I guess because some have experienced that asshole. And I'm not so conceited as to believe that just because I haven't, it's abandoning reason to believe they have. There is something I agree with you about, however. For those who don't believe, there is no doubt there will be nothing else.
I'm gonna use 6:20 sometime. I love that the brutality and cruelty of nature absolutly proves there is no benign god watching over us. only evolution can create such clever things...and clive barker!!!!!
@pageois So, you're suggesting it's better to believe in an afterlife "just in case" there is one? Well, damn me, I should start believing in everything I hear just in case it's true.
Problem is, then why not instead of fx. jesus, I go to islam. I mean islam's hell is pretty damn bad. So basically, all you're doing is "Oh wait, if there is a wrathful asshole in the sky who will throw me into a furnace for ALL ETERNITY, I better be good with him". That doesn't sound moral at all!
@acouragefann Not really. More a case of,"My relationship with that asshole in the sky is underscored by the way I treat other people. So I'll treat them the way I would want them to treat me". Can't really see how that fucks up the world.
@acouragefann I guess because some have experienced that asshole. And I'm not so conceited as to believe that just because I haven't, it's abandoning reason to believe they have. There is something I agree with you about, however. For those who don't believe, there is no doubt there will be nothing else.
@ottomoen No, its BECAUSE of them and people who follow them that the world is so fucked up as it is now, because these 'philosophers' where just propagandist/predictive programmers on the population. Just like all the so called wonderful 'geniuses' like Darwin and Edison. All full of shit, just frontmen.
@1madaboutguitar At first I was just going to slam that, but I took a look at your channel and read some of what you had written. And I agree with you on many points, but not here. A lot of "preachers" have been bad, mostly those inspired by Plato's ideas, but Aristotle and his ideas have been key for our race. Among modern philosophies/ideologies Capitalism is the only one who really lives up to those ideas, and that is what has brought about all these great things we take for granted
@ottomoen Lets respectfully disagree then (I so much prefer that).
All the things that people like Plato talked about for instance are happening in todays society is because we are living through a plan more then a thousands of years old. Human psychology hasn't evolved at all over a few thousand years but the science's that enable controllers of the world to dominate are more of a recent phenomenon. Religion served its purpose, now its a problem. So science and 'experts' become the new god.
@ottomoen Bertrand Russell, GBS, Darwin, Edison, H G Wells... were all essentially propagandists. NONE of their ideas where there own , it was just their job to SELL the ideas to the public. They we just salespeople. the real ideas came from behind the scenes i.e. social engineers out of public display. Everything all the above did was to present the ideas of the social engineers to the public in a way that would subconsciously sell.
For man to have evolved over thousands...millions of years you have to accept there is & has been natural morality within humans to nurture & care & protect & know right from wrong long before religion & deities where even considered, & a natural knowing of right from wrong without the need for a preecher of any kind really of any given religion.
The religious have no right to claim morality as part of their agenda. The most immoral acts through history have had religion in the pilots seat. Morality is a HUMAN quality not a religious quality.
@veganslayer1 Couldn't agree more, someone who does good things just because is far better than someone who does them out of fear of a god and who is chasing reward.
@veganslayer1 Precisely. Humanity created religion anyway. The worse part, though, is how they want us to live by the social standards of two to six thousand years ago.
@veganslayer1 Morality is the dogma of religion. The non-religious equivalent of doing what is right is called Ethics. Anyway you're essentially right but, there is a difference.
@funkyfranx Morals pertain to the 10 commandments and nothing more. ethics could be something more personal like, (example) vegetarians not eating meat because its cruelty to animals.
@Saitothesushi The word 'ethics' is "commonly used interchangeably with 'morality' ... and is used more narrowly to mean the moral principles of a particular tradition, group, or individual." Likewise, certain types of ethical theories, especially deontological ethics, sometimes distinguish between 'ethics' and 'morals'
@Saitothesushi "Although the morality of people and their ethics amounts to the same thing, there is a usage that restricts morality to systems such as that of kant, based on notions such as duty, obligation, and principles of conduct, reserving ethics for the more Aristotelian approach to practical reasoning, based on the notion of a virtue.
There's really no such thing as morality that comes from God. It comes from human moral consciousness. I know a lot of religious people would refer to the 10 commandments coming from God but c'mon think about: it was a set of laws given to Moses...up on a mountain...where no one was around.
@JohanStarDragon well yes though "nihilistic" is just a broader term. unbelief reffers dirctly to belief nihilisism depends on what you are nihilistic towards. Don't try to be a smartypants :p
@JohanStarDragon ah, I see, I thought you were trying to turn the phrase, sort of speak. but yes, unbelief is completely nihilistic, to be completely precise unbelief is theistic nihilistism (I'm no major of latin so my latin grammar there might be a bit off but you get the idea) :)
@tore650 Yeah that does make more sense than total nihilism where you basically have no beliefs in anything which can be pretty tricky because even if it isn't God or a religion there are principles one can believe in some form or another. So to be a true and complete nihilist you'd pretty much have to be dead, don't you think?
You do not need a bent nose and a posh accent to understand these things. (As much as I admire S. Fry and his command of the english language.) The average right thinking person who has the remotest respect for the natural world would truly empathise.
We still understand nothing about the natural world. Electrons, protons, neutrinos and such raise questions of their own that we don't understand/know the answer to.
@TheColaGoodfellow We actually understand a great deal about the natural world. Electrons, protons, neutrinos and such have been discovered through rigorous application of the scientific method, and greater knowledge of them shall be gained through application of that same method. God is quite irrelevant in this field, providing no information about electrons, protons or neutrinos.
