Why We’re NOT Living in a Simulation

The self-help and self-improvement community have skyrocketed in popularity over recent years. Yet almost everything they tend to say was already recommended, and in some ways improved upon, by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. So get ready to have a look at the only self-help book worth reading: The Nicomachean Ethics.Uploaded 07-03-24Sign up to my email list here: https://forms.gle/76bsCwWhKVryzPBR7Support me on Patreon (you lovely person): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link00:00 Ancient Greek Self-Improvement01:35 A Matter of Habit06:06 Intellectual Virtues10:51 Ego, Community, and Happiness14:40 Taking the High Road Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When The Matrix was released in 1999, it sparked a brand new way to express an old philosophical problem - a sceptical scenario. So let’s dive into the world of scepticism, the simulation hypothesis, and more, to see what they consist of, and how we might be able to refute them.Uploaded 20-04-24Support me on Patreon here (thank you you wonderful person): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSign up to my email list for more philosophy to improve your life: https://forms.gle/YYfaCaiQw9r6YfkN700:00 The Simulation Hypothesis01:27 A Sceptics Guide to Scepticism05:15 "Stuff Obviously Exists"10:49 The Contextualist16:46 Brains in Vats and "Brains" in "Vats" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I invited my good friend Alex O'Connor (@CosmicSkeptic) onto the channel to talk about the biggest unanswered questions in philosophy, as well as what he has changed his mind on in the past decade on YouTube. I hope you enjoy!Uploaded 23-01-26Support me on Patreon here (you lovely person): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSubscribe to my Substack here for more of my writings: https://josephfolley.substack.com/00:00 What have you changed your mind on?16:28 Why do we need to know what the mind is?22:15 What is Idealism?42:17 What is Truth?57:30 The Split Brain Experiments1:04:28 Is Panpsychism just Physicalism?1:09:45 Is the Universe God?1:21:59 Where do our atheist-theist debates go wrong?1:31:36 How do you respond to Thomas Aquinas?1:47:09 How to get in the head of a philosopher?1:52:09 What is the best idea you encountered last year?1:57:45 We're doing a show together! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Franz Kafka is one of the most brilliant yet anxious writers of the 20th century. And in his "Letter to my father" he outlines exactly where his fear of other people comes from. Here he outlines both his troubling relationship with his father Hermann, and gives a masterclass on the origins of his social anxiety, and social anxiety in general. So here is why Kafka hated people.Uploaded 09-07-24Support me on Patreon here (you wonderful person): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSign up to my email list for more philosophy to improve your life: https://forms.gle/YYfaCaiQw9r6YfkN700:00 A Letter to His Father01:39 Judge, Jury, and Executioner09:27 A Crumpled Map16:18 Permanent Scars22:31 Gratitude, