The idea of a personal God is quite alien to me and seems even naive. However, I am also not a "Freethinker" in the usual sense of the word because I find that this is in the main an attitude nourished exclusively by an opposition against naive superstition...
@Xxmalice667 My feeling is insofar religious as I am imbued with the consciousness of the insuffiency of the human mind to understand deeply the harmony of the Universe which we try to formulate as "laws of nature." It is this consciousness and humility I miss in the Freethinker mentality. Sincerely yours, Albert Einstein.
I really like the premise of this video, the "FFreethinker" youtube channel is so silly, seems that it's only about anti-creationist videos or anti-fundamental videos, nothing about philosophy or theology(I mean by this: questions of what happens after death, before birth, how it all started, Is there something bigger than us etc.)
Good video except I don't know if at the end it seems the video sabotaged what it was trying to accomplish. Maybe I misunderstood the premise but it seems what the intent was to acknowledge how people choose to label themselves in an attempt to separate themselves and be identified both as individuals and a group. In the end you chose to disassociate with anyone who chooses to call themselves a "freethinker" effectively doing the same thing. Why not just say I am a Human being first and last.
It was never that deep. It was just a reaction to how people like to label themselves 'freethinkers' and claim the opposition is 'dogmatic' or 'indoctrinated' in an attempt to add validity to their position and create the illusion that those with different viewpoints have no real reasons for their beliefs.
The end was to make a point. That 1) there is not a specific group that is by default a freethinker and 2) people are not freethinkers just because they want to be. It's harder than that.
I can agree with both of the points you make. And certainly it is true that there are some people who make claims about others. Although I would not limit it to "freethinkers" nor would I lump them all under the same blanket.
There is however the possibility that sometimes when people "freethinkers" included, make these claims not to validate their position but because it is true. Does that mean that one thinks he is better or worse because of this? Well that is a subjective matter I think.
But isn't it a tad bit legitimate (considering the beliefs and actions of quite a few believers) to say that (at the very least) some people *are* indoctrinated?
at least religious people know they are slaves most atheists are oblivious to the fact that they are not free. which makes them easy to control. they follow dogas media,politics and the education system which are actually designed to dumb us down into narrow mindedness
most atheist need to go after knowledge in sciences which can prove conciousness came before the big bang
Hate to break it to you mate but you're a freethinker. I'm not particularly fond of the phrase myself because it not only seems to imply a boundedness of reason for all non-freethinkers (which is probably true) but also that none of those bounds apply to freethinkers (only true in a limited sense). But in the end, quite apart from my choosing, it's the common phrase referring to non-dogmatic rational thought. Ultimately though freethinking = thinking. Thinking which is not free is not thinking.
It's rather rare too see someone so young yet so intelligent. I have a question for you. Haven't most free ideas been announced already for the last few centuries? Wouldn't you call someone capable of free thinking called a free thinker?
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
I respect your freethinker, actually I'm a freethinker in Crist, but even a freethinker need to know that everyday is a new chance for doing the diference in this world against a "lazy thinker" (thats is the diference)
That's the problem with labels, they don't always work and you can't take em to literally/seriously. Also labels don't always mean what you think they do.
If in your QUEST for the truth, you would like to bounce ideas off or pose any QUESTions to someone who chose, with honest desire, to ask God to show himself to be real, not with pretentiousness or arrogance, well, at least doing her level best to avoid those inevitable human snares, you may email me through utube anytime. You may be blunt and divergent, if you wish. I welcome it. Peace and Freedom, Liz.
I think that if you were a Free Thinker, you'd probably become a great philosopher. For that you'd have original thoughts that are not copies, which means that your thoughts came from first hand experience, and clean from any flawed knowledge or lie...
I think that most people, or maybe even everyone could have free thoughts, if at the age 1, 2, 3 and up, their thought processes and mentalities wouldn't of been polluted by their parents', teachers, and others...
One definition sees it (freethinker) as "differing from established belief". But our minds are social structures. We've taken a bit from all we have seen since we we've been children, and all subsequent thoughts are consequence of this structure, comprised of the established beliefs of those around us..no idea is ever completely original. Even the language with which we communicate - most every word we utter - are complete recreations. How are we to escape our foundations? Good musing.
Well done, son!! You should post this video to PatCondell. There are way too many "strong atheists" who know with certainty that there is no God - for which there is no proof but so is the claim of so-called "freethinkers" (tongue-in-cheek:).
Thanks for Thinking Freely about how to make a great video. You take others' ideas, blend them freely, to make something sharp, fresh and new.
Free thinking is never about being baggagefree--it's being aware of your baggage and being more selective about what you carry. Think gradients, not "paper or plastic".
I know atheists that believe in astrology or ghosts or "there is someone special out there for everybody". The scientific, free thinking atheist is a youtube stereotype. Atheists outside of Youtube are far more main stream than many want to think.
I think the term freethinker surfaced when someone denied that which was considered right or common, but in depth, a free thinker really doesn't exist.
This is another paradoxic thing... You're describing something that you are using to describe it...
What if our thoughts are controlled by us, but somewhat manipulated and handicapped by our physical minds? The brain. I often catch myself feeling bad for no apparent reason... WTF... I believe I can control my thoughts 100% I just can't control the FILTER on my thoughts...
It's like everyone's mind has a FILTER on it. And if it didn't, we'd be enlightened and would think perfectly,
Hmm.. Clutch, I'm having a hard time in understading this. Isnt a free thinker someone who does not accept nor reject ideas without turning to knowledge and information and reason; someone who tends to analyze things on their own, not simply going with the wave and following whatever other people say? Help me out.
That's probably the most common definition of it, but I've heard so many definitions it's really hard to pin it down to just one.
I'll try and help you out the best I can. This video was a bit equivocal. First I was talking about the "fluff atheist" definition (someone who is against religion). The second part, where I was talking about me, I was defining it as a person who comes to conclusions open mindedly, with reason and rationality, and free from influence, group pressure, etc.
I want to be, and I think we should all try to be, but I couldn't say that I was and be truly honest with myself.
Lol, never try to guess the urges behind making the videos that I do. I barely even know them myself!
But if I had to guess in retrospect, probably because I felt people apply the term to themselves too quickly and was encouraging a little self-reflection through using myself as an example.
Here is where I come in and say, "if being a free thinker goes that deep and is THAT different from everything, then it shouldn't even be discussed because it's so out there, that it has no place in human mentality... A Free thinker can exist, depending on what YOU believe a free thinker is! ;)
Thought is the only thing in which we are free. I have thought about all kinds of crazy shit. We can be manipulated, and all thoughts are repackaging. I am a free thinker.
"Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that beliefs should be formed on the basis of science and logic and should not be influenced by emotion, authority, tradition, or any dogma."
That seems to sum up what I thought freethinking is. I tend to think that only Dr. Spock or computers are truly freethinkers. However regarding factual positive claims it is fully possible to be a freethinker, just not with normative values.
I agree. We are carbon based robots. Free will is a lie. We act based on how we are programmed to act + our environment + our history. Time happens one way. We don't choose what we do, we just do it, and we can't take it back. Free thinking is just a difference in programming, so I believe it exists.
I view the phrase "free thinker" as a sort of fluff phrase for "atheist". That's what I use it for anyways. I have a little label of "free thinker" taped to my monitor because if I had "atheist" or, Christ forbid, "anti-theist" (what I really want to put up) taped there, my family, especially my grandmother, would have a collective stroke.
Profound thoughts, Clutch. We kinda think on a similar level in this case... and I can't tell you how many times people have told me I think too much! lol :-) I'm not sure why, but in some parts, you kinda remind me of John Lennon in how he might address this sort of thing. Very cool video! Well done.
Very nicely done Cluch, this realization that our thoughts are pieced together collections of others thoughts is true and inescapable. Even great minds like Einstein's built upon those who came before. Realisations like this are a step forward into greater awarness of oneself.
even words are just kind of gestures or shortcuts of meanings... within one named language (eg. english) we speak many unnamed languages which here and there looks like term hijacking... you need to know an individual to some extent to understand him... you need to know your (un)intended audience to develop your shortcuts: expressions that are not boring yet they dont cause unwanted attention... quite tricky, huh?... to change your color to reflect context need not to be a sign of dishonesty...