Saying we've now explained everything (or even anything) is like the ancients saying "We know how things work, we're held to the earth, the sun moves through the sky, we lvie on food and some liquids"
Without an explanation as to why electrons and such work like they do, we're no better off than them not knowing why the sun moves across the sky.
@hunterpeterson81095 The thing that disgust me most about the so-called LGBT rights movement is that make it out as if they are to be treated like a completely different class of human being simply because of their sexuality and should be treated differently because of it.. Whatever happened to regarding everyone as a human being equally regardless of race or sexual orientation etc.
It's an overgeneralization to say that faith takes away from the fulness of mortal life. There are many religions which have incredibly rich traditions that cannot be fully appreciated unless partaken in. These traditions, mind you, may also be intricately interwoven in an abundant intellectual heritage as well. Take Catholicism, for instance... ;-)
@hunterpeterson81095 The study I read was certainly not without flaws, as are all studies. BUT the rate of sexual orientation, race, and sex does not change from religious to non-religious. So such suicide types would be equal with both groups. Just like most straight people are religious, most gay people are religious. To suggest that those reasons are likely the cause ignores that both groups have both. Atheism didn't CAUSE it, a lack of fear of punishment after death did.
Homosexual activists understand the power of words.
Please visit my channel to watch a one-minute video clip in which popular atheist author Richard Dawkins admits that homosexual activists "hijacked the word 'gay'".
The word "homosexual" is more appropriate and accurate because it, unlike the word "gay", actually describes the behavior/attraction/relationship being discussed.
The word "gay" helps homosexual activists push their agenda.
@nathan0dts He's one of the finest minds of our time. He chooses to, deems it clearer communication to be funny. So yes, he can be an absolute hoot, but can quite hold his own in erudite company. See QI (Brit game show) for examples.
Sorry but this has NO basis in reality. Statistics show that Atheists have a higher rate of suicide than religious people. So obviously you aren't living a fuller life, many end up seeing it as an end, and an easy way to get out of the world's troubles.
@pcgamernum1 that's like saying all blacks are dumber than whites or asians because the race as a whole has a lower IQ on average. like stephen i'm most definitely living a fuller life since i disavowed catholicism and became an atheist, but i can't speak for any other atheists.. that's his only mistake.
@0ntology Not when i'm countering a statment that says atheism is the way to live a happier life. I am not denying it is true for some people, but the man stated it as a fact, and evidence suggest the OPPOSITE is more often true than that. So he is preaching the exception to the rule not the rule and thus LIEING.
@pcgamernum1 i wouldn't call it lying, he's just wrong on a generalization he made. he's speaking about himself first and foremost and in that case it's true. it's probably true for most of the nontheists in his circles too, but i doubt he'd deny statistics from a study done by a reputable source if he was faced with it. i just don't think he's trying to be devious or anything!
@0ntology I can accept that logic. TO ME it sounded as if he was making a generalizing statement that to me was an attack on many people's belief. (Be it in a round about way).
I half agree. I agree that we should live as if there is no afterlife - to live like this is 'the last day of our life' and really Carpe diem as it were. However, I am unable to believe that there is no after life. I must admit that that idea is simply too terrifying for me. I cannot imagine being nothing.
Philosophy to my way of thinking is not about knowing the answer, it's more the questioning of the dogma that we accept as reality. “Am I how I see my self, or... am I shaped by the thoughts and understanding of those around me”.
the basis of knowing was established by Socrates (as described by Aristotle) to be that we know little compared to what there is to know and even the little we know we cannot be completely sure of...this allows us to break free...otherwise we become "the prisoner of our own ideas" (Einstein quote)...Fry is great but try as he might he is not that great which i am sure after reading his books, he would agree with...but not completely sure
Just A Comedian? That needs correcting. Writer, Actor, Director, Critic, Journalist, philosopher, commedian, TV Presenter, Football Director and front line atheist.
Also, it's extremely arrogant how he dismisses "eastern things like buddhism" and anything involving "spirit" as non-philosophies. Theres a staggering wealth of philosophy in the vedic texts that led to these movements in some way or another. Just an example, take the Yoga Sutra by Patanjali. There are at least 3 words with distinctly defined meanings which we could only translate as "consciousness". It's a religious, even mystical text but it is also a sophisticated philosophy of mind.
Ok, however much I respect Stephen Fry as a person, I find that his conviction is extremely centered on anglo-american philosophical notions. He might do lip service to certain European classics of philosophy but his stance towards them is not very openminded. Many of the philosophers he mentions do actually prescribe ways of life. He also seems to simply ignore theological arguments such as the sin-cursed world, total corruption etc... Which are inherently philosophical btw...
@wishcraft4u2 He's very open minded, and he has this ABSOLUTELY right. He ignores theological arguments, because there's no proof anyway for God, and therefor they're invalid; and usually do more harm than good.
@alexpjp absolutely right about what exactly... About ignoring theological arguments? Or other things as well?
Anyways, he seems to be discussing theological arguments all the time. e.g. here it's his monotheism makes no sense rant, a theological argument and a rather poor one.
