Undead Sages Podcast

Merijn De Haen

How can thoughtful people live rich and meaningful lives, in our uncertain times? Let's travel back in time to talk to long dead wise men and women, philosophers and sages, about living a good life. New episodes each Friday.

  1. 06/20/2025

    Resist 3/7:: Rosa Luxemburg: Revolution, Prison and Love

    we often take resistance as a right—even a duty. And yet: the moment you claim that right, you awaken something unpredictable. Fighting injustice may restore dignity—but it can also unleash darkness:
terror, betrayal, even ecstasy. In this series, we speak with those who resisted—and those the world tried to silence. Saints and revolutionaries, mystics and militants. Their words are sharp. Their choices: balanced on a knife’s edge. You may not agree with them. But if you’ve ever clenched your fists in the face of injustice—then this is “your” conversation, too. Last week, we interviewed Maximilien Robespierre, the architect of the Terror - a time of great struggle and uncertainty following the French Revolution. Under his rule, thousands were executed for not living up to his standards of virtue. His was a maximalist interpretation of when resistance was allowed to use violence. He would say: until virtue reigns supreme and humanity has been born anew. Our first guest, Gandhi, took the other end of the spectrum. He said that violence was never okay, as it would unforgivably taint the soul of the one wielding it, which would only lead to injustice continuing to occur. Our remaining rostrum of guests all fall somewhere on the spectrum created by these two opposites. So today, we’ll be talking to Rosa Luxemburg, a socialist resistance fighter who certainly was no fan of violence, but who didn’t completely rule it out, either. 0:00 Intro 2:51 Life description 4:24 Is violence ever justified in the pursuit of justice? 5:41 Freedom is always the freedom of the one who thinks differently 7:01 Resistance against Authoritarianism 8:01 Spontaneity 8:50 World War I 9:50 How prison shaped Rosa Luxemburg 12:54 The Spartacist Uprising 13:56 Violence may sometimes be necessary, but never virtuous 14:57 Love is central to revolution 16:02 Advice for would-be revolutionaries

    18 min
  2. 06/06/2025

    Resist 2/7:: Robespierre: Terror, Violence & Virtue

    Maximilien Robespierre used violence as a tool to achieve dignity, to heal the body politic of corruptions. Without virtue, the French Revolution would be a failure, and would only produce new systems of oppression. To properly understand him, we’ll need some context.
 France, 1789. A kingdom on the brink. The people are starving—bread prices skyrocket after years of failed harvests. The monarchy is bankrupt. And across Europe, kings watch nervously as revolution stirs. In Paris, the Bastille falls. The king is dethroned, then executed. War breaks out on all borders. Civil war ignites at home. Amid the chaos, one man rises: Maximilien Robespierre. A lawyer from Arrahhs, incorruptible, driven by a vision of a virtuous Republic. But as fear spreads and enemies multiply, Robespierre turns virtue into law—and law into terror. Thousands are executed in the name of liberty. Friends become traitors overnight. The guillotine becomes a tool of purification. Then, in the summer of 1794, the Revolution devours its own. Robespierre is arrested, silenced, and executed—jaw shattered, words unspoken. He dies at the age of 36. 0:00 Intro 3:49 Robespierre’s life 5:34 From Defending the Poor to Becoming a Mass Murderer 7:02 How Virtue Ties it all Together 8:38 Did You Go Too Far? 9:49 Can Coercion be Reconciled with Liberty? 11:01 Was the Terror Indiscriminate? 11:43 Standing Alone and The Last Execution 12:43 Was it Worth it? 13:40 Robespierre’s Posthumous Verdict on The Terror 15:04 The Virtue Paradox

    17 min

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How can thoughtful people live rich and meaningful lives, in our uncertain times? Let's travel back in time to talk to long dead wise men and women, philosophers and sages, about living a good life. New episodes each Friday.