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Socrates claimed the unexamined life isn’t worth living—but Nietzsche wasn’t so sure. What if our acute self-awareness is the source of our suffering?

In this episode, we journey from the carefree contentment of grazing cattle to the haunted introspection of the modern human. We explore Nietzsche’s radical claim that consciousness is not our crowning glory but a socially evolved disease—a by-product of language, hierarchy, and domestication that alienates us from nature, from one another, and from ourselves.

We trace the emergence of consciousness as an evolutionary trade-off: a tool for collective organisation that became a prison of self-surveillance and moral guilt. Along the way, we confront the “hard problem” of consciousness from a wholly different angle—what if the problem is not the mind’s mystery, but the false metaphysics smuggled in by language itself?

Finally, we consider Nietzsche’s Dionysian remedy—a return to the primal unity beneath the illusions of thought, a dangerous dance with chaos that may cost you your “self”… but might just offer something deeper in return.

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What if history’s greatest heresy wasn’t the rejection of God—but the rejection of the body?

In today’s show, we follow Nietzsche’s assault on the Christian hatred of the flesh. From medieval monks who saw filth as virtue, to saints who mutilated themselves in pursuit of ‘purity,’ we uncover a disturbing legacy: the systematic degradation of the body in the name of the soul. Christianity didn’t merely neglect the body—it waged war on it.

But this isn’t just religious history—it’s a philosophical reckoning. Nietzsche’s naturalism puts the body back at the centre of life, value, and meaning.

We close with a meditative practice to awaken your awareness of the evolutionary story written into your own anatomy.

The takeaway? Your body is not your prison—it is your potential. And far from being sinful, its impulses are the very stuff of life itself. You don’t have a body. You are one. And it’s time to rediscover its nobility—and restore the honour it is rightfully due.

As we continue this exploration, we’ll see that to affirm the body is to affirm life—and that this affirmation is the precondition of strength, of freedom, of power, and of joy.

Music: Misdirection by Dark Rooms

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Music credit in intro: ViraMillar on Freesound - "Music by UNIVERSFIELD from Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/UNIVERSFIELD"

Support the show

If you value Will to Joy (formerly Becoming Übermensch) and you want more, please ensure its continued existence by supporting the show

If you are interested in delving deeper into this work and are hungry for greater challenges, I also now have a Patreon. Become a De Profundis Member and access exclusive episodes and exercises. Thank you so much for supporting this project.

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What if your precious soul was just superstition?

What if your thoughts, feelings, and identity weren’t the whispers of a divine spirit, but the murmurs of your gut, your glands, your genes?

In this episode of Will to Joy, we dissect Nietzsche’s radical physio-psychology—his claim that you are your body and nothing more, period. Join me for a guided meditation exercise as we vivisect the soul, dissolve the illusion of mind-body dualism, and expose the raw, physiological mechanics behind your so-called “free will.” No gods, no ghosts—just flesh, force, and instinct.

If you think you’re in control, think again. Nietzsche’s scalpel is sharp, and by the end of this episode, you may find there’s nothing left of “you” at all.

This week's music choice: Moving by Supergrass

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Support the show

If you value Will to Joy (formerly Becoming Übermensch) and you want more, please ensure its continued existence by supporting the show

If you are interested in delving deeper into this work and are hungry for greater challenges, I also now have a Patreon. Become a De Profundis Member and access exclusive episodes and exercises. Thank you so much for supporting this project.

👉 Follow and connect:

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