Non-religious myself, I take issue with the vulgar dismissal of the philosophical value of theology. A lot of religious ideas about the human spirit obviously still apply regardless wether gods exist or not.
i was once stopped in the street by someone preaching christianity to me. i told him i don't believe but he pressed on at me with all the usual stuff stephen referenced like moral guidance and such so i mentioned how we don't need god to be good. i told him i help where i can and so do others who don't believe and then he said 'but that's in service to yourself, not in service to god'. how dare he question my motives. besides altruism is in the service of those receiving it really, not god
@TheBen0101 I agree with everything you said except the last sentence. Altruism can (is?) also be selfish. Put another way. It can be as much about making us feel good for giving than the actual good the giving does. Not that i doubt your motives. Or would wish that other people didn't give to worthwhile charities. I guess Stephen brings out the philosopher in us (me?).
@InsidiousBlackOps this is true. but then you have to question why giving makes us feel good in the first place. i think most people naturally want to help and this is why you'll feel better saving a baby from a burning building than you would from sticking 2p in a help the aged charity box. i think the satisfaction of giving may just be a response to make us help. you'd be more inclined to help if you got something out of it (even just a warm feeling) but it's still helping..
Reading into some of these past comments, I'm wondering if these "Christians" are familiar with their own scriptures and peoples. I read something of God in the Old Testament being referred to as loving and forgiving. God was wrathful and murderous to "sinners" who used his gift of freewill. Christianity is such a joke. So many of its celebratory practices are based on Pagan lore. Easter/Ishtar, the use of a Christmas Tree, and so many other contradictions and misconceptions.
@1000Zelkova yupp, I decided it was BS when I was a kid and eventually I was excused from Sunday School because I questioned too much :D Damn me for being logical and pointing out errors hey?
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
It's great, isn't it, how this opinionated and egotistical man can suddenly make himself an "expert" on any subject he wants. To his tiresome and self-inflated views, I say a resounding "Yawn"!
@vocalissimo1 yes, citing philosophers and accurately explaining their essays doesn't at all prove he's studied philosophy more than your average person.
I love the fact that whilst I watch The importance of unbelief, my advert from Youtube is 'eTeacher Biblical - Learn BIBLICAL HEBREW online with the Holy Land's best teachers'
all beliefs and norms are human constructs. all of humanity's vices such as religion and social normality just create illusions to hide the fact that life has no point. as Marx said, religion is the opium of the people.
There is an assumption that "my perception is the absolute."
- "well it's obvious, worm in lamb's eye is horrible, he and she think the same thing"
What about infinity? Maybe it's a wonderful process needed to balance this variable and that variable out. Or maybe the lamb has no real consciousness to percieve this so called evil. etc. What is evil anyway? Does it exist on its own? Or is something propping it up?
I personally believe humanbeings need an ultimate authority that has a plan, humans need plans at every level of their being to get anything done, people can't stand the idea that we became what we are through no other reason than our enviroment and interaction with other creatures. the same can be said of the afterlife, if this is it there is no ultimate justice for all the horrors we create here.we need the idea that you will be rewarded for your actions or punished in the end
@gaiathedragonmaster While I genuinely respect that you've thought this out for yourself, I couldn't disagree more. Maybe you feel you need all of that stuff to regulate your thoughts and behavior, but not everyone does; moreover, there are millennia of fear-based (including afterlife) "authority" and we see the results--absolute dysfunction. The controlled-by-fear paradigm simply doesn't work...never has...
@tvswnet while i admit having a plan is a good thing its simply what i've observed from people's behaviour. i made a mistake including myself as it has been made clear by my peers my outsider status. It is likely my view is skewed because the people i mainly see are those that feel that need, while i appreciate christianity's base message the way that message has been used and corrupted by people is appalling, it seems whenever there is a good idea people get involved and mess it up
@TeaKettleBBQ The path believes in no gods, or at least with the Theravadan. There is nothing permanent. There is an old teaching that speaks of the possibility of intelligence developing before humans on earth and that such beings, if they exist, may have the delusion of god-hood. But this is just an intellectual exercise and nothing more.
@wks1978 you do realise Stephen Fry isn't the only famous person who's opinion is valued right, because people value the ideas and opinions of figures everywhere not just Fry
one's views are not an opinion when there's empirical evidence one way or the other. The nature of religious faith is inherently unprovable, ergo no one's opinion really matters because it's all guesswork and dogma
@strayebyrd Nevertheless an opinion must be formed as to whether to accept or reject the hypothesis based on the evidence.
We do not need to prove to ourselves that we need to eat when we are hungry or sleep when we are tired. These are the basic evolved instincts of every animal.
The notion of an afterlife seems to be one which human beings have tended to unconditionally believe throughout the 200,000 year history of Homo Sapiens.
We're not going to agree and I've run out of space here so I
I think what Stephen is trying to say is that one should always make a distinction between spirituality (in the broadest sense) and established religion.
omg 14 min!!!! I'm outta here
isupposably 12 hours ago
He quoted Kipling. LET ME LOVE YOU.
Rayne474 3 days ago
If there were a god he would want us to be better spirited than to take his word for evertything
-stephen fry
hes a fucking genious
abbonent 4 days ago
I can say for certain that if "I" were God...I would be very, very unpleasant...especially when dealing with my Ex-Wife. Rawr!
Prometheus1st 1 week ago
Once Steve twitched his nose and I noticed how horribly bent to the left it was I couldn't pay attention to what he was saying anymore.
Poor man. That must have hurt getting kicked in the face by a horse/donkey. :/
Prometheus1st 1 week ago
Stephen Fry you are damn smart.
leelue7 1 week ago in playlist Favorite videos
he was doing so well until he said 'the dalai lama seems charming'.
benedictdegwyn 2 weeks ago
wow... extremely well spoken, tactic, articulate and a true intellectually curious human being
NUGNESS123 2 weeks ago
Importance of a nose job varies...
hearv888 2 weeks ago
God has created such an intelligent man, he is blessed. Only joking :P
crazypianolady 3 weeks ago 8
@crazypianolady
Man, you had me for a second
leelue7 2 weeks ago
He should've said at 13.06, Trevor Huddleston, and two, tutu too!
