I read two or three books on Nietzsche for a general overview of his work, as well as translations of some of original texts such as The Antichrist (which were surprisingly not extremely difficult to follow).
However, there are plenty of youtubers out there with a Philosophy background who do a very good job at explaining philosophical ideas with plenty of quotidian examples, and this is what I recommend as a first dive into Nietzsche. Two of my favourite channels while writing up the article were: Personal Power and Philosophy Vibe.
Good luck! I had a lot of fun learning Nietzsche’s philosophy, and I’m sure you’ll do too 😉
You’re very welcome, and thank you for your comment!
I watched Dogville for the first time when it came out in the cinema back in 2003 and I loved it. Rewatched it after 20 years with renewed eyes and a tad more philosophical, and it was a whole different experience.
Only great films have this capacity to make us feel differently as we mature – Dogville is certainly one of them!
Thank you very much for your comment!
I have to admit that I know very little about Albert Camus’ philosophies, but you’ve certainly piqued my interest. So thanks for the suggestion, I’ll check it out!
Thank you for your comment and analysis of the painting!
I briefly linked some of the elements of the painting to WWI but, honestly, felt that the more parsimonious explanation of being the product of free-association more likely.
For example, the idea for the mechanical monster appears to have been taken from an anthropological magazine, and it seems unlikely that Ernst based the idea of the elephant from his war experiences (a horse would have been more fitting, for example). More likely, Ernst found the idea of an elephant amusing, either in connection to the German satirical verse, to the elephant-shaped Indonesian island called Celebes, or simply to the shape of the clay corn bin.
Also, Ernst’s interest in Freudian theories, particularly the free-association technique, and their increasing relevance to the surrealists of the time might also indicate Ernst’s work mode. The decapitated nude female and the surgical glove are most likely influences from de Chirico, given the recurrence of these elements in the latter’s works (Ernst was also a great admirer of de Chirico’s paintings).
So, given these points, and a lack of analysis of the work by Ernst himself, I saw The Elephant of Celebes more as an experimental creation in the very early surrealistic movement rather than a homogenous symbolic artwork.
Of course, it’s just my interpretation. As you said, there is the possibility that Ernst’s “random” ideas may have been used within the scaffold of a larger and more meaningful idea, which Ernst remained silent about. It was that scaffold linking these seemingly random elements that I tried to identify in my analysis, but, in the end, I wasn’t convinced I’d found it…
Given that you are a mental health therapist, I would be very curious to hear your opinion on how clinical practitioners would even approach a case like that of Carl Stargher (provided he sought help in the first place, of course)? His case seems so extreme that I wonder how current therapies would be prepared to dealing with such cases. Any thoughts?
Indeed, I agree that Rhoda 2 couldn’t possibly have been looking at Earth One at the time of the accident. For that to happen, the American continent of each Earth would have to be facing each other, and that would imply that the American continent of Earth Two had to be facing the sun, in which case Earth One wouldn’t be visible at all.
I mentioned somewhere in the article that synchronicity probably broke as soon as Earth One inhabitants caught sight of Earth Two, and that must have happened way before the accident.
I read two or three books on Nietzsche for a general overview of his work, as well as translations of some of original texts such as The Antichrist (which were surprisingly not extremely difficult to follow).
However, there are plenty of youtubers out there with a Philosophy background who do a very good job at explaining philosophical ideas with plenty of quotidian examples, and this is what I recommend as a first dive into Nietzsche. Two of my favourite channels while writing up the article were: Personal Power and Philosophy Vibe.
Good luck! I had a lot of fun learning Nietzsche’s philosophy, and I’m sure you’ll do too 😉
Hi Familydude,
You’re very welcome, and thank you for your comment!
I watched Dogville for the first time when it came out in the cinema back in 2003 and I loved it. Rewatched it after 20 years with renewed eyes and a tad more philosophical, and it was a whole different experience.
Only great films have this capacity to make us feel differently as we mature – Dogville is certainly one of them!
Hi Mike,
Thank you very much for your comment!
I have to admit that I know very little about Albert Camus’ philosophies, but you’ve certainly piqued my interest. So thanks for the suggestion, I’ll check it out!
Hi Leo,
Thank you for your comment and analysis of the painting!
I briefly linked some of the elements of the painting to WWI but, honestly, felt that the more parsimonious explanation of being the product of free-association more likely.
For example, the idea for the mechanical monster appears to have been taken from an anthropological magazine, and it seems unlikely that Ernst based the idea of the elephant from his war experiences (a horse would have been more fitting, for example). More likely, Ernst found the idea of an elephant amusing, either in connection to the German satirical verse, to the elephant-shaped Indonesian island called Celebes, or simply to the shape of the clay corn bin.
Also, Ernst’s interest in Freudian theories, particularly the free-association technique, and their increasing relevance to the surrealists of the time might also indicate Ernst’s work mode. The decapitated nude female and the surgical glove are most likely influences from de Chirico, given the recurrence of these elements in the latter’s works (Ernst was also a great admirer of de Chirico’s paintings).
So, given these points, and a lack of analysis of the work by Ernst himself, I saw The Elephant of Celebes more as an experimental creation in the very early surrealistic movement rather than a homogenous symbolic artwork.
Of course, it’s just my interpretation. As you said, there is the possibility that Ernst’s “random” ideas may have been used within the scaffold of a larger and more meaningful idea, which Ernst remained silent about. It was that scaffold linking these seemingly random elements that I tried to identify in my analysis, but, in the end, I wasn’t convinced I’d found it…
Hi birdobserver,
Many thanks for your comment, and I’m very happy you enjoyed the article!
Hi Aliya,
Thank you very much for your comment!
Given that you are a mental health therapist, I would be very curious to hear your opinion on how clinical practitioners would even approach a case like that of Carl Stargher (provided he sought help in the first place, of course)? His case seems so extreme that I wonder how current therapies would be prepared to dealing with such cases. Any thoughts?
Thank you for your comment Kaline! I’m really happy you enjoyed the article!
Hi Jessica,
Thank you for your comment! I’m really happy you found the article an enjoyable read!
Thank you! I’m glad you liked the article! 🙂
Hi Andreas,
Yes, that’s a very good observation!
Indeed, I agree that Rhoda 2 couldn’t possibly have been looking at Earth One at the time of the accident. For that to happen, the American continent of each Earth would have to be facing each other, and that would imply that the American continent of Earth Two had to be facing the sun, in which case Earth One wouldn’t be visible at all.
I mentioned somewhere in the article that synchronicity probably broke as soon as Earth One inhabitants caught sight of Earth Two, and that must have happened way before the accident.