Lessons from Jonathan Bi

Jonathan Bi, a thinker who bridges the worlds of technology and the humanities, has offered a wealth of insights through his lectures and interviews. His journey from a math and computer science background to a deep engagement with the Great Books has shaped a unique perspective on philosophy, personal development, and the challenges of the modern world.

On His Personal Journey and Philosophy

Bi's transition from a STEM-focused education to a life dedicated to the humanities provides a foundational context for his philosophical outlook.

On his early aversion to humanities: "I was born and raised in Beijing, and I grew up with a deep loathing for the humanities, simply because...everyone with half a brain cell is taught to practice math basically, that math and STEM were the respectable disciplines, and humanities and philosophy, and God forbid, poetry, was what you did when you couldn't make it in math." [1]
The catalyst for his philosophical turn: After his first startup failed, he felt the need to "debug" himself, realizing the failure was one of desire, not execution. [2] This led him to seek the "instruction manual for the human person," which he found in philosophy. [2]
On the practicality of philosophy: "My engagement into philosophy was always very practical. It was always very how do I live a good life." [3]
On his motivation for studying the Great Books: "I got into philosophy as a form of consolation as a form of self-diagnosis of what had gone wrong." [3]
On leaving a lucrative career for philosophy: Despite his parents' disapproval, a "burning desire" to return to philosophy led him to leave a successful tech company. [2]
On the role of philosophy in times of change: "It appears to me that philosophy is required whenever things really go wrong or the less dark version of saying that is whenever there's a lot of change in the world." [2]
On choosing the contemplative life: A mentor advised him, "You do philosophy when you really want to do philosophy. But the rewards of doing philosophy...are so minimal in the worldly sense...that you should you can only do it if it's the only thing you can do." [4]
On his approach to learning: "Every six weeks I spend about six to eight weeks with one of these books i try to read about three or four of the top secondary literature i I interview two of the four probably books uh the authors of the books that I that I read and yeah and then I I force myself to give a two-hour lecture on the book and uh and that's my way of going through the Canon." [4]
On the modern state of philosophy in academia: He critiques the "scientification" and "objectification" of the humanities, advocating for a philosophy approached "from the perspective of life." [4]
On his project's mission: "I want a a general survey and an authentic survey to all of these authors and that's why I started with Rousseau traditionally considered on the left and Nietzsche traditionally considered on the right. I want to turn off patrons who want to fund an exclusively political project." [3]

On René Girard and Mimetic Theory

A significant portion of Bi's work is dedicated to the ideas of René Girard, particularly mimetic theory, which posits that human desire is largely imitative.

On the core of Girard's insight: "There's really two species or two kinds of human desire, one he called physical desire and the other he called metaphysical desire. Physical desire is a desire for utility...Metaphysical desire is a desire for identity—what the objects say about us." [5]
On metaphysical desire: "A reductive but hopefully illuminating way to put this is that physical desire aims at utility whereas metaphysical desire aims at identity." [6]
On the subtlety of metaphysical desire: It's about the external values you've internalized to the point that "even if no one is looking you're chasing after them." [7]
On how mimetic theory changed his life: Girard's ideas showed him "how I was caught up in meaningless status competitions and how much I was driven by desires that weren't even my own." [6]
On the practical benefit of Girard's theory: "Superior fighter pilots use their superior judgment to make sure they get into situations where they never have to use their superior skill...what's perhaps more important than the ability to deal with bad situations is the foresight and judgment to fundamentally not get into those situations. And I think the same is true for what Gerard has done for me." [6]
On the pervasiveness of mimetic desire: Even in a domain as physical as sex, "our desires are helplessly penetrated by the desires of others." [8]
On solutions to perverse metaphysical desire: One path, favored by Girard and Buddhists, is to see it as "completely perverse" because it's a "desire to be God." Another, from German philosophy, is to align metaphysical and physical desires. [5]
On Girard's view of human nature: "Gerard thinks that human nature is fundamentally fallen so there's a limit to the to the goodness of a society that we can build." [8]
On the scapegoat mechanism: Christianity is unique because it "takes the side of the innocent victim and, in doing so, robbed us of the cathartic tools which early human societies used to contain and… resolve conflict." [9]
On Girard's prediction about China: In 2007, against popular opinion, Girard predicted that China's rise, even if it made the West richer, would lead to conflict because of mimetic rivalry. [8]

On Friedrich Nietzsche

Bi has lectured extensively on Nietzsche, exploring his challenging ideas about morality, greatness, and human potential.