101truthhurts 3 weeks ago
I guess because some have experienced that asshole. And I'm not so conceited as to believe that just because I haven't, it's abandoning reason to believe they have. There is something I agree with you about, however. For those who don't believe, there is no doubt there will be nothing else.
pageois 3 weeks ago
I'm gonna use 6:20 sometime. I love that the brutality and cruelty of nature absolutly proves there is no benign god watching over us. only evolution can create such clever things...and clive barker!!!!!
drumduder 3 weeks ago
Of course, he'll never know if he's right about no afterlife. Only if he's wrong. And eternity is a BAD thing to be wrong about.
pageois 3 weeks ago
@pageois So, you're suggesting it's better to believe in an afterlife "just in case" there is one? Well, damn me, I should start believing in everything I hear just in case it's true.
JuanpiVisceraEyes 3 weeks ago 3
@JuanpiVisceraEyes No. I'm suggesting he'll never know if he's right - only if he's wrong. And it's a bad thing to be wrong about.
pageois 3 weeks ago
@pageois
pascals wager?
Problem is, then why not instead of fx. jesus, I go to islam. I mean islam's hell is pretty damn bad. So basically, all you're doing is "Oh wait, if there is a wrathful asshole in the sky who will throw me into a furnace for ALL ETERNITY, I better be good with him". That doesn't sound moral at all!
acouragefann 3 weeks ago
@acouragefann Not really. More a case of,"My relationship with that asshole in the sky is underscored by the way I treat other people. So I'll treat them the way I would want them to treat me". Can't really see how that fucks up the world.
pageois 3 weeks ago
@pageois
then why even think of that asshole in the sky? Why not just treat others in a decent manner and thats it?
acouragefann 3 weeks ago
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@acouragefann I guess because some have experienced that asshole. And I'm not so conceited as to believe that just because I haven't, it's abandoning reason to believe they have. There is something I agree with you about, however. For those who don't believe, there is no doubt there will be nothing else.
pageois 3 weeks ago
So basically Stephen Fry admires a bunch of elitist psychopaths throughout history... didn't watch the rest...
1madaboutguitar 3 weeks ago
@1madaboutguitar Without most of them you would still be living in a cave
ottomoen 3 weeks ago
@ottomoen No, its BECAUSE of them and people who follow them that the world is so fucked up as it is now, because these 'philosophers' where just propagandist/predictive programmers on the population. Just like all the so called wonderful 'geniuses' like Darwin and Edison. All full of shit, just frontmen.
1madaboutguitar 3 weeks ago
@1madaboutguitar At first I was just going to slam that, but I took a look at your channel and read some of what you had written. And I agree with you on many points, but not here. A lot of "preachers" have been bad, mostly those inspired by Plato's ideas, but Aristotle and his ideas have been key for our race. Among modern philosophies/ideologies Capitalism is the only one who really lives up to those ideas, and that is what has brought about all these great things we take for granted
ottomoen 3 weeks ago
@ottomoen Lets respectfully disagree then (I so much prefer that).
All the things that people like Plato talked about for instance are happening in todays society is because we are living through a plan more then a thousands of years old. Human psychology hasn't evolved at all over a few thousand years but the science's that enable controllers of the world to dominate are more of a recent phenomenon. Religion served its purpose, now its a problem. So science and 'experts' become the new god.
1madaboutguitar 3 weeks ago
@ottomoen Bertrand Russell, GBS, Darwin, Edison, H G Wells... were all essentially propagandists. NONE of their ideas where there own , it was just their job to SELL the ideas to the public. They we just salespeople. the real ideas came from behind the scenes i.e. social engineers out of public display. Everything all the above did was to present the ideas of the social engineers to the public in a way that would subconsciously sell.
1madaboutguitar 3 weeks ago
lock as in sean lock
beepboopbeep100 3 weeks ago
The audio guy should be shot.
TheCraich 3 weeks ago
I always think god loves the Athiests most. They know freedom of thought and advance the world most.
stealthyspider 3 weeks ago
For man to have evolved over thousands...millions of years you have to accept there is & has been natural morality within humans to nurture & care & protect & know right from wrong long before religion & deities where even considered, & a natural knowing of right from wrong without the need for a preecher of any kind really of any given religion.
HermanTheNinja 3 weeks ago
"WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW?!"
hahaha xD
OMGtechy 3 weeks ago
The religious have no right to claim morality as part of their agenda. The most immoral acts through history have had religion in the pilots seat. Morality is a HUMAN quality not a religious quality.
veganslayer1 3 weeks ago 82
@veganslayer1 Couldn't agree more, someone who does good things just because is far better than someone who does them out of fear of a god and who is chasing reward.
evidesmc 2 weeks ago
@veganslayer1 Precisely. Humanity created religion anyway. The worse part, though, is how they want us to live by the social standards of two to six thousand years ago.
Yey.
fabaum22 1 week ago
@veganslayer1 Morality is the dogma of religion. The non-religious equivalent of doing what is right is called Ethics. Anyway you're essentially right but, there is a difference.
Mimzson 6 days ago
@Mimzson
I think you'll find there's not.
funkyfranx 6 days ago
@funkyfranx Morals pertain to the 10 commandments and nothing more. ethics could be something more personal like, (example) vegetarians not eating meat because its cruelty to animals.
