Sam Harris: Debating conspiracy theorists, wokeness, Trump, collapse of Intellectual Dark Web 

Sam is rather confident in his beliefs I've noticed.

@@UsernameVincentEven so, this is objectively a fair observation. Being reasonable means to be open-minded, use critical thinking, and having the ability to weigh different viewpoints without relying on preconceived notions or biases. It means inviting in the possibility that you could be wrong. Truly stupid people don't entertain any of that and often assert their viewpoints with total certainty. By refusing to invite skepticism and reason against your views means you probably haven't thought them through well enough to be so sure of them in the first place.

i went gambling. free weill exists.

@@HyperMoon kind of like what happened with the vaccines huh?

@@HyperMoon who’s an idiot is the subjective part however

They're masters of moving the goalposts.

Any evidence that confirms the conspiracy is valid. All evidence to the contrary is made up to deceive you. You can never lose 😎

The alternative facts that all the sheeple are not privy to, of course.

Well said

It’s amusing to see conspiracy theorists reference government workers who say anything that confirms their narrative but simultaneously discount anything government employees say out of hand that doesn’t confirm.

“Uncharitable framings of the border crossings” - there is no clarity in a man that can downplay or even call the border crisis a conspiracy.

He caught the mind virus.

I don't agree about everything with anyone.

Imagine someone, walking around, agreeing with every thing someone says haha.

If nothing else, 20 years Sam spent meditating in a cave really gave him the clarity.

How could u donate to this misinformation machine?

@@pgaquigz1125 Obviously different people think different things are misinformation (I don't think this is)

@@pgaquigz1125 How's Russia? Heard you have great loafs. Nice touch with the "u" btw. Bet you're glad you got assigned social influencing over the front lines eh? ❄🤧

You're a fan because because you're a racist social outcast.

Everyone believes at least one conspiracy theory, even if you don't believe any, that means you believe conspiracies don't exist.

@@theywouldnthavetocensormei9231 “believing conspiracies don’t exist” is not the same as “not believing in any conspiracy theories”. I don’t believe in any, but I’m also still open to the idea that some could be true.

@@geodude7116 so what are your thoughts on Russiagate?

The term "conspiracy theory" was created to discredit people

😂😂😂❤

As a thinking person in europe, closely following Usain politics, and know a little about AI, I think this bs .."for the most... part" Untangle this logically😮😂

Sam has TDS

He said that he was a tyrant in the making. True. That he was a malignant narcissist motivated by greed. True. He has no ideology, no beliefs and only cares about himself. True Those who think that he's a good pick are gambling with the future of our country. (His fans admit that they want trump to be a dictator, they want to torch the constitution and its democracy just to own the libs). True. He is a petty little man child who has no interest in anything but himself. True.

@@theJudge6990 "TDS" is what people who deepthroat Trump 24/7 call anyone who dares criticize their beloved leader.

​@@theJudge6990 The derangement of the Trump cult knows no bounds. The glorious youtube algos thank you for your absolutely stupendous triggering.

Yeah, you're right, the whole 'populist' thang, both Right and Left, seems to have an 'addictive' quality about it, like it satisfies some 'need'.

Being captured by the audience or capturing an audience is, on the surface, only linguistically different.

@@timbuckll Tell that to the fish that is being caught 🤣

@@LowenKM whats wrong with the thing? a politician trying to do what the people want, as he is a representative for thep eople? why dont we just continue this charade thats been goign so well, with stagnant wage growth for half a century despite massive technological progress?

He sucks and has been doing the bill maher anti Islam anti woke material for like a decade now let’s not bring him back again thanks

It was definitely interesting, right up until he denied the reality of Israeli colonial occupation of Palestinian territory. Tribalist nonsense!

👎@@sotthapana

@@shrubsangry According to every human rights agency and the vast majority of UN members, Oct 7th is an inevitable and predictable result of 70+ years of colonial occupation. What do you know about clues? What part of your brain doesn't understand that people naturally want to break free from the largest prison in the world?

Thanks goes to Sam Harris for making time to come on the DPS.

We just need a ministry of truth to determine what are falsehoods, right?

Dude most people can't even spell.....