There's a sequence of words that you can flash across the screen and it will uniformly lead up to "blue hammer" or some other color-tool pairing. This is a trick of psychology which a real cynic can learn and resist. I now default to orange screwdriver whenever I start to see a sequence.
That I cannot argue with. We are all lacking knowledge.
I'd be reluctant to accept 'deep thinker', and I wouldn't apply the term to myself, but I wouldn't have a huge problem with it. Personally, I just prefer plain old 'thinker'.
to clutch: I'm not saying that I think you are a freethinker, but ask yourself this:
All those books you read; Do you stop after say, a paragraph and think to yourself about what was written and then think perhaps 'no, I don't agree'/'good point, but...'/'yes, I've thought about it and I agree'?
I do try to, and I make a conscious effort to do so whenever I read a book or watch a lecture/video etc. But I must admit that I don't always accomplish it.
Oh, the exams? They ended around the time I made the 'Clutch Is Great - 100' video. I have absolutely no idea how well they went. We have to go in and get the results on Thursday, so I guess I'll find out then.
oh no. I've heard about that idiot who's trying to copy your account as 'clotchologie' with 'IE' on the end. You should tell everyone about that idiot so we can swamp him...
I considered it, but he's really not worth the time. He's been bothering me like that for months. Up until now I've ignored him.
I think he has De Clerambault syndrome. He'd probably interpret a video of my telling everyone to swamp him as my way of saying that I secretly love him. That's how their logic works.
im suprised this is the same person who was in the first video of you i watched, Your a deep thinker, it seems like we are in an age where people are becoming more aware of the powers that control us, the way we live our lives, the way we think and why. im very impressionable myself and i understand where you are coming from, i try not to be a sheep but i dont think i have a choice in the matter.
cont/ obviously any philosophy taken to it's ultimate level is flawed. So most terms we give are relative unless the person in question has taken things too far...
I admire your channel and I've given this 5/5 for a good starting point on this issue. But sorry, I don't agree. I am not going to take the position that this necessitates anything approaching war over. But, no. Being a free-thinker is NOT vague. It does not mean I believe in free will. I don't. It means I am willing to question my own or any other position. Not just simply accept whatever's been told to me. Like most of brokensaints comments but a free thinker can be cooperative...
To me a free thinker has to be a person who only has original thoughts and nothing else, also only he/she can not have followers because now your in a group which is group think. This is next to impossible. Carl Marx, for an example, developed the idea of socialism. But his ideas had to stem from other peoples ideas, he just had to collect the others ideas and mix them. For ideas do not come out of thin air. So basically thoughts and ideas are just collections of other's thoughts and ideas.
(cont.) Also as he said the world could not survive with everyone a free thinker. No one could have a coherent thought and no one would work together at all. Nothing would be accomplished and we would die. Yes there are some 1 in a million free thoughts out there. But, no one can be a total free thinker.
You may be confusing freedom of thought with the ability to generate a completely original idea.
The ability to freely choose among already existing, even institutionalized ideas, isn't that "being a free thinker"?
I can't recall ever learning exactly what is meant by "free thinker" but to take literally, to decline to attempt to be one seems...destructive, defeatist, anti-social. All the thoughts you will ever have are determined by the thoughts you were introduced to as a child fine?
No, no. It's not declining attempting to be one. I strive to be one, but also admit that currently I am not. I try to be one, I am just saying that I am NOT one. There is a difference.
And I'm not confusing it with originality or any extreme either. I'm well aware of what I am saying.
My videos represent little about me. People seem to identify me with that group based on outward appearances, but I'm not a freethinker and never have been. I'm not aiming at 'absolute objective thought', I'm aiming at a realistic standard, but I do not achieve it, and I know I don't. I'm simply passing the knowledge on to those who misjudge me.
You're beginning to point your finger flashbuilding. As an atheist it should be the one thing you're against. I think you are confusing philosophy with fortune tellers. We as humans are indeed looking for the answer by fact, not just some dream or fantasy. Sometimes you have to go back to start and break the equation into it's simplest terms. Problem is, we don't know where start is. By eliminating all guesses and opinions you have ended the quest for knowledge.
"-so, basically, I'm lost from your imaginary shepherd because I like to be myself and not just another one of you?"
Not quite, he's just being extremely quick to judge (as his irony-drenched comments on philosophy also show). If he'd watched any of my other 100+ videos before making that comment he would have stopped and thought about what my intentions behind it actually were, and it's nothing to do with 'finding myself', 'being lost' or 'separating myself from any pack'.
indeed. I really don't think it has anything to do with being lost, but people like that seem to think that their way is the only way, and so the rest of us are inherently lost.
bl4ckd0g: How scary is it when you find that most folks believe that thinking for oneself = lost? I suppose we'd better go out and grab a prefabricated belief/lifestyle off of the shelf so you can 'belong'.
maybe. but I still don't see how I'm lost for not joining someone's fruity little club. and that's really all it is; they're part of a group, and that makes them feel better about themselves. religion in a nutshell.
Philosophy is non-provable, personal, and therefore useless banter. That is why I say that people who philosophize are asleep. Open philosophy has hurt society for many centuries.
Your personal journey to understand who you are as a being, means you are lost.
Science and real discovery usually have nothing to do with philosophers and lost sheep.
religion is non-provable, personal, and therefore useless banter. That is why I say that people who pray to fairies are asleep. Open religion has hurt society for many centuries.
Your personal journey to suck jesus's cock, means you are lost.
Science and real discovery usually have nothing to do with religions and lost sheep.
That's jumping the gun a bit, don't you think? Sure, *some* atheists are like that, just as *some* theists are closed-minded, ignorant, intolerant Bible-bashers. But that doesn't mean ALL theists are like that, not even most. The same applies to atheists too.
willingness or lack there of to change ones way of thinking....... Have you in your thought life ever open endedely asked the universe to reveal to you the existance of God? Hve you ever asked for God to reaveal himself to you, with humility and with an earnest desire to obtain a true answer?
You make an excellent point there. I guess I would be described as both a freethinker and not. I except some things, and others I do not. I think everyone's like that. There are some things people will expect because someone said so, and then some things they will not.
I loved this video. My meaning of free thinker is the ability to look outside ones accepted views, and the willingness to change. I know that it's still based and what we hear and see, how we were shaped as people, but I tend to push aside those biological and environmental factors because there is little we can do about them. That's just my thoughts. Loved the video however.
I suppose it's how you look at it using the word 'free thinker'. I know what you're saying. I think though that we recognise that word in the context of absence from religious practice, which is limited and based on rules and strict regulations, etc. Free thought is based on lack of these constraints.
just for one day, throw all those labels out the f'n window and just be. If you can't just be, then just be human. all those thoughts are only in your head.
I suppose for me the notion of a free thinker is intimately tied to the notion of an open mind. Free thought is an attempt to be rid of prior theories and see the canvas as blank for them. Now, ruining that, in Zen the term is "beginner's mind". Free thought can however take ideas and reassemble them into something new too. Given that humans think in duplicates of their senses, how free is any thought really ?
As an atheist, I will say that it is definitely possible for a religious person to be a free thinker. The normal term applied is "mystic", or in religious circles "heretic", "apostate", and "infidel", are also terms applied. I do credit that it is possible to have a mind so open that it continues to seem merit in arguments that others have summarily dismissed as crap. And sometimes they're right, and often they're wrong.
that's awsome clutch, love the video too, you should write a book on this stuff you know. I also do not believe in a god, beyond that, i do not catagorise myself further, this 'freethinker' term just seems to be a phrase to try and demeen theists even further
Free thinking means that you continually think. Free thinkers don't accept anything as absolute truth. Don't overcomplicate it. Free thinkers think freely.
