses of innocent victims. Worldly order demands violence and deceit.Some links to further guide your study:* Join my email list to be notified of future episodes: greatbooks.io* Full transcript: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/transcript-of-girard-lecture-iv Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

In this lecture, we will finish painting the picture of Girardian psychology by understanding mimetic rivalry and negative mimesis. This picture will expose humans as fallen and certain psycho-social pathologies as inevitable: fetishization, alienation, bipolarity, masochism, oppression, and inequity. Girard’s psychology, then, is also a theodicy — an inquiry into the origins of evil. For Girard, evil is not contingent on poorly designed societies but an inevitable consequence of corrupt human nature. We will never escape these pathologies no matter how much social “progress” is made. Girard’s theodicy tampers our expectations of the world and inoculates us against a whole host of, what we can loosely call, critical theories. This is a critique of critique. Some links to further guide your study:* Join my email list to be notified of future episodes: greatbooks.io* Full transcript: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/transcript-of-girard-lecture-iii Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

Mimesis, mimetic desire, and metaphysical desire are the fundamental building blocks of Girard’s psychology. They will show us how even the most intimate aspects of our identity can be radically shaped by others and how to distinguish vanity from authenticity. These psychological fundaments are what make humans social animals, why prestige and recognition matter so much to us, and how we are able to form cultures and even language itself. They are responsible for humanity’s greatest achievements, but they also render us helplessly fallen. Under scrutiny, metaphysical desire will reveal itself to be none other than original sin. Some links to further guide your study:* Join my email list to be notified of future episodes: greatbooks.io* Full transcript: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/transcript-of-girard-lecture-ii Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe

Lecture I gives a brief overview of Girard’s life and work. It summarizes the key conclusions of mimetic theory, distilling the most crucial ideas of this 10+ hour long lectures series into a digestible 2 hours. For those who are short on time, this synopsis is sufficient to give you a taste of Girard. For those embarking on the full journey, this lecture is a rough map that will orient you throughout the expansive, tumultuous, and dizzying terrain ahead. Some links to further guide your study:* Join my email list to be notified of future episodes: greatbooks.io* Full transcript: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnathanbi/p/transcript-of-girard-lecture-i Get full access to Johnathan Bi at www.johnathanbi.com/subscribe