Mimzson 6 days ago
@Mimzson Morals and ethics have a synonymous meaning.
Saitothesushi 5 days ago
@Saitothesushi The word 'ethics' is "commonly used interchangeably with 'morality' ... and is used more narrowly to mean the moral principles of a particular tradition, group, or individual." Likewise, certain types of ethical theories, especially deontological ethics, sometimes distinguish between 'ethics' and 'morals'
Mimzson 4 days ago
@Mimzson Pretty much what I was gonna type. Anyway, my point was that morality is not a Catholic word.
Saitothesushi 4 days ago
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Mimzson 4 days ago
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@Saitothesushi "Although the morality of people and their ethics amounts to the same thing, there is a usage that restricts morality to systems such as that of kant, based on notions such as duty, obligation, and principles of conduct, reserving ethics for the more Aristotelian approach to practical reasoning, based on the notion of a virtue.
Mimzson 4 days ago
There's really no such thing as morality that comes from God. It comes from human moral consciousness. I know a lot of religious people would refer to the 10 commandments coming from God but c'mon think about: it was a set of laws given to Moses...up on a mountain...where no one was around.
(Re: George Carlin's 10 commandments video)
ThePhantom135 4 weeks ago
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ThePhantom135 4 weeks ago
I love to listen to this man speak :)
Hatoflegends 4 weeks ago
Stephen, you are such a gangster!!!
biotexUK 4 weeks ago
The title. Isnt it "disbelief"?
Yaguacho 4 weeks ago
@Yaguacho I'm not sure but I think disbelief is a belief that contradicts another whereas unbelief is not believing anything (on that point).
NelSpringrose 4 weeks ago
@Yaguacho belief = believing in something
disbelief = believing it's not true
unbelief = don't believ in something
tore650 3 weeks ago
@tore650 Isn't Unbelief rather nihilistic?
JohanStarDragon 3 weeks ago
@JohanStarDragon well yes though "nihilistic" is just a broader term. unbelief reffers dirctly to belief nihilisism depends on what you are nihilistic towards. Don't try to be a smartypants :p
tore650 3 weeks ago
@tore650 Oh no I'm not trying to be pedantic or anything. I'm just posing a question of clarity.
JohanStarDragon 3 weeks ago
@JohanStarDragon ah, I see, I thought you were trying to turn the phrase, sort of speak. but yes, unbelief is completely nihilistic, to be completely precise unbelief is theistic nihilistism (I'm no major of latin so my latin grammar there might be a bit off but you get the idea) :)
tore650 3 weeks ago
@tore650 Yeah that does make more sense than total nihilism where you basically have no beliefs in anything which can be pretty tricky because even if it isn't God or a religion there are principles one can believe in some form or another. So to be a true and complete nihilist you'd pretty much have to be dead, don't you think?
JohanStarDragon 3 weeks ago
@JohanStarDragon haha you hit the nail right on the head with your last point there :p I agree.
tore650 3 weeks ago
You do not need a bent nose and a posh accent to understand these things. (As much as I admire S. Fry and his command of the english language.) The average right thinking person who has the remotest respect for the natural world would truly empathise.
101truthhurts 4 weeks ago
@101truthhurts you would be surprised.
hectormdma 3 weeks ago
"Wheres your god now?" hahahaha excellent!
HerrJamie 4 weeks ago in playlist Stephan Fry
We still understand nothing about the natural world. Electrons, protons, neutrinos and such raise questions of their own that we don't understand/know the answer to.
So God is still just as relevant as ever.
TheColaGoodfellow 1 month ago
@TheColaGoodfellow We actually understand a great deal about the natural world. Electrons, protons, neutrinos and such have been discovered through rigorous application of the scientific method, and greater knowledge of them shall be gained through application of that same method. God is quite irrelevant in this field, providing no information about electrons, protons or neutrinos.
vulnerabledonkey 1 month ago
@vulnerabledonkey
Saying we've now explained everything (or even anything) is like the ancients saying "We know how things work, we're held to the earth, the sun moves through the sky, we lvie on food and some liquids"
Without an explanation as to why electrons and such work like they do, we're no better off than them not knowing why the sun moves across the sky.
TheColaGoodfellow 4 weeks ago
Fry is one of my only living heroes.
I hope I get to meet him oneday.
sausagesausage 1 month ago 3
@sausagesausage Same here. My life would be perfect if I had the opportunity to be able to sit and talk with him about stuff like this.
HerrJamie 4 weeks ago in playlist Stephan Fry
My mom loves this guy and she is a mormon
liamlloyd77 1 month ago
@hunterpeterson81095 The thing that disgust me most about the so-called LGBT rights movement is that make it out as if they are to be treated like a completely different class of human being simply because of their sexuality and should be treated differently because of it.. Whatever happened to regarding everyone as a human being equally regardless of race or sexual orientation etc.
LordMalice6d9 1 month ago
I find it immoral to cut off the skin of an infants penis. but that's just me.
daspense 1 month ago 3
Love Steven Fry!
samlukemolloy 1 month ago
Stephan Fry, my dear love. We should meet :)
Hellotherebordois 1 month ago
ITT: A bunch of religious people with shitty arguments.
