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Correction: I realised in editing the script I cut a line that clarified that "this period" where only 10 dissertations on Nietzsche were defended was between 1938 and 1988, not 1923 and 1988, as implied in the video. Sorry about any confusion caused here.

Correction: I think I overstated how much the Bible's translation into vulgar languages was restricted. I shouldn't have said "any translation" but rather "some or many translations". I'll cut this phrase using YT's editor as soon as it lets me.

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equip people with the mental faculty to distinguish good from bad, instead of sheltering them from the bad. it merely makes them even more vulnerable to the bad

I’ll never forget walking into a bookstore shortly after the book ban and seeing a group of maybe middle school to early high school girls crowding around a “banned book” table and hearing them oooh and ahhh while saying “these are the banned books!!!” excitedly.  The girls looked to be in the 12-14 year old stage-not exactly sure.  They certainly weren’t fully grown in stature.  They were flipping through the books and I saw at least one girl add one to her shopping tote provided by the store for carrying soon to be purchases in the store.  It made me shake my head and smile, because all the book bans did was call attention to the books and get their purchase numbers UP 😂.  It reminds me of the eighties/nineties when the government tried desperately to destroy free speech in music, thus ENSURING that people would run out and buy those albums in record breaking numbers 😂.  And they absolutely did.  The same will happen here.  There’s nothing more thrilling than the forbidden, let’s face it 😂.

The more your government doesn't want you to read a certain book, the more you should probably read that book.

When I was a kid, my mom would ban books she thought were too “adult” for me. I made it a mission to get those books and read them as a priority. And nothing has changed now I am an adult. Free speech is one of our most precious things.

Got a 1984 ad before this — fitting

"Better to be respected than liked" is probably a more accurate translation of The Prince.

I first read an English translation of The Prince during the 1970's.  Delta Force in the Eighties discussed The Prince when screening candidates for Delta Force.

This is always the issue with people who want to ban books… they typically don’t READ them.

1984 is missing in the list.

I like it way better than Aldous Huxeley's "Brave New World".

Although the truth is that we are at the intersection of both books today.

This channel is a hidden gem! Keep up the good work

I was introduced to Brave New World by our Sex Ed teacher (biology teacher) in the late 1970s who used it to praise the idea of the nuclear family and 'controlled sex' rather than promiscuous sex - being an all boys school we giggled quite a bit at our rather hot biology teacher trying to teach us about the perils of promiscuous sex. Anyway, our brilliant history teacher took up the baton and took it upon himself to cover the whole book, the lessons it taught and what we could learn from the philosophical societal arguments it raised. I think people see Aldous Huxley as a writer, they fail to see him, as Mr Harte described him 'A psychologist questioning the behaviours in society from a philosophical perspective - a storytelling philosopher rather than a commentary one'

“Banned books” has become a nauseating phrase because the same 8 books are in every library due to some school board choosing not to stock them once in 1978. Genuinely and extremely controversial books never seem to be found.

While Burke opposed the French Revolution, he supported the American Revolution because the colonists had been governing themselves long enough to prove they could do it.

I’ve just recently come across your channel but I’m absolutely hooked! The simple fact that you caption your own videos is honestly just a godsend: I can’t wait to binge all of your stuff ❤

Also remember The Spiritual Guide (banned) of Miguel de Molinos (died in prison) and The Mirror of Simple Souls (banned) of Marguerite Porete (burnt).

I had no idea, Brave New World was banned in Australia. I live in Australia, and we actually had to read this book in high school. This was definitely one of the best books I have ever read.

General comments: when I watch your videos I often think “that kid has guts” ( I’m 70) you talk about nontrivial things that affect our lives today whether we know it or not. Carry on, Joe

18:27 That's a subtile point, "a wise mind will be able to tell the difference". This does not lead to the mass publication of works for everyone, only that the wise elite should be allowed to discuss anything.

Can't wait for the next episode where you cover camp of the saints, turner diaries and mein kampf just to name a few.

Nietzsche was a scholar, and serious scholarship recognizes dialogue. A total dismissal of Christianity as false could be read into his writings, but that reading would be oversimplified. He did voice suspicion toward popular beliefs, including the writings of Paul the Apostle, but always his criticism of Christianity was open-ended. Characterizing Christianity as "slave morality," as opposed to "master morality," is a beautiful distinction to make, but the term "slave morality" is not a total dismissal of Christianity. It merely places the system within its historical context as the belief system of a subjected people.