I think that most people label themselves as freethinkers in just a simple, practical way, in that it means that they can formulate their own ideas, not hold said ideas simply because they've been spewed fourth from the pulpit. Furthermore, I don't believe that if you share certain beliefs with the majority, it necessarily eliminates you from the label freethinker, just as long as you came to the certain beliefs through exercising your own cognitive facilities.
A theist cannot be a free thinker simply because they borrow every one of their thoughts from a fucking book. Atheists refuse to accept anything without any scientific evidence. Faith is an abomination to the human race. You know, the impulse for humans to blindly follow leaders comes from the "reptilian" layer of our brains. We should be using the evolved part of our brain in our thought processes, the cerebral cortex, not the core which controls impulsive and irrational behavior.
you need to really pin down those beliefs that cannot be true because of logical reasons or common sense, or scientific reasons. if you discard beliefs that you can debunk on your own, and if you search your own mind for such beliefs by trying to apply logic and reason whenever you can, then you are a freethinker. there might still be dragons. but you will probarbly discard them as soon as they become obvious, especially if you are connected to other freethinkers. thats enough.
Unless you mean that firearms and/or other weapons of warfare are being used by atheists, you need to stop carelessly throwing this borrowed term around in your videos. As far as I'm concerned, once someone uses that phrase they've just invoked a variant of Godwin's Law and automatically forfeit the argument. Whenever I hear that fallacious hyperbole, I just tune out all the rest.
So you're correct about one thing -- you're not a freethinker. Otherwise, you would have been able to think it through on your own, and realized the zealous and erroneous nature of its use.
I saw that video, and agree with most of what he is saying. But I do regard people like the RRS, who feel theism is some sort of mental illness to be abolished, to be to some degree 'militant'. It's not any sort of hypocrisy. I also regard those theists who think atheism is satanic, immoral, etc and needs to be wiped out to be 'militant'. I just define it in terms of viewpoint (desire to completely abolish the opposition), not physical action, which is simply a means to that end.
Well that's pretty contradictory of you. And what you're doing is changing the meaning of the word to suit your agenda, which is exactly the abhorrently dishonest game theists/apologists play.
People can be very passionate in respect to an issue/opinion/belief for their own reasons -- good or bad.
In insisting upon using that word/phrase, you make yourself a cheat -- hitting below the belt in trying to destroy their reasons and credibility without so much as a fair hearing only because they are passionate. If I wanted to play your game, I'd call you a militant anti-passionist non-freethinker.
Well I did give that opinion a fair chance myself, but I can see how it would deter the outside observer and many others using the term from doing so. You raise some good points. I didn't think of that before. I admit now that I was wrong to use the term.
I suppose (activist) anti-theists and anti-atheists would be better terms for the opinions themselves. Thank you for putting it in a way which my non-freethinking brain can understand!
"...shouldn't it (freethinking) be based on one's thought processes and how they come to conclusions, not the conclusions themselves...and always willing to change?" ~ video
Be careful. With the type of reconsideration you just demonstrated, someone might bestow upon you that damnable label of freethinker when you're not looking.
In the era that we live, there is not much space to be a free thinker, if you do so, then you will be, and feel all alone, cause at list 90% of people are "programed" robots, but instead of feeling alone, try to teach others to be free! Then you wont be alone anymore, and you can be someone great!
You expressed it succinctly. I feel different and weird due to the fact that I've always been an independent thinker. Many aspects of my life have benefited from free thought; unfortunately, not everyone has been open to my ideas and revelations, as they perceive them as a threat to the status quo.
Not a freethinker also despite my efforts...i think the media's main goal is to destroy freethinking, informing us on how to think, how to speak ,perception of ourselves etc...which by controlling our information intake, they control our thoughts....thus making it hard because there are too many variables to consider when formulating out thoughts.
Isn't this video somewhat equal to saying something along the lines of; "Don't call me a human, you can call yourself one, but don't call me human" ? Perhaps that's somewhat of an unrealistic thing to ask ? But then again, everything can be relativated, so it all comes down to the frequency of existence you are looking at. Considering that 'deepness', there is no thinking at all, just like there is no spoon :}
Humankind cannot afford to ponder philosophy any longer. It is proven that is a tool used for manipulation. So the sooner we stop even talking about philosophy and start working at fixes for our society, the sooner more people will have better lives.
Without philosophy there would be no politics, no science, no morality, or any of those things people need to improve our society. They are all slaves to philosophy.
You can abolish philosophy if you like, but good luck progressing any further than the anarchistic vacuity that arises from it.
flashbuilding: "[...] the sooner we stop even talking about philosophy and start working at fixes for our society, the sooner more people will have better lives."
'Fixing' implies there is a lost functionality.
'Better' is determined by proximity towards an ideal.
Which function, for which ideal? That requires philosophy.
You guys say that philosophy is necessary. Philosophy is simply non-provable theory. Just like anything else that is useless jabber. So ponder it all you like if it makes you feel special, but it does nothing for you in the long run in reality.
Just helps us to waste time and resources, you guys are all asleep and have no logic about you. Life is simple to understand, and very obvious.
flashbuilding doesn't realise that without philosophy his statement is meaningless as it is an epistemological claim without an epistemology, and thus can be ignored.
With philosophy, however, it's self contradictory and can still be ignored.
He says philosophy is non-provable. True, but without philosophy there would be no 'provable' theories at all, as every theory or idea rests upon an epistemological basis, something which is philosophical by its nature.
Science, discovery, and discussion are great. And you can nail down many things about it as law.
Philosophy is non-provable, personal, and therefore useless banter. That is why I say that people who philosophize are asleep. Open philosophy has hurt society for many centuries.
Your personal journey to understand who you are as a being, means you are lost.
Philosophy is maybe useful as a personal thing, but as we have been talking and arguing about it for centuries, we have wasted and continue to waste valuable resources on fantasy thoughts that will not get proven, until someone can. Lots of time and energy is wasted on religion and philosophy.
Until then it is like arguing whether or not Paul Bunyon really existed as a giant or not. So like I said in the beginning, useless jabber.
I don't think he realises that he's taking the pragmatist position here, which is, oh so ironically, a philosophy in itself.
Basically put, there is no way he can say philosophy is useless without invoking philosophy itself. That he doesn't realise that shows me who the 'asleep' one, in fact, really is. The irony of it all truly amazes me.
A farmer and his neighbour came to a judge about a land disspute. The farmer complained that the neighbours sheep trampled his crops on the way to pasture.The judge said "You're right" The neighbour countered that his family had access rights to the pasture for generations. The judge said "You're right".The baliff said to the judge, "They can't both be right". The judge said "You're right" Who doesn't want to be right? Great vid "I think you are right Clutchology"
Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that beliefs should be formed on the basis of science and logic and should not be influenced by emotion, authority, tradition, or any dogma. The cognitive application of freethought is known as freethinking, and practitioners of freethought are known as freethinkers. It's hard to say any human is a freethinker. It would just be too difficult for us NOT to show emotion. I just don't think it's possible.
I think my education in psychology has made it impossible to call myself a freethinker. I know how incredibly easily influenced the human mind actually is (even down to the sort of room, or lack thereof, that we are in), especially when trying to make rational decisions. It is possible to be rational, but to be *purely* rational is harder than people think. Most of our rationality is in fact simple self-justification.
I agree. And I'll add something else. I believe the human mind is easily changed. Not by other people as much, but perhaps by a certain turn of events or an experience. More so when the human mind is young. Can rationality be taught though? Or is it instinct? Instinct does not qualify as an emotion.
To me, a freethinker is a person who doesn't constrict him/herself to one philosophy, religion, etc. It's a person who eventually goes back to questioning everything. Even if at first they let themselves become captive to a man's words, they return to reasonable skepticism.
You say you're not a freethinker, but that's based on your definition. If someone calls you a freethinker, don't forget that they're probably talking about something else.
And how could they possibly call me one based on that definition? They have no idea what I think other than what I choose to show them, which isn't enough.
We can fool ourselves into thinking we are freethinkers when we aren't, but it's hard to do that the other way around. To me, by trying to contradict the statement "I'm not a freethinker", one is saying that they know more about what/how I think than I do, which sounds absurd.