AI will fix everything.

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@fredgarvinMP No. How did you read a post that suggested we emphasize epistemology in schools and conclude that means we need a ministry of truth. Teaching epistemology is the opposite of having a ministry of truth.

Sam himself would benefit from studying epistemology.

Joe Rogan is focused on the cents and the dollars!

Rogan is just at a “higher plane”

Not possible

​@@FighterFlasha plane of insanity

@@rosykatzCATS I think he wanted you to focus on the "higher" bit in that statement... 😉

​@@angelobalbiit goes back thousands of years. Christianity is a perfect example of fake victimhood and denial of reality

Are you saying we don't need to worry about AI because the Y2K thing turned out to be nothing?

It’s just these vaxxes

Sausages in bread? You mean, hotdogs? And what's a "footy oval"?

@@peterfazio9306 I'm Australian. Hotdogs are a very different thing. A 'Sausage sizzle' is the correct name for a basic sausage 'Snag' in bread with optional serving of onion and sauce, and canned drinks (soda's) for sale also. Typically on weekends, outside big events or big stores, charities would sell them to the public for a couple dollars each, from a small portable picnic shelter in the carpark (parking lot). Footy Oval, is a large oval shaped sporting ground for Australian Rules football or 'footy', the field is about twice the length (or larger) than an American football stadium. I forget the lengths. Think American Football, with no scrum, no body armour and no cheerleaders. Just burly, speedy guys in close fitting clothing, punting (kicking with style) a slightly skinny football equally the length of a American field into goal posts at each end of the field. or... just pummeling each other in pretty spectacular tackles, It's a good watch, and good exercise to play yourself

I'm sorry for your loss

I never considered him in the IDW. He never claimed that group.

Kinda

i knew he was the real deal ever since i heard him debunking free will on his podcast. he's always been a smart guy. not always right but it always bothered me how he was lumped in with other people who are clearly unserious.

​@Saintjackoftrades he def was in that group. He didn't mind correcting anyone of his affiliation with IDW, UNTIL he disagreed with it. Didn't he openly do a photoshoot with the IDW?

It's because he had actual academic rigor and discipline with his thinking. He's a total shitlib, but way less unhinged than the other IDW guys.

wish Christopher Hitchens was still around

He sounded so prejudiced and right wing-ish in the past I didn't stick around to discover his profoundness. I'll give him another chance.

@@anacom4238 He is still a bigot and he is not profound.

​@@EmilySalter-xd8uyYou see some one with the nickname 'anarchocommunist' (something I also called myself in my youth, btw) write "hey, maybe Sam isn't so evil, I'll *give him a chance*" and you're like "fuck, I gotta write words and call names so this guy falls back in line, before it's too late" 😂 Just because accusing people without evidence or arguments works on you, doesn't mean it works on everyone.

@@envispojke o wow, are you Sam Harris? Sam Harris promotes Jewish supremacy while feigning atheism. Islamic terrorism is a propaganda project of Netanyahu to dehumanize Muslims. Kind of like your empty hasbara post. Who is doing the genocide in the Middle East? Which nation has rap music about killing babies and is doing it by the thousands? It’s not Iran. It’s not Yemen. It’s not Iraq. It’s the depraved nation of Herzl. Stern Gang in the house!!!

@@envispojke you reported my comment! You propagandist chicken. Anarcho-comm on liberal Zionism is big joke!

Sam is good folks. 👍

I may not always agree, but I always appreciate.

@@kevinvieths3604 agreed. Same with most public intellectuals and political talking heads. I agree with many but not about everything. I like and respect the ones whose line of reasoning is easily followed so I know specifically where my disagreement with them lies.

He is dry and dull. He has no sense of humor.

@@roddyboethius1722 we I certainly won’t disagree with you on that point. lol

Christopher Hitchens was great in ways but politically insane.

