Jamesian Philosophy Refreshed

It shouldn't be news by now that this was a hijacking,. But in case I have young readers who might have fallen for the myth of a Neitzsche/Nazi connection at some point, here's a link to a fine discussion. https://bigthink.com/scotty-hendricks/how-the-nazis-hijacked-nietzsche-and-how-it-can-happen-to-anybody?utm_source=quora&utm_medium=referral  

A random quotation. “I divide my officers into four groups. There are clever, diligent, stupid, and lazy officers. Usually two characteristics are combined. Some are clever and diligent -- their place is the General Staff. The next lot are stupid and lazy -- they make up 90 percent of every army and are suited to routine duties. Anyone who is both clever and lazy is qualified for the highest leadership duties, because he possesses the intellectual clarity and the composure necessary for difficult decisions. One must beware of anyone who is stupid and diligent -- he must not be entrusted with any responsibility because he will always cause only mischief.” Von Hammerstein was a General under Germany's Weimar Republic, between the wars, resigning in January 1934, one year after the start of Hitler's Chancellorship.

On February 27, 1933, the Reichstag (the parliament building) in Berlin, Germany, caught fire. A suspect, Marinus van der Lubbe, soon confessed, and portrayed himself as a lone-wolf arsonist. But Hitler had only just become Chancellor, and the fire gave him an opportunity to consolidate his power – he saw a broad Communist plot behind van der Lubbe, and soon prevailed upon President Paul von Hindenburg to suspend civil liberties to allow for the “ruthless confrontation” with that conspiracy. From the start, many anti-Nazis agreed with Hitler that van der Lubbe was merely a cog. On their account, the Hitler and his henchmen themselves had been the malefactors. Since the end of the Second World War, the hypotheses of the lone-wolf arsonist and of the Nazi conspiracy have vied for dominance.   Defenders of the lone-wolf view   need not harbor any Nazi or neo-Nazi   sympathies: distinguished historians like Hans Mommsen, Ian Kershaw, and A.J.P. Taylor have take...