On Nietzsche's "revaluation of values": "Instead of valuing happiness, he wants us to not only embrace but see the uses of suffering. Instead of altruism, he wants us to develop a severe kind of self-love. Instead of tranquility, he wants us to embrace danger, have a taste for it." [10]
On who Nietzsche's philosophy is for: "If your highest aspirations are just a beautiful house with a nice car, doing well in your 9-5, then this book is not for you...Nietzsche thinks herd morality is good for the herd." [10]
A warning to the aspiring "higher man": "Your potential is being deliberately stunted by the herd. And if you want to achieve greatness, you're going to have to abandon everything you've learned to call morality." [11]
On the nature of "higher men": According to Nietzsche, they are "born with noble aristocratic natures which he thinks is incredibly rare." [11]
On the paradox of Christian greatness: Nietzsche argues that great Christian figures and art pay "lip service to compassion and equality in their words, but in their life, they actually embody master morality. They're deeply elitist." [10]
On the motivation behind great works: The great art of the Renaissance "was the Machiavellian competition between rival patron families...and the equally agonistic forces the pagan psychological forces of the artists." [11]
On the self-absorption of the great: "This all-encompassing love that you have for your own great project...is going to put blinders on you...you're not going to have time to be compassionate to others." [11]
On the instrumental view of others: The great individual will "treat everything in your life including those people as mere instruments." [11]
On Nietzsche's view of democracy: For Nietzsche, democracy is "an expression of egalitarianism and equality" which ultimately hinders the production of greatness. [10]
On the central conflict of history: "Rome against Judea, Judea against Rome'—so far there has been no greater event than this battle." [10]

On Rousseau and Society

Bi finds a more balanced, though still critical, perspective in the work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

On preferring Rousseau to Nietzsche: "Many of the interesting insights of Nietzsche, his attack on science, his attack on reason and objectivity, his critique of egalitarianism and the role of hierarchy and power in social life, I think Rousseau treats, but in a more balanced manner." [1]
On the corrupting influence of enlightenment: "Everywhere Rousseau looks he finds the same story: enlightenment finds an ignorant but virtuous people it gives them talents but it takes away their virtue." [12]
On the centrality of pride: "I've not met a single person who's not primarily motivated by pride in some form...The question for Rousseau is not going to be how do we stop caring what other people think. The question is how do we care about what the right people think in the right way." [12]
On the danger of the immigrant: "The immigrant is dangerous because he introduces foreign ideas values and customs that at the very least makes us question our own." [12]
On the cost of questioning fundamental truths: "When it comes to these fundamental shared identities there is a massive cost to begging the question to opening them up to rational inquiry." [12]
On the origin of inequality: Rousseau reconstructs the history of civilization as an "intersection of our social side...our concern for vanity for status, and technology." [2]
On the French Revolution: "Both Robespierre, as well as Robespierre's opponents, cited Rousseau for justification. That's how important he was. You know you're influential when both sides cite you." [Source not in provided list, but mentioned in initial search]
On heroism's rarity: "Heroism is like those precious metals whose value consists in their rarity and which would become pernicious or useless by their abundance." [Source not in provided list, but mentioned in initial search]
On the two fundamental questions of political philosophy: "What is the good?" and, more importantly, "Why should I care what the good...is?" [Source not in provided list, but mentioned in initial search]
On Rousseau's late bloom: Unlike prodigies like Mozart or Nietzsche, "Rousseau didn't really flourish until his forties." [Source not in provided list, but mentioned in initial search]

On Technology, Modernity, and the Future

Drawing from his dual background, Bi offers sharp observations on the intersection of technology, culture, and the human condition.

On the modern West: "Beijing is the most western city in the world, if by western we mean modern west like technocratic anti-metaphysical very pragmatic aspiring to a clean break from history." [3]
On the failure of his first startup: "I had fallen into this Zuckerberg complex...that dropping out is is the cool thing to do these days." [2]
On the danger for the "starving artist": "There's a danger of trying to pursue the higher good without resolving the lower good and I think one danger there is the starving artist perhaps not only loses food but also loses his art." [3]
On the future of Silicon Valley: "Silicon Valley will increasingly be a breakaway civilization within America all of the money all of the power is going to be circulating in this cuz it's increasingly the source of all new economic value generation." [3]
On AI's impact: "How is AI going to affect with our desire for vanity and status and Prestige and those social desires?" [2]
On the end of the "end of history": "History has not come to an end but the end of history has." [2]
On human agency: "Nothing is destined. I believe very firmly that things are up to us. And even though the world is going to change and keep changing, we are going to have agency." [2]
On technology as a tool: "If you have a shovel it's a tool you can dig a hole or or build something or kill somebody with it. It the shovel itself is neither good nor bad it depends on whose hands that shovel is in." [13]
On the optimism of the last 60 years: Our generally positive view of technology may be due to a "small historical contingency" of relative peace and prosperity, rather than a long-term trend. [13]
On making the process the reward: "Even if I fail I succeeded. Even if after a year no one watches any of my stuff...the fact that I got to spend these two years just to you know talk with people and read that that that is already the reward." [7]

Learn more:

Lessons from Jonathan Bi

On His Personal Journey and Philosophy

On René Girard and Mimetic Theory

On Friedrich Nietzsche

On Rousseau and Society

On Technology, Modernity, and the Future

Written by Antoine Buteau

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