@@draxxthemsclounts2478 I no longer recall what it was in this video that inspired my comment here. However, I did like Hitch, his sophistic tendencies notwithstanding. Harris takes sophism to a new level, though. He is reluctant to show that there was any daylight between his views and those of Hitchens, but I'd suspect Hitch would have seen the gaping flaws in Harris's reasoning. *"Christopher Hitchens was great in ways but politically insane."* I'm not sure to what you are referring. Politics is messy business. There is seemingly no such thing as a party or a candidate that is correct on all fronts and about all questions. Harris and Hitch were both articulate and aligned on some political issues. Here is a memorable quote from Harris, with which I'm sure Hitch would have agreed totally. "Recall how Bill Clinton’s cantatas of indignation were abruptly silenced the moment he learned that a semen-stained dress was en route to the lab. The mere threat of DNA analysis produced what no grand jury ever could - instantaneous communication with the great man’s conscience, which appeared to be in another galaxy." -Sam Harris (The Moral Landscape) Cheers, Sam

yep. i stopped trying to reason with those people, they take too much energy for very little return on time investment. idealist young lefties and batshit right wingers of all ages, i just let them spout off now, theyre energy vampires

Alot of lies coming from science and Fauci

Mama - So true. It's the biggest problem in the US right now; people unwilling to face reality.

Nobody wants to be lied to. But some people are attracted to liars. The people who watch Fox news and support Trump are attracted to snarky, cynical men and women who wear too much makeup and brush their hair 20 times a day. For some strange reason they believe those people would never lie to them...These are the same people who watch TV preachers and professional wrestling.They don't know they are being lied to.

I saw a perfect example of this earlier today. A MAGA man said he was sure the George Floyd story was made up. He said the policeman didn't have his knee on his neck. The interviewer asked what he thought of the video evidence. The man said he hadn't seen a video!! I think it was Yeats who saw the downfall of the world in his poem "Second Coming" in which, to paraphrase, the ignorant are the most passionate in their opinions.

Yeah. He’s a unique guy. He’s capable of in depth conversations about a variety of topics unrelated to politics.

Yeah I’ve been following him since 2009ish 😂 one of the best podcasts ever ❤

I did too, since the beginning, but i lost track of him over the years as his stream got paywalled. I also got a bit fed up with his caricature of 'the left', i am of the left, but i did not recognise the label he was bashnig. It was almost like he was attacking a strawman of 'the left'. Anyway, I agreed with most of what he said and glad he recognises the assymetry of danger level between a social justice warrior type person and the hard right MAGA crowd, which is rightly so - insane.

I feel the same way about The Insane Clown Posse's Shaggy Two Dope and Violent Jay. Love those guys. David, what the hell, why haven't you had a rap battle with these guys?

Did you make love to David??❤

@@TCASAnalytics😂😂😂

@@therainman7777 Thank you for validating my immature and/or obnoxious comment. Your willingness to acknowledge the humor underlying my comment is what drives my passion to keep improving my obnoxiousness moving forward. Please accept this virtual high-five as a small token of my appreciation for taking the time to respond to my comment by tapping that laughing emoji not just once or twice, but alas thrice!

@@TCASAnalytics Dude if there’s one thing I love and respect in this life, it’s _good_ trolling. Not the BS that most people consider trolling, but the good stuff. Which is like an art form, and always funny. And your comment was very good, and very funny. High five back at you ✋

Same

Both are on the wrong side of history in the ongoing conflict. Very disappointing.

@myselftik yeah mate and Trump is Jesus.

@@myselftik😂😂😂

Yep And a shockingly poor one on others

He is very hit and miss. More hit though.

@@paskowitz what would you consider him to be a miss on?

@michaelbeaster2921 his stance towards Muslim isn't very charitable. He's willing to attribute violent behavior commited by Muslims to Islam and not the geopolitics. I tend to think that most of the violent jihadists are actually motivated by the geopolitics but they justify and rationalize their views through religious language and thinking. This is where I think Sam could be more charitable to Muslims at large. To be fair to Sam though, I do agree that religions help people justify bad behavior, and Islam is more accepting of violence than perhaps any other contemporary religion. Edit: changed "on Islam" to "toward Muslims" in first sentence

I think he misses the mark on Israel. The whole time he was talking I was picturing the Native Americans when Europeans arrived. I also think of the quote, "The bride is beautiful, but she is married to another man" which is a phrase used to refer to a fundamental problem confronting Zionist ambitions to found a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This is not about Muslims vs Jewish people, this is about stolen land an unjust treatment by a right wing government.

