These are Zach’s most thought provoking (and certainly some of the strangest) corners in his head. You can find all of these videos on Youtube.
Saturn Devours His Son
Saturno Devorando A Su Hijo (Saturn Devours His Son) by Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes. Painted between 1819–1823.
Check out how this beautiful painting relates to mythology, temporality, & ontology.
Also, check out Overly Sarcastic Productions (OSP). The sarcasm from this video inspired me when I made the Mythology section of the video: https://youtu.be/Q9RGT0ICHpY
Works Cited: Deleuze, Gilles. Difference and Repetition. Translated by Paul Patton, Columbia University Press, 1994. Page 29.
Sense & Reference
When it comes to language, how does it relate to reality? Signs, sense, reference, definite descriptions or denoting phrases, definite & indefinite articles. This video will explore all of these concepts and is itself a sign referring to the famous Frege/Russell debate about Sense & Reference.
Bertrand Russell voiced by Alexander Moneypenny.
Music sampled from Zoë Blade. https://www.patreon.com/zoeblademusic/membership
Works Cited: Frege, Gottlob. “On Sense and Nominatum (1892).” The Philosophy of Language, edited by Aloysius Martinich, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 1990, pp. 190–202.
Russell, Bertrand. “On Denoting (1905).” The Philosophy of Language, edited by Aloysius Martinich, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 1990, pp. 203–211.
Russell, Bertrand. “Descriptions (1919).” The Philosophy of Language, edited by Aloysius Martinich, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 1990, pp. 212–218.
shorts – Snoop Dogg
Calvin Broadus is Calvin Broadus is trivial.
Calvin Broadus is The Doggfather is informative.
shorts – Society Must Be Defended
“Mythology tells of how the victories of giants have gradually been forgotten and buried, of the twilight of the gods, of how heroes were wounded or died, and of how kings fell asleep in inaccessible caves. We also have the theme of rights and privileges of the earliest race, which were flouted by cunning invaders, the theme of the war that is still going on in secret, of the plot that has to be revived so as to rekindle that war and to drive out the invaders or enemies; the theme of the famous battle that will take place tomorrow, that will at last invert the relationship of force, and transform the vanquished into victors who will know and show no mercy. Throughout the whole of the Middle Ages, and even later, the theme of perpetual war will be related to the great, undying hope that the day of revenge is at hand, to the expectation of the emperor of the last years, the dux novus, the new leader, the new guide, the new Fuhrer; the idea of the 5th monarchy, the third empire, the third Reich, the man who will be both the beat of the Apocalypse and the savior of the poor. It’s the return of Alexander, who got lost in India; the return expected for so long in England, of Edward the Confessor; it’s the two Fredericks—Barbarossa and Frederick the second—waiting in their caves for their people and their empires to reawaken; it’s Charlemagne sleeping in his tomb, and who will wake up to revive the just war; it’s the king of Portugal, lost in the sands of Africa, returning for a new battle and a new war which, this time, will lead to a final, definitive victory.” – Michel Foucault
Voiced by Joss71
Citations:
Foucault, Michel. “Society Must Be Defended”: Lectures at the collège De France, 1975-76. Translated by David Macey, Picador, 2003.
Categories Part 2
Substance, quantity, relation, quality, time, place, position, having, doing, affection. If you don’t know about the categories of Being, what are you even talking about?! Check out the thrilling conclusion of how a young Alexander the Great learned how to take over the world.
Credits: Gregory Hicks as the voice of Young Alexander
Citations:
Aristotle. Complete Works Part 1. Translated by Jonathan Barnes, Princeton Univ. Press, 1995.
Categories Part 1
If you don’t know about the categories of Being, what are you even talking about?! Check out the first part of a two-part series on how a young Alexander the Great learned how to take over the world.
Credits: Gregory Hicks as the voice of Young Alexander
Citations:
Aristotle. Complete Works Part 1. Translated by Jonathan Barnes, Princeton Univ. Press, 1995.
Being Isn’t A Genus
Don’t even think about it. Being ain’t no genus!
Power vs. Knowledge
What can Game of Thrones teach us about how societies function? Which is more important: Knowledge or Power? Let’s take a look with philosopher Michel Foucault at how medieval societies were structured to answer these questions & compare the differences to today’s capitalist society.
Check out Cuck Philosophy
Citations:
Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality: an Introduction. Translated by Robert J. Hurley, Vintage, 1990.
Foucault, Michel. “Truth and Power.” Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977, edited by Colin Gordon, by Michel Foucault, Longman, 1980, pp. 109–133.
Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: the Birth of the Prison. Translated by Alan Sheridan, Vintage Books, 1995.
Due Process & Its Limits
The video isn’t about completely delegitimizing due process. Due process is a worthy thing to fight for. But R. Kelly’s history of abusive behavior towards young black girls shouldn’t be ignored just because his previous court case found him not guilty. Despite its ability to create truths, a court room is far from perfect and far from the final say on what is true or false. Any argument placing his accuser’s facts in a state of epistemological limbo until they’ve been tested in court fails to recognize the obvious limitations of the judicial system.
Citations:
Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: the Birth of the Prison. Vintage, 2009. 20-21 https://www.npr.org/2017/12/22/573046500/what-kind-of-due-process-are-those-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-entitled-to
Andrea Curcio, law professor, Georgia State University: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/11/16999466/what-is-due-process-trump
Shira Scheindlin, former United States district judge, Southern District of New York: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/11/16999466/what-is-due-process-trump
R. Kelly & the Politics of Truth
Why exactly does R Kelly continue to sell concert tickets? What “truth” is he living by? In this video, I use Foucault’s concept of ‘regimes of truth’ to try to make sense of Kelly’s continued success.
Citations:
Michel Foucault, “Truth and Power” in Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977, trans. C. Gordon (New York: Vintage Books, 2015), 109-133: 133.
Daniele Lorenzini, “What Is a ‘Regime of Truth’?” Le Foucaldien 1, no. 1 (2015), 1-5: 3. doi:10.16995/lefou.2
Deere, Don T. “TRUTH.” The Cambridge Foucault Lexicon, edited by Leonard Lawlor and John Nale, Cambridge University Press, 2014, pp. 517–527.
Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, trans. Alan Sheridan(New York: Vintage Books, 2009), 20-21.
Michel Foucault, “Truth and Juridical Forms,” in Power: (The Essential Works of Foucault, 1954-1984, Vol. 3), trans. R. Hurley, ed. J. Faubion (New York: The New Press, 2015), 4.
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