SineFractal 1 month ago
It's an overgeneralization to say that faith takes away from the fulness of mortal life. There are many religions which have incredibly rich traditions that cannot be fully appreciated unless partaken in. These traditions, mind you, may also be intricately interwoven in an abundant intellectual heritage as well. Take Catholicism, for instance... ;-)
MarcelloMarlow 1 month ago
@MarcelloMarlow And child rape
SineFractal 1 month ago
if you put yourself in the shoes of someone you disagree with, dislke, hate, empathise with and love you will invariably see a bit of yourself.
kookoopops1 1 month ago
Former relief pitcher for the SF Giants is now a philosopher? :-0
Capt777harris 1 month ago
I want him to adopt me!
Felsenkeks 1 month ago 54
@Felsenkeks lol me too ! lol
mrnatascorpus 5 days ago
lol the banner ad when I watched this was for 'Norah' world class Psychic!
PedrosGali 1 month ago
His nose makes me wana take it out and put it in the right position.
Hattheknight 1 month ago
@MrEastwood71 your point being that you believe in a man in the clouds.
Jinglepify 1 month ago
@hunterpeterson81095 The study I read was certainly not without flaws, as are all studies. BUT the rate of sexual orientation, race, and sex does not change from religious to non-religious. So such suicide types would be equal with both groups. Just like most straight people are religious, most gay people are religious. To suggest that those reasons are likely the cause ignores that both groups have both. Atheism didn't CAUSE it, a lack of fear of punishment after death did.
pcgamernum1 1 month ago
He's wonderful!!
WanderingDervish007 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
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The word "homosexual" is more appropriate and accurate because it, unlike the word "gay", actually describes the behavior/attraction/relationship being discussed.
The word "gay" helps homosexual activists push their agenda.
lightandbeautiful 1 month ago
@nathan0dts He's one of the finest minds of our time. He chooses to, deems it clearer communication to be funny. So yes, he can be an absolute hoot, but can quite hold his own in erudite company. See QI (Brit game show) for examples.
JanCarol11 1 month ago 2
We lack more quality human beings like him in our world.
wgh999 1 month ago 3
Sorry but this has NO basis in reality. Statistics show that Atheists have a higher rate of suicide than religious people. So obviously you aren't living a fuller life, many end up seeing it as an end, and an easy way to get out of the world's troubles.
pcgamernum1 1 month ago
@pcgamernum1 that's like saying all blacks are dumber than whites or asians because the race as a whole has a lower IQ on average. like stephen i'm most definitely living a fuller life since i disavowed catholicism and became an atheist, but i can't speak for any other atheists.. that's his only mistake.
0ntology 1 month ago
@0ntology Not when i'm countering a statment that says atheism is the way to live a happier life. I am not denying it is true for some people, but the man stated it as a fact, and evidence suggest the OPPOSITE is more often true than that. So he is preaching the exception to the rule not the rule and thus LIEING.
pcgamernum1 1 month ago
@pcgamernum1 i wouldn't call it lying, he's just wrong on a generalization he made. he's speaking about himself first and foremost and in that case it's true. it's probably true for most of the nontheists in his circles too, but i doubt he'd deny statistics from a study done by a reputable source if he was faced with it. i just don't think he's trying to be devious or anything!
0ntology 1 month ago
@0ntology I can accept that logic. TO ME it sounded as if he was making a generalizing statement that to me was an attack on many people's belief. (Be it in a round about way).
pcgamernum1 1 month ago
I think what actually happened was that his nose beat up a large, left-handed man with a large left hand.
eviloverlordx 1 month ago
To call him a comedian is limiting.
JanCarol11 1 month ago 168
@JanCarol11 Indeed! He is not just a comedian, he is a very wise man, a great thinker, a humanist and a man who spreads SO much good to this world!
PhreeSoul 1 month ago 2
@JanCarol11 King of funny?
nathan0dts 1 month ago
@JanCarol11 That was my thought too! He's done so much. He's an awesome person, atleast on TV and all that, I've never actually met him (Sadly)
NaranjaPera 3 weeks ago
@JanCarol11 gay
AlexH794 3 weeks ago
Remember kids, account for bone cancer in Children..
DevHao 1 month ago
@DevHao Screw the kids, what about the rest of us!!
willhum 1 month ago
I half agree. I agree that we should live as if there is no afterlife - to live like this is 'the last day of our life' and really Carpe diem as it were. However, I am unable to believe that there is no after life. I must admit that that idea is simply too terrifying for me. I cannot imagine being nothing.
TheMadamWitch 1 month ago
Philosophy to my way of thinking is not about knowing the answer, it's more the questioning of the dogma that we accept as reality. “Am I how I see my self, or... am I shaped by the thoughts and understanding of those around me”.
grainsandstorm 1 month ago 2
9:55 he nailed it...
posro1988 1 month ago
errrr....i think i mean as descrbed by Plato...but what do i know !
couthyband 1 month ago
the basis of knowing was established by Socrates (as described by Aristotle) to be that we know little compared to what there is to know and even the little we know we cannot be completely sure of...this allows us to break free...otherwise we become "the prisoner of our own ideas" (Einstein quote)...Fry is great but try as he might he is not that great which i am sure after reading his books, he would agree with...but not completely sure
couthyband 1 month ago
The ever receding God. Right on Fry !
elgar104 1 month ago
Just A Comedian? That needs correcting. Writer, Actor, Director, Critic, Journalist, philosopher, commedian, TV Presenter, Football Director and front line atheist.