Certainly the English-speaking world. I've no idea what Danish, or German, or Indian thinkers are saying.

Same here. who in the world do we agree with all the time anyway

@@Hubadadubadathat’s fair, but it’s really hard for some reason when it comes to politics and our world view. The Israel/Hamas part for example. No one likes Hamas. It’s the concern around the situation the civilians Palestinians are in that is my concern on the matter. He takes the position of Israel vs Hamas alone which isn’t anyones real argument I’ve heard. All in all great conversation they had though.

Did you like the part where he characterized all of the world’s 2 billion Muslims as being culturally inferior and prone to violence?

Same. I'm a lefty and I occasionally have my quibbles with Sam, but he honestly attempts to elucidate the issues of our time and I respect him for that.

@theboss4359 I dont, and thats because while I do think Islam is violent compared to contemporary religions, I dont think 2 billion Muslims ARE violent. I respect Sam's point about how its easier to get violent rhetoric out of the Quran but think he could be more charitable to Muslims. most are not jihadists thats my view

I kind of like that idea.

Sam demonstrates uncommon sense.

Aside from the transphobia and fear mongering against Muslims, sure.

I agree with you, but I also think you might’ve missed part of the point Sam was trying to make. His point is that the people and institutions who dictate most of American culture, that being Universities, Hollywood, and Big Tech companies, are mostly not part of the Trump Cult, and so there are separate issues to worry about outside of Trump. But he also stated beforehand that he views the radical right-wing threats as more dangerous than the radical left-wing threats, which I definitely agree with.

The tsunami of ludicrous accusations of "Trump derangement syndrome" that have been levelled at Sam Harris prove that he has never minimised the severity or political impact of Trump

Very true. It's not fringe. Trump was fking president!

​@@metapotamusWhat right wing threats are you speaking of?

@@drugmoney4996 Cutting social security, being anti-union, supporting a candidate who tried to undermine democracy (and getting caught acknowledging it behind closed doors), pushing for Christian-based policy in education and government even though the country is founded on religious freedom, removing the rights of women to get abortions, and more.

Every time I ask this in a Sam Harris mind-praising YT comment thread, nobody provides a genuine answer, any answer at all.... Why is Sam Harris seen as a particularly enlightened mind or speaker? From my POV, he is verbose, unfocused/meandering (wrt the speaker's question), and in regards to complex concepts he is the opposite of someone like Feynman - Harris takes the concept and dances around, abstracts where not necessary, and ultimately drags it out til there's enough ideas spoken that the concept could be explained during the monologue, but he certainly never tries to find out if it was conveyed. This last phrase is not meant to be bad faith, he did this with Lex where it took 56 mins for him to answer a question Lex didn't ask. When he was done, he sat there, waiting for Lex to provide another opening for a monologue. See the "Free Will" part of the discussion. So, now that you know I am being honest with how I arrived at my evaluation, I would really like to know what is the appeal? How is he described as having "clarity" or as an "enlightened thinker"? Serious, non-combative replies only. Will block anything rude.

I am on the far left as is the people I listen to, read, talk to and I take issue with Sam Harris that the left see racism as worse than it ever was. Do you know where I can get information for the veracity of that statement.

@@margaretshepard9466 I think Sam Harris just makes stuff up.

entitlement alert. cmon dude

Well said, likewise

shame he now spends his days downplaying and justifying G3n0c1de

Because he refuses to radicalize he is despicable by both the left and the right it seems

The people online that are not fans are typically bad faith and have to strawman his positions to explain why.

I was thinking the exact same thing, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Yes. And it's patently obvious to anyone outside of their little cult.

@@westcoastramen Completely agree, however, it feels like internet media folks stick together normally even if they hugely disagree. I think it is a badge of honor to seem "balanced and fair" to be like "Jordan Peterson has some good points but..." where the reality is JP a televangelist that uses jargon that impresses people who don't know about the topics.

@@AJ-hc5zololz

@@AJ-hc5zo He's really been getting pushed down our throats, for crying out loud. I don't watch any of his stuff but he always appears in my recommended list or pops up unexpectedly in a video created by someone else.