A freethinker would be someone that can find where their thoughts come from. Our minds make connections in such bizare but rational ways. To think of yourself as a freethinker would in fact put you into a catagory. Most folks that believe themselves free thinkers are only spitting out in a new package something they have heard. So how would someone be a freethinker. I would have to say it is the person that sees both sides of an argument. Finds where they are the same and makes conclusions from
I'm an atheist too, btw. However, looking back, maybe I was just as stubborn as those Christian are.
After taking philosophy though, it made me realize there are so many side to any debate/idea. We mustn't disregard any hidden factor nor fall easily into a persuasion.
Freethinker is, I think somewhat similar to free man. I doesn't imply actual freedom or dissacociation from societal bonds, just the removal of the most abject of cognative fetters. A freethinker therefore would be someone who no matter how conformist they were still feels that changing their views will not condemn them to punishment. Much the same way as a person committed to serving some end is not a slave. Not because he will change but because he can.
having said this I don't use the label myself, partly because I am, stricly speeking a determinist (althuough I'm also a compatablist ala Dan Dennett's "Freedom Evolves") and partly because the label associates me with views I don't hold. I use the term "A Bright" because at it's principle I hold that view. Freethinker in the common vernacular is to nebulous for my liking.
La Ciencia Jovial, I love nihilism, gaya scientia, perhaps you're right, may be you are wrong, who has the last word? interesting issue, good quality video, sorry for the sound.
I'd rather being insecure, uninvited or undecided that to say that everything is absolute, since the only thing that is absolute in the humanity is that everything is relative, was in the habit of affirming August Comte.
At least you think, whether it's free, not, or somewhere in between.
Freethinker is such a misnomer.
pompousprick 6 months ago
The idea of a personal God is quite alien to me and seems even naive. However, I am also not a "Freethinker" in the usual sense of the word because I find that this is in the main an attitude nourished exclusively by an opposition against naive superstition...
Xxmalice667 1 year ago
@Xxmalice667 My feeling is insofar religious as I am imbued with the consciousness of the insuffiency of the human mind to understand deeply the harmony of the Universe which we try to formulate as "laws of nature." It is this consciousness and humility I miss in the Freethinker mentality. Sincerely yours, Albert Einstein.
Xxmalice667 1 year ago
I really like the premise of this video, the "FFreethinker" youtube channel is so silly, seems that it's only about anti-creationist videos or anti-fundamental videos, nothing about philosophy or theology(I mean by this: questions of what happens after death, before birth, how it all started, Is there something bigger than us etc.)
BearWindAppleyard 1 year ago
Good video except I don't know if at the end it seems the video sabotaged what it was trying to accomplish. Maybe I misunderstood the premise but it seems what the intent was to acknowledge how people choose to label themselves in an attempt to separate themselves and be identified both as individuals and a group. In the end you chose to disassociate with anyone who chooses to call themselves a "freethinker" effectively doing the same thing. Why not just say I am a Human being first and last.
x1tekja 2 years ago
It was never that deep. It was just a reaction to how people like to label themselves 'freethinkers' and claim the opposition is 'dogmatic' or 'indoctrinated' in an attempt to add validity to their position and create the illusion that those with different viewpoints have no real reasons for their beliefs.
The end was to make a point. That 1) there is not a specific group that is by default a freethinker and 2) people are not freethinkers just because they want to be. It's harder than that.
Clutchology 2 years ago
I can agree with both of the points you make. And certainly it is true that there are some people who make claims about others. Although I would not limit it to "freethinkers" nor would I lump them all under the same blanket.
There is however the possibility that sometimes when people "freethinkers" included, make these claims not to validate their position but because it is true. Does that mean that one thinks he is better or worse because of this? Well that is a subjective matter I think.
x1tekja 2 years ago
@Clutchology
But isn't it a tad bit legitimate (considering the beliefs and actions of quite a few believers) to say that (at the very least) some people *are* indoctrinated?
StraightOuttaDC 1 year ago
This video gets my 5 star approval.
vfIskullangel 2 years ago
atheism is another dogma religion unfortunately
at least religious people know they are slaves most atheists are oblivious to the fact that they are not free. which makes them easy to control. they follow dogas media,politics and the education system which are actually designed to dumb us down into narrow mindedness
most atheist need to go after knowledge in sciences which can prove conciousness came before the big bang
im a freethinker atheist noone can control me
micap20078 2 years ago
freethinker is the one who thinks through reason(science), not just following evidence given by others(most of times biased).
a neutral neutral, or true neutral, is a freethinker.
andersmusician 2 years ago
refreshing. go on kid :)
zeitgeistGO 2 years ago
Hate to break it to you mate but you're a freethinker. I'm not particularly fond of the phrase myself because it not only seems to imply a boundedness of reason for all non-freethinkers (which is probably true) but also that none of those bounds apply to freethinkers (only true in a limited sense). But in the end, quite apart from my choosing, it's the common phrase referring to non-dogmatic rational thought. Ultimately though freethinking = thinking. Thinking which is not free is not thinking.
smhussain62 2 years ago
I remember watching this video last year, and I loved it.
*****
DemonicCollusion 2 years ago
It's rather rare too see someone so young yet so intelligent. I have a question for you. Haven't most free ideas been announced already for the last few centuries? Wouldn't you call someone capable of free thinking called a free thinker?
ViacomSounds 2 years ago
subjective!! lol very ironic vlog,
melbn 2 years ago
es el Juanjo.
dew.
Metalrom 2 years ago
I can't believe this has 5 stars.
glynos 2 years ago
glymos: well down video. Interesting way of thinking and presentation,, even if as an Atheist I do not agree with him.
robertangel30 2 years ago 2
i watch it 5 times already -.-
Th0usandMaster 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I respect your freethinker, actually I'm a freethinker in Crist, but even a freethinker need to know that everyday is a new chance for doing the diference in this world against a "lazy thinker" (thats is the diference)
just think about it!
All Freethinker need wisdom and action!
hanicken 2 years ago
I went to review this guy's channel hoping to find a video on freethinker and there it is in the front page :D
onotheo 2 years ago
Thanks for the video. I learned something.
After listening to what you said, I beleve you may be more of a free thinker than most others who claim to be.
richpierce75204 3 years ago
Very true.
ResistTheMachine 3 years ago
That's true, and there's no true Scotsman.
That's the problem with labels, they don't always work and you can't take em to literally/seriously. Also labels don't always mean what you think they do.
jesokingcryst 3 years ago
If in your QUEST for the truth, you would like to bounce ideas off or pose any QUESTions to someone who chose, with honest desire, to ask God to show himself to be real, not with pretentiousness or arrogance, well, at least doing her level best to avoid those inevitable human snares, you may email me through utube anytime. You may be blunt and divergent, if you wish. I welcome it. Peace and Freedom, Liz.
troester1039 3 years ago
Interesting.
Chuloloc 3 years ago
I think that if you were a Free Thinker, you'd probably become a great philosopher. For that you'd have original thoughts that are not copies, which means that your thoughts came from first hand experience, and clean from any flawed knowledge or lie...
I think that most people, or maybe even everyone could have free thoughts, if at the age 1, 2, 3 and up, their thought processes and mentalities wouldn't of been polluted by their parents', teachers, and others...
Abno6 3 years ago
One definition sees it (freethinker) as "differing from established belief". But our minds are social structures. We've taken a bit from all we have seen since we we've been children, and all subsequent thoughts are consequence of this structure, comprised of the established beliefs of those around us..no idea is ever completely original. Even the language with which we communicate - most every word we utter - are complete recreations. How are we to escape our foundations? Good musing.
Radivoi 3 years ago
Well done, son!! You should post this video to PatCondell. There are way too many "strong atheists" who know with certainty that there is no God - for which there is no proof but so is the claim of so-called "freethinkers" (tongue-in-cheek:).
me2super 3 years ago
Thanks for Thinking Freely about how to make a great video. You take others' ideas, blend them freely, to make something sharp, fresh and new.
Free thinking is never about being baggagefree--it's being aware of your baggage and being more selective about what you carry. Think gradients, not "paper or plastic".