An all round magnificent chap.
elgar104 1 month ago
love him love him love him
papateachme 2 months ago
He broke his nose when he was a child. Tripped over and fell on his face in the school playground.
celtickiwi11 2 months ago
Also, it's extremely arrogant how he dismisses "eastern things like buddhism" and anything involving "spirit" as non-philosophies. Theres a staggering wealth of philosophy in the vedic texts that led to these movements in some way or another. Just an example, take the Yoga Sutra by Patanjali. There are at least 3 words with distinctly defined meanings which we could only translate as "consciousness". It's a religious, even mystical text but it is also a sophisticated philosophy of mind.
wishcraft4u2 2 months ago
Ok, however much I respect Stephen Fry as a person, I find that his conviction is extremely centered on anglo-american philosophical notions. He might do lip service to certain European classics of philosophy but his stance towards them is not very openminded. Many of the philosophers he mentions do actually prescribe ways of life. He also seems to simply ignore theological arguments such as the sin-cursed world, total corruption etc... Which are inherently philosophical btw...
wishcraft4u2 2 months ago
@wishcraft4u2 He's very open minded, and he has this ABSOLUTELY right. He ignores theological arguments, because there's no proof anyway for God, and therefor they're invalid; and usually do more harm than good.
alexpjp 2 months ago
@alexpjp absolutely right about what exactly... About ignoring theological arguments? Or other things as well?
Anyways, he seems to be discussing theological arguments all the time. e.g. here it's his monotheism makes no sense rant, a theological argument and a rather poor one.
Non-religious myself, I take issue with the vulgar dismissal of the philosophical value of theology. A lot of religious ideas about the human spirit obviously still apply regardless wether gods exist or not.
wishcraft4u2 2 months ago
What about the categorical imperative, Stephen?
What about Also Sprach Zaratustra?
etc...
wishcraft4u2 2 months ago
"...and mostly deeply unpleasant"
LOL
LucisFerre1 2 months ago
Looking at his nose, it's painfully obvious that he made a large left-handed man very angry.
LucisFerre1 2 months ago 187
Stephen Fry introduced TylerDurden to FightClub, LucisFerre1. Then Tyler met Jack . . .
SiliconBong 2 months ago
@LucisFerre1 - Haha my thoughts exactly
soundgardener 2 months ago
@LucisFerre1 Do you mean a large man who was left handed, or a man with a large left hand? Either way he was probably a mormon.
beardedgecko987 1 month ago
@LucisFerre1 Damn you. Cannot unsee.
Tleilaxu0 1 month ago 4
@LucisFerre1 That's called rugby...
proulxmontpellier 1 month ago
@LucisFerre1 I would consider myself a huge Stephen Fry "fan", but I have never noticed that!
olih27 1 month ago
@LucisFerre1 ROFL
Cavstic 1 month ago
@LucisFerre1
It was rugby accident.
eat4peace 1 month ago
@LucisFerre1 he actually has had that since birth
rgjmce666 1 month ago
@LucisFerre1 painfully obvious? your wrong, he tripped, fell & broke his nose in the playground at school.
raynarks 1 month ago
@LucisFerre1 Could it have been Hugh Laurie?
FuriousImp 1 month ago
Hah, 7:00 I thought he said bone cancer AND children.
gulnare69 2 months ago
@gulnare69 Haha. I'm going to assume he did! ;)
robelirobban 2 months ago
i was once stopped in the street by someone preaching christianity to me. i told him i don't believe but he pressed on at me with all the usual stuff stephen referenced like moral guidance and such so i mentioned how we don't need god to be good. i told him i help where i can and so do others who don't believe and then he said 'but that's in service to yourself, not in service to god'. how dare he question my motives. besides altruism is in the service of those receiving it really, not god
TheBen0101 2 months ago
@TheBen0101 I agree with everything you said except the last sentence. Altruism can (is?) also be selfish. Put another way. It can be as much about making us feel good for giving than the actual good the giving does. Not that i doubt your motives. Or would wish that other people didn't give to worthwhile charities. I guess Stephen brings out the philosopher in us (me?).
InsidiousBlackOps 2 months ago
@InsidiousBlackOps this is true. but then you have to question why giving makes us feel good in the first place. i think most people naturally want to help and this is why you'll feel better saving a baby from a burning building than you would from sticking 2p in a help the aged charity box. i think the satisfaction of giving may just be a response to make us help. you'd be more inclined to help if you got something out of it (even just a warm feeling) but it's still helping..
TheBen0101 3 weeks ago
Right on!, we need more celebrities like Stephen that have the brain power to discuss these things :D
MrROTD 2 months ago
Kant did propose an ethical code, centered around the summum bonum...
geoffrz450 2 months ago
I couldn't agree more.
vocalissimo1 2 months ago
Bent nose, cannot unsee! (By the way, I love Stephen Fry)
IsaacDeanMusic 2 months ago
lol "bone cancer and children"!!!!! Indeed.
kienjinn1117 2 months ago in playlist bigthink 2
Bone cancer IN children... you are claiming that he said the world has horrible things, like bone cancer and like children...
murmurrrr 2 months ago
@murmurrrr Children are pretty damn terrible though. ;3
DietDrMario 2 months ago
lol
kienjinn1117 2 months ago
So his very reasoned, intellectual argument against Monotheism is “What! Why? Who said? Where? Come on!” Well, I guess I'm convinced! LOL
enochg 2 months ago
Looks like somebody broke Mr. Fry's nose... I bet it was Hegel.
FilmNothing 2 months ago
Reading into some of these past comments, I'm wondering if these "Christians" are familiar with their own scriptures and peoples. I read something of God in the Old Testament being referred to as loving and forgiving. God was wrathful and murderous to "sinners" who used his gift of freewill. Christianity is such a joke. So many of its celebratory practices are based on Pagan lore. Easter/Ishtar, the use of a Christmas Tree, and so many other contradictions and misconceptions.