Lol two people dead wrong over covid .... 😂😅

His takes on “wokism” and obsession with Islam are ridiculous. I think that he represents most American centrist’s thoughts on those subjects though.

To the contrary, Harris and s a charlatan. The fact that he fools anyone is sad.

Absolutely

Admire that instead of admit he’s been sooooo wrong on sooooo many topics, he just doubles down? Sam has given up on logic, reasoning, and the scientific method. He’s a very good talker. And he has a lot of people brain washed. That is his talent.

@@JRDavis-hj4siExamples please

@@JRDavis-hj4si lol Good of you to not give a single example. Otherwise we might start suspecting that you're a fool...

They should have Sam train it!.

Ever heard of Noam Chomsky?

Ever heard of Noam Chomsky?

I feel Sam has fallen off a bit, primarily because he didn't take on people like Joe Rogan directly about COVID. What a huge opportunity such an intellectual had that was missed.

@@ryansiekert877he explains in this video why he hasn’t debated those people.

Sam Harris is a fraud

Theres a meditation app by harris too

Sam has maintained his integrity and intellectual honesty through the shit show that was 2015-2022. He is now reaping his rewards.

I could do without the Murray interviews, v*le man.

With respect, I gotta say to you that Sam is a total fraud. ‘Stop the Spread’ is just one issue that Sam used to propagate disinformation. You don’t have to be right, but you have to be honest - neither of these men are that. Own your mistakes instead of making a straw-man to double down on your position

Hahaha! Calm down, dummy.

Ben Shapiro is an ass. He s over the top,tense, probably a trump supporter spewing hatred in the guise of academic intellectual arguments

Yes. David’s attitude to the Israel/Palestine conflict is the one thing that puts me off

Islam is objectively the heart of the problem and until you realize that you’re arguing from a place of ignorance.

Bravo!

After seeing him on "There is something about Mary" I didn't expect him to give Ted-Talks!

lol. thats who he reminds me of, thank you for making me realize that. Never made the connection

This joke is like 15 years old lol.

I would add Jimmy Dore and Russell Brand to that list,

True

@@skosh6359Jimmy Dore’s audience capture is insane. I know Brett Weinstein drifted hard into pseudo intellectual lunatic land, but I didn’t know him so much before he broke out, and immediately when he broke out, he started things by going after the woke crowd so my impression of him was always right of center. Jimmy Dore however, I knew him as a radical progressive who spat in Alex Jones face and hated police officers. Jimmy Dore was too radical for me even, and now he pals around and talks to guys like Tucker Carlson and even the man he once spat on, Alex Jones. Nine years ago, I would have never expected Jimmy Dore to be buddies with the far extreme right but that’s what audience capture does to you. He started getting a ton of praise from MAGA-adjacent right wingers, and I think Jimmy got hooked on the adulation. He loved the whole “Wow, I’m a conservative but Jimmy Dore is the one left winger that I respect” stuff and got hooked on it.

@@skosh6359 Ha, just posted the same before seeing this. Yes, these two are particular egregious because they draw in left-leaning folks, then proceed to rot their brains with same'ism, apathy and doomer'ism. Very dangerous those two.

It's just establishment vs anti. Many people are happy with the status quo

Consciousness is not what’s being discussed. You just have a misunderstanding of what it is people are worried about.

@@therainman7777 I think the discussion implies it. Concern is on many levels: 29:55 "digital god more intelligent than we are" suggests that possibility. Here's Harris in the Reuben Report: " he also brings up the idea that it is important to solve consciousness before superintelligence (especially if superintelligence wipes us out) in hope for a future inclusive of the value that consciousness experience entails" I don't think that concern is real, but it seems to be the common narrative nowadays.

Only using one hemisphere--the emotional one

The far left are the only ones in power.

Turns out he wasn’t exaggerating.

@@rubdub4 Actually he was.

I guarantee "rubdub's" youtube feed is filled with people like Jordan Peterson, lololol.

@@westcoastramen nah, I actually love channels like Pakman and Kyle Kulinski.

These two have kept me sane since 2015 The left has gone absolutely nuts in most areas. But these two remained staunchly sensible

Agree, both class acts

@@jgreen2015 Not as nuts as the right wing lunatics. But the far left have some issues too.