InReasonWeTrust 3 years ago
there are lots of athiests on youtube interested in philosophy but if you beleive it all ends at death then why would philosophy be of interest?
Nicatroubadour 3 years ago
Why wouldn't it be?
Clutchology 3 years ago
I know atheists that believe in astrology or ghosts or "there is someone special out there for everybody". The scientific, free thinking atheist is a youtube stereotype. Atheists outside of Youtube are far more main stream than many want to think.
cavejourney 3 years ago 2
Very true.
Clutchology 3 years ago
I think the term freethinker surfaced when someone denied that which was considered right or common, but in depth, a free thinker really doesn't exist.
doctoridiculous 3 years ago
I disagree about 90%... I believe that it does exist. I also believe that you can become one with a lot of practice, devotion, and motivation.
Abno6 3 years ago
I have had simular thoughts the term "Free thinker"
Imo, I cannot control my thoughts.. No one can 100%..
Therefore how can you be a free thinker? I like to think I cannot help my thoughts...
thefakeyeti 3 years ago
This is another paradoxic thing... You're describing something that you are using to describe it...
What if our thoughts are controlled by us, but somewhat manipulated and handicapped by our physical minds? The brain. I often catch myself feeling bad for no apparent reason... WTF... I believe I can control my thoughts 100% I just can't control the FILTER on my thoughts...
It's like everyone's mind has a FILTER on it. And if it didn't, we'd be enlightened and would think perfectly,
MAYBE...
Abno6 3 years ago
labeling unlabelable labels with non-labels and unlabeling those.
Wait what??
intelligentfalling 3 years ago
Hmm.. Clutch, I'm having a hard time in understading this. Isnt a free thinker someone who does not accept nor reject ideas without turning to knowledge and information and reason; someone who tends to analyze things on their own, not simply going with the wave and following whatever other people say? Help me out.
Braindiscovering 3 years ago
That's probably the most common definition of it, but I've heard so many definitions it's really hard to pin it down to just one.
I'll try and help you out the best I can. This video was a bit equivocal. First I was talking about the "fluff atheist" definition (someone who is against religion). The second part, where I was talking about me, I was defining it as a person who comes to conclusions open mindedly, with reason and rationality, and free from influence, group pressure, etc.
Clutchology 3 years ago
Well, do you think you would be a free thinker [according to the definition I gave earlier]?
Why the urge to make a video telling other people you are not a free thinker?
Braindiscovering 3 years ago
I want to be, and I think we should all try to be, but I couldn't say that I was and be truly honest with myself.
Lol, never try to guess the urges behind making the videos that I do. I barely even know them myself!
But if I had to guess in retrospect, probably because I felt people apply the term to themselves too quickly and was encouraging a little self-reflection through using myself as an example.
Clutchology 3 years ago
Lol, that's what I thought. You always try to do that: encourage people to reflect.
I enjoyed your video and your words, understood now. Thanks ;)
Braindiscovering 3 years ago
I personally reject the term free thinker. Because even if they look at the knowledge, reasons, and information..
They cannot completely control what their feelings/logic dictate to them..
Ie. You cannot freely believe that the sky is purple for instance. We pretty much HAVE to believe it is blue.
thefakeyeti 3 years ago
Here is where I come in and say, "if being a free thinker goes that deep and is THAT different from everything, then it shouldn't even be discussed because it's so out there, that it has no place in human mentality... A Free thinker can exist, depending on what YOU believe a free thinker is! ;)
Abno6 3 years ago
Ah..ok, I promise =o) I won't call you a freethinker if it worries you..
=o)
Paxmax 3 years ago
Thought is the only thing in which we are free. I have thought about all kinds of crazy shit. We can be manipulated, and all thoughts are repackaging. I am a free thinker.
daswann14 3 years ago
Homoerotic nonsense.
Fuzzybollax 3 years ago
"Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that beliefs should be formed on the basis of science and logic and should not be influenced by emotion, authority, tradition, or any dogma."
That seems to sum up what I thought freethinking is. I tend to think that only Dr. Spock or computers are truly freethinkers. However regarding factual positive claims it is fully possible to be a freethinker, just not with normative values.
Xorinite 3 years ago
Hooray for Clutchology not having a shirt on! :D So damn sexy!
Illuxx777 3 years ago 3
Lol! Where would my videos be without the sex appeal? ;)
Clutchology 3 years ago
I agree. We are carbon based robots. Free will is a lie. We act based on how we are programmed to act + our environment + our history. Time happens one way. We don't choose what we do, we just do it, and we can't take it back. Free thinking is just a difference in programming, so I believe it exists.
Illuxx777 3 years ago
I view the phrase "free thinker" as a sort of fluff phrase for "atheist". That's what I use it for anyways. I have a little label of "free thinker" taped to my monitor because if I had "atheist" or, Christ forbid, "anti-theist" (what I really want to put up) taped there, my family, especially my grandmother, would have a collective stroke.
PheenixTears420 3 years ago
Personally, I prefer 'sceptic' for that sort of term. Using freethinker like that carries too many discriminatory connotations for my own liking.
Clutchology 3 years ago
Hey man are you Buddhist?
Malasubidude 3 years ago
No. Buddhism isn't really 'my thing'.
Clutchology 3 years ago
Oh well, you don't seem to need it! You're awesome man!
Malasubidude 3 years ago
Profound thoughts, Clutch. We kinda think on a similar level in this case... and I can't tell you how many times people have told me I think too much! lol :-) I'm not sure why, but in some parts, you kinda remind me of John Lennon in how he might address this sort of thing. Very cool video! Well done.
autumnzephyr 3 years ago
Very nicely done Cluch, this realization that our thoughts are pieced together collections of others thoughts is true and inescapable. Even great minds like Einstein's built upon those who came before. Realisations like this are a step forward into greater awarness of oneself.
traog 3 years ago
even words are just kind of gestures or shortcuts of meanings... within one named language (eg. english) we speak many unnamed languages which here and there looks like term hijacking... you need to know an individual to some extent to understand him... you need to know your (un)intended audience to develop your shortcuts: expressions that are not boring yet they dont cause unwanted attention... quite tricky, huh?... to change your color to reflect context need not to be a sign of dishonesty...
neskuma 3 years ago
There's a sequence of words that you can flash across the screen and it will uniformly lead up to "blue hammer" or some other color-tool pairing. This is a trick of psychology which a real cynic can learn and resist. I now default to orange screwdriver whenever I start to see a sequence.
goneutt 3 years ago
This had to be one of the most candid, open and honest things I have seen on youtube. You've set a new standard.
I wouldn't want to bog you down with a label but I think you have the makings of a very notable philosopher. Would you accept the term deep thinker?
pakratmak 3 years ago 2
You are easily impressed. Thinking is free. Knowledge is priceless. He is lacking knowledge. Not his fault. Ed
BonelessSausage 3 years ago
That I cannot argue with. We are all lacking knowledge.
I'd be reluctant to accept 'deep thinker', and I wouldn't apply the term to myself, but I wouldn't have a huge problem with it. Personally, I just prefer plain old 'thinker'.
Clutchology 3 years ago
awesome video. made me think.
RyanLVMetal88 3 years ago 2
When society rejects you, you will find the mind of a free thinker
ThisBoyTV 3 years ago
to clutch: I'm not saying that I think you are a freethinker, but ask yourself this:
All those books you read; Do you stop after say, a paragraph and think to yourself about what was written and then think perhaps 'no, I don't agree'/'good point, but...'/'yes, I've thought about it and I agree'?
kentmage 3 years ago
I do try to, and I make a conscious effort to do so whenever I read a book or watch a lecture/video etc. But I must admit that I don't always accomplish it.
Clutchology 3 years ago
hey, nobody's perfect ;) anyway, how are your exams goin'?
kentmage 3 years ago
Lol, no, but we try to be ;)
Oh, the exams? They ended around the time I made the 'Clutch Is Great - 100' video. I have absolutely no idea how well they went. We have to go in and get the results on Thursday, so I guess I'll find out then.