1000Zelkova 2 months ago
@1000Zelkova yupp, I decided it was BS when I was a kid and eventually I was excused from Sunday School because I questioned too much :D Damn me for being logical and pointing out errors hey?
MrROTD 2 months ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
It's great, isn't it, how this opinionated and egotistical man can suddenly make himself an "expert" on any subject he wants. To his tiresome and self-inflated views, I say a resounding "Yawn"!
vocalissimo1 2 months ago
@vocalissimo1 yes, citing philosophers and accurately explaining their essays doesn't at all prove he's studied philosophy more than your average person.
cantwhistleforshit 2 months ago
@vocalissimo1 At what point is he presented as an expert?
HoosierMF 2 months ago
@vocalissimo1 he was speaking of his own philosophy. If you are not an expert in your own philosophy that is something you should reflect on.
phantom12321800 2 months ago
I love the fact that whilst I watch The importance of unbelief, my advert from Youtube is 'eTeacher Biblical - Learn BIBLICAL HEBREW online with the Holy Land's best teachers'
NavoNova 2 months ago
11 people are Catholics from 16th century.
Pwnographee 2 months ago
My new hero.
vinegarthomas 2 months ago
all beliefs and norms are human constructs. all of humanity's vices such as religion and social normality just create illusions to hide the fact that life has no point. as Marx said, religion is the opium of the people.
1000Zelkova 2 months ago
There is an assumption that "my perception is the absolute."
- "well it's obvious, worm in lamb's eye is horrible, he and she think the same thing"
What about infinity? Maybe it's a wonderful process needed to balance this variable and that variable out. Or maybe the lamb has no real consciousness to percieve this so called evil. etc. What is evil anyway? Does it exist on its own? Or is something propping it up?
pecanpower 2 months ago
@DickKnowsBest ARE YOU MAD?!
regularjon 3 months ago
Interesting view
elguapotetigre 3 months ago
I personally believe humanbeings need an ultimate authority that has a plan, humans need plans at every level of their being to get anything done, people can't stand the idea that we became what we are through no other reason than our enviroment and interaction with other creatures. the same can be said of the afterlife, if this is it there is no ultimate justice for all the horrors we create here.we need the idea that you will be rewarded for your actions or punished in the end
gaiathedragonmaster 3 months ago
@gaiathedragonmaster While I genuinely respect that you've thought this out for yourself, I couldn't disagree more. Maybe you feel you need all of that stuff to regulate your thoughts and behavior, but not everyone does; moreover, there are millennia of fear-based (including afterlife) "authority" and we see the results--absolute dysfunction. The controlled-by-fear paradigm simply doesn't work...never has...
tvswnet 2 months ago
Comment removed
gaiathedragonmaster 2 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@tvswnet while i admit having a plan is a good thing its simply what i've observed from people's behaviour. i made a mistake including myself as it has been made clear by my peers my outsider status. It is likely my view is skewed because the people i mainly see are those that feel that need, while i appreciate christianity's base message the way that message has been used and corrupted by people is appalling, it seems whenever there is a good idea people get involved and mess it up
gaiathedragonmaster 2 months ago
Comment removed
norskemann1 2 months ago
@norskemann1 mine or their's? lol
gaiathedragonmaster 2 months ago
@gaiathedragonmaster the ones who believe in what you said in top comment
norskemann1 2 months ago
Comment removed
gaiathedragonmaster 3 months ago
@TeaKettleBBQ The path believes in no gods, or at least with the Theravadan. There is nothing permanent. There is an old teaching that speaks of the possibility of intelligence developing before humans on earth and that such beings, if they exist, may have the delusion of god-hood. But this is just an intellectual exercise and nothing more.
ricksullivan 3 months ago
I wonder why there is so much pro-atheism material currently being produced by the corporate media.
I think Stephen Fry is a very good actor, speaker and film producer but I fail to understand why he is lionised by the corporate media.
Yes, he's clever, but there are plenty of non-famous people who are just as clever. His opinion is not worth anything more than anyone else's.
wks1978 3 months ago
@wks1978 you do realise Stephen Fry isn't the only famous person who's opinion is valued right, because people value the ideas and opinions of figures everywhere not just Fry
strayebyrd 3 months ago
@strayebyrd Yes. People value others opinions because they agree with them, not because they are famous.
Just because Fry is a rich man with a significant potential to broadcast his views doesn't make his views any more correct.
wks1978 3 months ago
@wks1978 well no one's views are correct if it's based in opinion so that's just a redundant thing to say
strayebyrd 3 months ago
@strayebyrd Then when are one's views correct?
When are one's views not their opinion?
Do you really think it is possible to grasp the objective truth without that notion being an opinion?
wks1978 3 months ago
@wks1978
one's views are not an opinion when there's empirical evidence one way or the other. The nature of religious faith is inherently unprovable, ergo no one's opinion really matters because it's all guesswork and dogma
strayebyrd 3 months ago
@strayebyrd Nevertheless an opinion must be formed as to whether to accept or reject the hypothesis based on the evidence.
We do not need to prove to ourselves that we need to eat when we are hungry or sleep when we are tired. These are the basic evolved instincts of every animal.
The notion of an afterlife seems to be one which human beings have tended to unconditionally believe throughout the 200,000 year history of Homo Sapiens.
We're not going to agree and I've run out of space here so I
wks1978 3 months ago
I think what Stephen is trying to say is that one should always make a distinction between spirituality (in the broadest sense) and established religion.
RollaArtis 3 months ago