@@GrumpyRobot75 here's the thing though - it is the craziness of the left that created maga Maga is a reaction to the insanity of the left I predicted it... And I was right. And the number of people now alt right who used to be left wing and say shit like 'i didn't abandon the left it abandoned me' is insane. And I have managed to have more sane debates with maga loons than woke loons. And I achieved that by agreeing with their criticism of the loony left. Because by doing so it opens up them to be able to criticise their side. When all you do is attack them it puts their back up against the wall and dig their heels in. And the loony left have been attacking republicans since 2001 when after 9/11 it was just standard to call bush a nazi when he really wasn't lol but what happens when you just blindly call everyone on the right Nazis? It creates a breeding ground for Nazis to groom them. It makes it harder for them to recognise actual Nazis

@@GrumpyRobot75 here's the thing though - the insanity of the left is what created Trumpism. Maga is a reaction to the American left

You’re talking about like hands up don’t shoot and Russian collusion and 15 days to stop the spread right?

Everyone lies. so don't believe anyone? So you have never lied? sure. That is the silliest thing I've heard in a long time.

@@Upsideround You're engaging in the fallacy of false equivalency. You didn't try to understand the point but rather tried a strawman fallacy. Your pedantic response establishes you're not an honest interlocutor.

​@@arthurunknown8972 What you said was pretty definitive. There are no caveats or variables. I love the pretension.. it's cute. Did you just take a philosophy class?

@Upsideround "When caught, they lie again" is very specific. However, you choose to ignore that foundational premise. So, are you stupid or pretending to be stupid?

I thought everyone had individual ads haha

Sadly, if they do anything besides vote for Biden then Trump will be the president again.

Um. "Most people"? No.

Voting for Santa Claus is precisely as useful. They'd better enjoy their fantasy world for it's duration because eventually recognizing reality is going to be extraordinarily painful for them.

By 'most people', I meant most people in my circle.

Then the DEMs need to reign in Israel and they have till the election to do it@@curiousabout1

I believe I've heard him tackle that exact issue and has argued that if terrorism was based on material conditions then Palestinian Christians would also join terrorist groups in equal measure.

Yeah Sam's response was rambling nonsense. Thought I was listening to a Republican for a minute there. GENOCIDE IS GENOCIDE.

@@ghintz2156i recommend listening to sam's latest Making Sense episode called 5 Myths About Israel and the War in Gaza

@@talmeretz That's b.s. No one in Appalachia has had half of their family killed by a drone strike. The most backward Red state is still much a LOT more free than many Islamic states. Not comparable.

@@JamesSmith-sw3nk I'm talking about Palestinian Christians

Exactly. Sam Harris knows better, it’s just easier for him to argue against a strawman than the actual issue.

There is some truth to that I think. But I also think it was their job to clearly draw the line of what is tolerable and they failed because they were more worried about the optics. It shouldn't be hard to say that calling for the genocide of jews is hate speech.

exactly. typical lib really lol

What on earth are you talking about! Google WWII Dresden and Hamburg allied bombing campaigns.

All the “high ranking” Nazis were brought back to the U.S. and given new “high ranking” jobs within its government 🤡🤡

Many German civilians were killed on defeating the nazis

Correct total miss by pakman unfortunately

I didn't quite comprehend his reference to London (my home city) in the context of alleged Hamas support. I don't know quite how to put it, was this about left wing people ''gone bad...? '' If he was referring to street demonstrations in the London and the UK in favour of a cease fire in Gaza, then media and politicians immediately condemned the hundreds of thousands of people who attended as Hamas supporters, a lazy calumny. Inevitably, all demonstrations wherever they are and whatever they are about will attract a small minority of bad actors who will attach themselves to a cause parasitically but, to tar everyone with the same brush..? This is not acceptable so I don't know what Harris was talking about here. Perhaps even he can fall for media narratives at times.

​@@stephenthomas3085the pro Hamas demonstrations were a global phenomenon from Berlin to New York.

@@feanorcfw All demonstrations would be labelled ''pro Hamas,'' it stands to reason.