Clutchology 3 years ago
oh no. I've heard about that idiot who's trying to copy your account as 'clotchologie' with 'IE' on the end. You should tell everyone about that idiot so we can swamp him...
kentmage 3 years ago
I considered it, but he's really not worth the time. He's been bothering me like that for months. Up until now I've ignored him.
I think he has De Clerambault syndrome. He'd probably interpret a video of my telling everyone to swamp him as my way of saying that I secretly love him. That's how their logic works.
Clutchology 3 years ago
im suprised this is the same person who was in the first video of you i watched, Your a deep thinker, it seems like we are in an age where people are becoming more aware of the powers that control us, the way we live our lives, the way we think and why. im very impressionable myself and i understand where you are coming from, i try not to be a sheep but i dont think i have a choice in the matter.
wesleyjames81 3 years ago
"im very impressionable myself and i understand where you are coming from, i try not to be a sheep but i dont think i have a choice in the matter."
That sums up pretty much exactly where I'm coming from. Thank you.
Clutchology 3 years ago
cont/ obviously any philosophy taken to it's ultimate level is flawed. So most terms we give are relative unless the person in question has taken things too far...
kentmage 3 years ago
I admire your channel and I've given this 5/5 for a good starting point on this issue. But sorry, I don't agree. I am not going to take the position that this necessitates anything approaching war over. But, no. Being a free-thinker is NOT vague. It does not mean I believe in free will. I don't. It means I am willing to question my own or any other position. Not just simply accept whatever's been told to me. Like most of brokensaints comments but a free thinker can be cooperative...
kentmage 3 years ago
Interesting!
yassau 3 years ago
To me a free thinker has to be a person who only has original thoughts and nothing else, also only he/she can not have followers because now your in a group which is group think. This is next to impossible. Carl Marx, for an example, developed the idea of socialism. But his ideas had to stem from other peoples ideas, he just had to collect the others ideas and mix them. For ideas do not come out of thin air. So basically thoughts and ideas are just collections of other's thoughts and ideas.
Br0k3nS41nt 3 years ago
(cont.) Also as he said the world could not survive with everyone a free thinker. No one could have a coherent thought and no one would work together at all. Nothing would be accomplished and we would die. Yes there are some 1 in a million free thoughts out there. But, no one can be a total free thinker.
Br0k3nS41nt 3 years ago
You may be confusing freedom of thought with the ability to generate a completely original idea.
The ability to freely choose among already existing, even institutionalized ideas, isn't that "being a free thinker"?
I can't recall ever learning exactly what is meant by "free thinker" but to take literally, to decline to attempt to be one seems...destructive, defeatist, anti-social. All the thoughts you will ever have are determined by the thoughts you were introduced to as a child fine?
totallybarefoot 3 years ago
No, no. It's not declining attempting to be one. I strive to be one, but also admit that currently I am not. I try to be one, I am just saying that I am NOT one. There is a difference.
And I'm not confusing it with originality or any extreme either. I'm well aware of what I am saying.
Clutchology 3 years ago
I think you missed the word absolute.
You are a free thinker judging by your videos but absolute objective thought is impossible, no point in clinging to that fact.
At first I thought this is a joke or a satire. Too much drama and overacting for this subjective mind.
Don't take this the wrong way, I'm just trying to influence you ;)
dnoohi 3 years ago
"You are a free thinker judging by your videos"
My videos represent little about me. People seem to identify me with that group based on outward appearances, but I'm not a freethinker and never have been. I'm not aiming at 'absolute objective thought', I'm aiming at a realistic standard, but I do not achieve it, and I know I don't. I'm simply passing the knowledge on to those who misjudge me.
Clutchology 3 years ago
That is a sin against your own race.
DirtyOutlander 3 years ago
You're beginning to point your finger flashbuilding. As an atheist it should be the one thing you're against. I think you are confusing philosophy with fortune tellers. We as humans are indeed looking for the answer by fact, not just some dream or fantasy. Sometimes you have to go back to start and break the equation into it's simplest terms. Problem is, we don't know where start is. By eliminating all guesses and opinions you have ended the quest for knowledge.
DirtyOutlander 3 years ago
Look guys, it just pains me to see so many tubers wasting time on things people have spoken of for centuries, lets move on already.
Everything he is saying screams to me that he is lost along with anyone else that tries to separate himself from the pack
flashbuilding 3 years ago
'Everything he is saying screams to me that he is lost along with anyone else that tries to separate himself from the pack'
-so, basically, I'm lost from your imaginary shepherd because I like to be myself and not just another one of you?
bl4ckd0g187 3 years ago
"-so, basically, I'm lost from your imaginary shepherd because I like to be myself and not just another one of you?"
Not quite, he's just being extremely quick to judge (as his irony-drenched comments on philosophy also show). If he'd watched any of my other 100+ videos before making that comment he would have stopped and thought about what my intentions behind it actually were, and it's nothing to do with 'finding myself', 'being lost' or 'separating myself from any pack'.
Clutchology 3 years ago
indeed. I really don't think it has anything to do with being lost, but people like that seem to think that their way is the only way, and so the rest of us are inherently lost.
bl4ckd0g187 3 years ago
bl4ckd0g: How scary is it when you find that most folks believe that thinking for oneself = lost? I suppose we'd better go out and grab a prefabricated belief/lifestyle off of the shelf so you can 'belong'.
proteanview 3 years ago
does anarcho-marxism count? either way, I think I'll just stay 'lost'.
bl4ckd0g187 3 years ago
bl4ck: You, Clutch & I need to go to rehab for thinking too much.
proteanview 3 years ago
maybe. but I still don't see how I'm lost for not joining someone's fruity little club. and that's really all it is; they're part of a group, and that makes them feel better about themselves. religion in a nutshell.
bl4ckd0g187 3 years ago
I really don't think it's a waste of time.
People enjoy philosophy and debating. Surely that's a good enough reason.
RozeekNrubdoog 3 years ago 2
Philosophy is non-provable, personal, and therefore useless banter. That is why I say that people who philosophize are asleep. Open philosophy has hurt society for many centuries.
Your personal journey to understand who you are as a being, means you are lost.
Science and real discovery usually have nothing to do with philosophers and lost sheep.
flashbuilding 3 years ago
religion is non-provable, personal, and therefore useless banter. That is why I say that people who pray to fairies are asleep. Open religion has hurt society for many centuries.
Your personal journey to suck jesus's cock, means you are lost.
Science and real discovery usually have nothing to do with religions and lost sheep.
bl4ckd0g187 3 years ago
Great words...
smiley4ever2010 3 years ago
Atheists are just bigots who hate religion.
Odinswulf 3 years ago
That's jumping the gun a bit, don't you think? Sure, *some* atheists are like that, just as *some* theists are closed-minded, ignorant, intolerant Bible-bashers. But that doesn't mean ALL theists are like that, not even most. The same applies to atheists too.
Clutchology 3 years ago
"Atheists are just bigots who hate religion."
Theists are bigots who make some Atheists
hate religion for good reasons, like
oppression of Atheistic rights.
godverdegodverdomme 3 years ago 4
'Theists are bigots who make some Atheists
hate religion for good reasons, like
oppression of Atheistic rights.'
-and yet, they claim to be the oppressed and persecuted ones.........? are they insane? or just retarded?
bl4ckd0g187 3 years ago
willingness or lack there of to change ones way of thinking....... Have you in your thought life ever open endedely asked the universe to reveal to you the existance of God? Hve you ever asked for God to reaveal himself to you, with humility and with an earnest desire to obtain a true answer?
troester1039 3 years ago
Yep. Nothing happened.
Clutchology 3 years ago
5 stars best on youtube
crazycaupp 3 years ago
You make an excellent point there. I guess I would be described as both a freethinker and not. I except some things, and others I do not. I think everyone's like that. There are some things people will expect because someone said so, and then some things they will not.
xXVoiceOfThePeopleXx 3 years ago
I loved this video. My meaning of free thinker is the ability to look outside ones accepted views, and the willingness to change. I know that it's still based and what we hear and see, how we were shaped as people, but I tend to push aside those biological and environmental factors because there is little we can do about them. That's just my thoughts. Loved the video however.
