You're such an essentialist

[kasuskasus]

I recommend reading Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika if you haven't already.

[1MCOPE]

I'm probably not the first to point this out, but this is pure Madhyamika Buddhism.

"Things derive their being and nature in mutual dependance and are empty of essence." said Nagarjuna, ca 200CE.

[kasuskasus]

@1MCOPE Haha, I didn't see your post before I wrote mine, and I just noticed it now. That's funny.

[Sharukurusu]

@5:17"Unfair to yourself as a rationalist?" ESSENTIALIST!

[BlindSoothsayer]

The map is not the territory.

[aDarkRage27]

...to define them according to that characteristic in that particular moment. It doesn't mean that one is making a judgment on the permanent or "fixed" character of the individual (the opinion that it does could just as easily be seen as an irrational bias on the part of he/she who would form that opinion, even though such a person might be more often right than wrong in such a view). Still, the point is well taken.

[aDarkRage27]

I don't think there's anything innately wrong with what you call essentialist terminology, but as a rule, sure, it does carry with it the tendency to bias people in the direction of making overly rigid judgments about people and circumstances. But to the degree to which someone is acting, say, obnoxious, I don't think it in any way irrational, fundamentally speaking, to refer to that person as obnoxious. If a person embodies a certain characteristic in a given moment I don't find it illogical...

[zacthebold]

That was very eye opening. You just earned yourself another sub.

[Turgor]

I'm not sure I agree that labelling is such a bad thing. But I think assigning certain negative connotations to a label, and then applying that label to something mainly to connect it to those negative aspects is wrong.

But labelling someone who (for example) thinks the earth is 6000 years old as an idiot is just a way to filter posts. Should I read every next post by this person with the same attention that I pay to something that a person with a better grasp of the hstory of our planet has?

[sausage4mash]

I've noted this behaviour as well, although I never put a name to it .I've failed at most things in life but I'm not a failure( going by blooms rationale) ,cool I'll go with that .think I'll subscribe.

[ugoodHomeBoy]

great vid, now bring me my beer before it gets warm

[autopolydidact]

I look forward to implementing this! Can't wait to be a non-essentialist (perhaps the only useful way to use the term -- feels freeing to say it).

[VeryEvilPettingZoo]

But some people *are* essentially idiots and jerks... (heh)

Great vid - a simple but important observation that worth everyone's 5 minute investment.

[Adipatus]

Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" --Wikipedia.

[stuperug]

As a counselor, I'd say you have an excellent grasp of one of the keystones of CBT. You and your brother appear to be both conscientious and charismatic- a well received combination. My suggestion for a video topic is to address the notion that anyone can be immune from thinking irrationally. The opposite seems to be true after watching some of the biology themed video on TED. How do we stay mindful of our own vulnerabilities toward irrational thoughts?

[stuperug]

@stuperug There should be an "s" at the end of "biology themed video."

[measureofdoubt]

Any requests for my next video blog? Is there a question you'd like me to weigh in on, or a topic you wish I would address? Let me know, in comments or in a direct message.

(Also: thanks for being such great commenters! I'm impressed with the level of discussion here, which is high compared to the internet in general, but -- let's be honest -- especially compared to Youtube.)

[geodesic17]

@measureofdoubt I'm looking forward to responses from the skeptic community on any of the arguments from Alain de Botton's Atheism 2.0.

[PeterBrainTV1]

@measureofdoubt:

Perhaps you could read A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and then post a video about your thoughts on it.

I'm suggesting this book because I'm tired of hearing about atheistic things on YouTube, and I think that secular spirituality seems more intriguing.

[PeterBrainTV1]

@measureofdoubt:

Oh, I almost forgot. Although Tolle does reference the Bible often, I do think that his spiritual views can still make an impact even without scriptural references.

[RuinSonic]

@measureofdoubt I would like a discussion on when and what approach should skeptics have when debating religion, the paranormal, political issues or any other deep controversial belief. I think many of us on you tube, including myself, get baited into arguing with people that make us want to astute our ego knowing that the opponent won't be convinced. Some claim that mocking and ridicule is effective and that looking strong is important to convert the wavering.

[RuinSonic]

@measureofdoubt There's also a discussion to be had on simply what issues are important, such as if a false belief is something always worth attacking. But I question the real motives of many who argue. I think of your video on rationalization, many atheists for example have this "holy war" against religion as the reason for ridicule but are they really caring about these people seeing truth or are they often just angry at them and trying to make themselves feel better?

[PerAquamEtIgnem]

Interestingly (for me) in the Irish language it is not possible to say something like "I am hungry". Such sentences are nonsense because literally translated you are claiming to be the feeling that people get when they need food, which of course you are not, and that is not what you mean to say. "Tá ocras orm" means "I have hunger" which makes a lot more sense.

[musicmovement]

Nice video. But what if the business venture is a success, should the rationalist deny themselves the satisfaction of affirming, 'I am a success' ?

[HitfulVids]

@musicmovement If the success is only temporary, the "I am a success" label might cause more emotional problems when failure occurs than with someone who sees success and failure as events that occasionally happen. No evidence of this - just a thought.

[measureofdoubt]

@BelascoBlack You're right that there's a spectrum of appropriateness for labels. And our brains always simplify reality to some degree, when we think or talk about it -- It would probably be impossible to even function in the world if they didn't! I just think essentialist language is more likely than most language to smuggle in false or exaggerated ideas.

[BelascoBlack]

Just out of curiosity, then, is there a point where enough of a pattern can be established that the label is acceptable? For instance, lets say my ex-wife had multiple affairs, both secret and known to me, throughout the entirety of our marriage. At white point is it acceptable to stop saying, "she cheated on me", and start saying "she's a cheater"?At what point is it acceptable to make an informed summation of a person's character? "Always" is clearly incorrect; "Never" should be also.

[simplic1000]

Brilliant video!

I guess the canonical form of pernicious essentialism would be the virgin/non-virgin distinction, which treats the historical fact of "whether this person had sex before or not" as some sort of important, defining characteristic that humans and volcanoes should care a lot about, when really there is no difference between a virgin and a non-virgin except the lack of one particular set of memories.

[hoyerhohn]

Essentialism is only a bad thing when it is applied to bad traits. So if someone tells the truth most of the time, it would help calling her an honest person.

[wimsweden]

Ray Comfort comes to mind: "Have you ever told a lie?" ;-)

Here in Swedish kindergartens, children are also taught not to say "You're stupid!", but to say "That was a stupid thing to do."

[suitzoot]

Great stuff as always. In a Bayesian world vids like these would be school curriculum :)

[zarkoff45]

Essentialism I suspect would add another layer of poison to racism.

[PeterBrainTV1]

This was a very thoughtful video.

I'd say that this topic touches onto the ever-popular negativity bias as well.

It's best to see a mistake for what it is, rather than thinking that you're doomed. Then, you figure out what really went wrong and take conscious effort to correct yourself.

[Caniid]

very insightful

[Ryodisis]

Please do a video on religion. Thanks