GivettheGAS 3 years ago 2
Freethinking means freedom from thought.
WorBlux 3 years ago
I enjoyed this, its 7:30am and this made my day already.
Thank you 5/5
offsideandy 3 years ago
I suppose it's how you look at it using the word 'free thinker'. I know what you're saying. I think though that we recognise that word in the context of absence from religious practice, which is limited and based on rules and strict regulations, etc. Free thought is based on lack of these constraints.
Domzdream 3 years ago
Excellent video but a little less of the homoerotic posturing please! LOL
swansandtyphus 3 years ago
just for one day, throw all those labels out the f'n window and just be. If you can't just be, then just be human. all those thoughts are only in your head.
dannyknapp 3 years ago
I suppose for me the notion of a free thinker is intimately tied to the notion of an open mind. Free thought is an attempt to be rid of prior theories and see the canvas as blank for them. Now, ruining that, in Zen the term is "beginner's mind". Free thought can however take ideas and reassemble them into something new too. Given that humans think in duplicates of their senses, how free is any thought really ?
formless777 3 years ago
As an atheist, I will say that it is definitely possible for a religious person to be a free thinker. The normal term applied is "mystic", or in religious circles "heretic", "apostate", and "infidel", are also terms applied. I do credit that it is possible to have a mind so open that it continues to seem merit in arguments that others have summarily dismissed as crap. And sometimes they're right, and often they're wrong.
formless777 3 years ago
What's the opposite of free thinking? Propriety thinking! Only GPL nerds will laugh at that, and not even many of those.
GnosticDjinn 3 years ago
that's awsome clutch, love the video too, you should write a book on this stuff you know. I also do not believe in a god, beyond that, i do not catagorise myself further, this 'freethinker' term just seems to be a phrase to try and demeen theists even further
SnakeyEyesIsGOD 3 years ago
Free thinking means that you continually think. Free thinkers don't accept anything as absolute truth. Don't overcomplicate it. Free thinkers think freely.
Illuxx777 3 years ago 2
That's fine. I do not think freely, therefore I'm not a freethinker.
And that's a negative point on me, not freethinkers.
Clutchology 3 years ago
I think that most people label themselves as freethinkers in just a simple, practical way, in that it means that they can formulate their own ideas, not hold said ideas simply because they've been spewed fourth from the pulpit. Furthermore, I don't believe that if you share certain beliefs with the majority, it necessarily eliminates you from the label freethinker, just as long as you came to the certain beliefs through exercising your own cognitive facilities.
hickbilly0626 3 years ago
A theist cannot be a free thinker simply because they borrow every one of their thoughts from a fucking book. Atheists refuse to accept anything without any scientific evidence. Faith is an abomination to the human race. You know, the impulse for humans to blindly follow leaders comes from the "reptilian" layer of our brains. We should be using the evolved part of our brain in our thought processes, the cerebral cortex, not the core which controls impulsive and irrational behavior.
Danexfa 3 years ago
you need to really pin down those beliefs that cannot be true because of logical reasons or common sense, or scientific reasons. if you discard beliefs that you can debunk on your own, and if you search your own mind for such beliefs by trying to apply logic and reason whenever you can, then you are a freethinker. there might still be dragons. but you will probarbly discard them as soon as they become obvious, especially if you are connected to other freethinkers. thats enough.
kurtilein3 3 years ago
"Militant atheists"???
Unless you mean that firearms and/or other weapons of warfare are being used by atheists, you need to stop carelessly throwing this borrowed term around in your videos. As far as I'm concerned, once someone uses that phrase they've just invoked a variant of Godwin's Law and automatically forfeit the argument. Whenever I hear that fallacious hyperbole, I just tune out all the rest.
CrucieFiction 3 years ago
So you're correct about one thing -- you're not a freethinker. Otherwise, you would have been able to think it through on your own, and realized the zealous and erroneous nature of its use.
See
/watch?v=Y5OEocRp2wA
CrucieFiction 3 years ago
I saw that video, and agree with most of what he is saying. But I do regard people like the RRS, who feel theism is some sort of mental illness to be abolished, to be to some degree 'militant'. It's not any sort of hypocrisy. I also regard those theists who think atheism is satanic, immoral, etc and needs to be wiped out to be 'militant'. I just define it in terms of viewpoint (desire to completely abolish the opposition), not physical action, which is simply a means to that end.
Clutchology 3 years ago
Well that's pretty contradictory of you. And what you're doing is changing the meaning of the word to suit your agenda, which is exactly the abhorrently dishonest game theists/apologists play.
CrucieFiction 3 years ago
People can be very passionate in respect to an issue/opinion/belief for their own reasons -- good or bad.
In insisting upon using that word/phrase, you make yourself a cheat -- hitting below the belt in trying to destroy their reasons and credibility without so much as a fair hearing only because they are passionate. If I wanted to play your game, I'd call you a militant anti-passionist non-freethinker.
Here's another video on the topic
/watch?v=fOGNbpFjwdU
CrucieFiction 3 years ago
Well I did give that opinion a fair chance myself, but I can see how it would deter the outside observer and many others using the term from doing so. You raise some good points. I didn't think of that before. I admit now that I was wrong to use the term.
I suppose (activist) anti-theists and anti-atheists would be better terms for the opinions themselves. Thank you for putting it in a way which my non-freethinking brain can understand!
Clutchology 3 years ago
"...shouldn't it (freethinking) be based on one's thought processes and how they come to conclusions, not the conclusions themselves...and always willing to change?" ~ video
Be careful. With the type of reconsideration you just demonstrated, someone might bestow upon you that damnable label of freethinker when you're not looking.
Cheers!
CrucieFiction 3 years ago
In the era that we live, there is not much space to be a free thinker, if you do so, then you will be, and feel all alone, cause at list 90% of people are "programed" robots, but instead of feeling alone, try to teach others to be free! Then you wont be alone anymore, and you can be someone great!
ellasAZ 3 years ago
You expressed it succinctly. I feel different and weird due to the fact that I've always been an independent thinker. Many aspects of my life have benefited from free thought; unfortunately, not everyone has been open to my ideas and revelations, as they perceive them as a threat to the status quo.
antidote2010 3 years ago
Not a freethinker also despite my efforts...i think the media's main goal is to destroy freethinking, informing us on how to think, how to speak ,perception of ourselves etc...which by controlling our information intake, they control our thoughts....thus making it hard because there are too many variables to consider when formulating out thoughts.
jayrperiod 3 years ago
to be a freethinker in my opinion, ud have to ostracize yourself from the media and away from ignorance.
jayrperiod 3 years ago
godverdegodverdomme 3 years ago
Not exactly, because I am a human, but not a freethinker.
Clutchology 3 years ago
hey, i like this style. i'm going to do one of these (thus proving i am not thinking for myself, but inspired by the clutch).
excellent video,
adam
holybabble 3 years ago
Good vid! 5 *! The last part reminded me of the very last book of Samuel Clemens.
WhatIsNotSeen 3 years ago
I don't relate or identify.
Humankind cannot afford to ponder philosophy any longer. It is proven that is a tool used for manipulation. So the sooner we stop even talking about philosophy and start working at fixes for our society, the sooner more people will have better lives.
It's a lot of wasted energy on useless jabber.
flashbuilding 3 years ago
Sort of an oxymoron.
99Maic 3 years ago
"It's a lot of wasted energy on useless jabber."
Philosophy is a tool that can be used
for morally honorable goals, and morally
shameful goals.
As I view it, it is the tool that gives
birth to scientifical understanding.
It would be rather harsh to call that
useless jabber, don't you think ?
godverdegodverdomme 3 years ago
Without philosophy there would be no politics, no science, no morality, or any of those things people need to improve our society. They are all slaves to philosophy.
You can abolish philosophy if you like, but good luck progressing any further than the anarchistic vacuity that arises from it.
Clutchology 3 years ago
flashbuilding: "[...] the sooner we stop even talking about philosophy and start working at fixes for our society, the sooner more people will have better lives."
'Fixing' implies there is a lost functionality.
'Better' is determined by proximity towards an ideal.
Which function, for which ideal? That requires philosophy.
darktango78 3 years ago
You guys say that philosophy is necessary. Philosophy is simply non-provable theory. Just like anything else that is useless jabber. So ponder it all you like if it makes you feel special, but it does nothing for you in the long run in reality.
Just helps us to waste time and resources, you guys are all asleep and have no logic about you. Life is simple to understand, and very obvious.
flashbuilding 3 years ago
flashbuilding doesn't realise that without philosophy his statement is meaningless as it is an epistemological claim without an epistemology, and thus can be ignored.
With philosophy, however, it's self contradictory and can still be ignored.
He says philosophy is non-provable. True, but without philosophy there would be no 'provable' theories at all, as every theory or idea rests upon an epistemological basis, something which is philosophical by its nature.
ACArticulate 3 years ago
flashbuilding: "[Philosophy] just helps us to waste time and resources [...]"
'Waste' is a function of purpose.
To argue purpose is to philosophize.
darktango78 3 years ago
Science, discovery, and discussion are great. And you can nail down many things about it as law.
Philosophy is non-provable, personal, and therefore useless banter. That is why I say that people who philosophize are asleep. Open philosophy has hurt society for many centuries.
Your personal journey to understand who you are as a being, means you are lost.
flashbuilding 3 years ago
How did you come to your understanding?
darktango78 3 years ago
Philosophy is maybe useful as a personal thing, but as we have been talking and arguing about it for centuries, we have wasted and continue to waste valuable resources on fantasy thoughts that will not get proven, until someone can. Lots of time and energy is wasted on religion and philosophy.
Until then it is like arguing whether or not Paul Bunyon really existed as a giant or not. So like I said in the beginning, useless jabber.
flashbuilding 3 years ago
Flashbuilding, you're not answering the point I'm making.
To say it is useless or a waste implies you believe there is a purpose.
Uselessness (and its positive, usefulness) and waste (and its positive, efficiency), are definitionally dependent on purpose.
What is this global purpose which renders philosophy useless and how did you come to know it?
darktango78 3 years ago
"Just helps us to waste time and resources, you guys are all asleep and have no logic about you. Life is simple to understand, and very obvious."
Amazing how you managed to call us 'asleep'
and accuse us of having no logic,
while in the same breathe claiming life
is simple to understand and very obvious.
Sounds much like you're asleep,
rather then the lot of us.
godverdegodverdomme 3 years ago
I don't think he realises that he's taking the pragmatist position here, which is, oh so ironically, a philosophy in itself.
Basically put, there is no way he can say philosophy is useless without invoking philosophy itself. That he doesn't realise that shows me who the 'asleep' one, in fact, really is. The irony of it all truly amazes me.
Clutchology 3 years ago
Hiya Clutch, I noticed the basketball and I am wondering if they call you clutch for the same reasons they called Jerry West Mr. Clutch ;-)
Sometimes it's easier to tell people what we are not as compared to telling them what we are. Peace to you mate and Cheers!
NLPNVC 3 years ago
Indeed! That's where my nickname first got coined, in my basketball team taking late game shots and buzzer-beaters. I'm glad someone noticed!
Clutchology 3 years ago
A farmer and his neighbour came to a judge about a land disspute. The farmer complained that the neighbours sheep trampled his crops on the way to pasture.The judge said "You're right" The neighbour countered that his family had access rights to the pasture for generations. The judge said "You're right".The baliff said to the judge, "They can't both be right". The judge said "You're right" Who doesn't want to be right? Great vid "I think you are right Clutchology"
SaintCog 3 years ago
Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that beliefs should be formed on the basis of science and logic and should not be influenced by emotion, authority, tradition, or any dogma. The cognitive application of freethought is known as freethinking, and practitioners of freethought are known as freethinkers. It's hard to say any human is a freethinker. It would just be too difficult for us NOT to show emotion. I just don't think it's possible.
DirtyOutlander 3 years ago
"It's hard to say any human is a freethinker. It would just be too difficult for us NOT to show emotion. I just don't think it's possible."
I believe this is pretty doable through
sincere consideration, and honesty.
godverdegodverdomme 3 years ago
I think my education in psychology has made it impossible to call myself a freethinker. I know how incredibly easily influenced the human mind actually is (even down to the sort of room, or lack thereof, that we are in), especially when trying to make rational decisions. It is possible to be rational, but to be *purely* rational is harder than people think. Most of our rationality is in fact simple self-justification.
Clutchology 3 years ago
I agree. And I'll add something else. I believe the human mind is easily changed. Not by other people as much, but perhaps by a certain turn of events or an experience. More so when the human mind is young. Can rationality be taught though? Or is it instinct? Instinct does not qualify as an emotion.
DirtyOutlander 3 years ago
This really opened my eyes.
AddANumberToThis 3 years ago
To me, a freethinker is a person who doesn't constrict him/herself to one philosophy, religion, etc. It's a person who eventually goes back to questioning everything. Even if at first they let themselves become captive to a man's words, they return to reasonable skepticism.
You say you're not a freethinker, but that's based on your definition. If someone calls you a freethinker, don't forget that they're probably talking about something else.
p2umpkin 3 years ago
And how could they possibly call me one based on that definition? They have no idea what I think other than what I choose to show them, which isn't enough.
We can fool ourselves into thinking we are freethinkers when we aren't, but it's hard to do that the other way around. To me, by trying to contradict the statement "I'm not a freethinker", one is saying that they know more about what/how I think than I do, which sounds absurd.
Clutchology 3 years ago
A freethinker would be someone that can find where their thoughts come from. Our minds make connections in such bizare but rational ways. To think of yourself as a freethinker would in fact put you into a catagory. Most folks that believe themselves free thinkers are only spitting out in a new package something they have heard. So how would someone be a freethinker. I would have to say it is the person that sees both sides of an argument. Finds where they are the same and makes conclusions from
ShellySummers 3 years ago
there. How this would make a freethinker? The radical free thinking would be understanding the underlying truths.
ShellySummers 3 years ago
Excellent video!
Cimbolic 3 years ago
awesome video. I've never seen anybody tackle this subject before.
Kudakitsune 3 years ago
I'm an atheist too, btw. However, looking back, maybe I was just as stubborn as those Christian are.
After taking philosophy though, it made me realize there are so many side to any debate/idea. We mustn't disregard any hidden factor nor fall easily into a persuasion.
Kudakitsune 3 years ago
you think too much
revengeofcleveland 3 years ago
yeah, people are so stupid they think Christianity isnt free thinking
MUN7001 3 years ago
Freethinker is, I think somewhat similar to free man. I doesn't imply actual freedom or dissacociation from societal bonds, just the removal of the most abject of cognative fetters. A freethinker therefore would be someone who no matter how conformist they were still feels that changing their views will not condemn them to punishment. Much the same way as a person committed to serving some end is not a slave. Not because he will change but because he can.
thorungal 3 years ago
having said this I don't use the label myself, partly because I am, stricly speeking a determinist (althuough I'm also a compatablist ala Dan Dennett's "Freedom Evolves") and partly because the label associates me with views I don't hold. I use the term "A Bright" because at it's principle I hold that view. Freethinker in the common vernacular is to nebulous for my liking.
thorungal 3 years ago
La Ciencia Jovial, I love nihilism, gaya scientia, perhaps you're right, may be you are wrong, who has the last word? interesting issue, good quality video, sorry for the sound.
Scorpi0 3 years ago
It's fine. It's just a little higher in pitch, but it's still as clear as it was before.
Not really sure what caused it, though.
Clutchology 3 years ago
I'd rather being insecure, uninvited or undecided that to say that everything is absolute, since the only thing that is absolute in the humanity is that everything is relative, was in the habit of affirming August Comte.
Scorpi0 3 years ago
Sometimes people think freely and sometimes people fallow others. Maybe you just don't like labels.
johuth 3 years ago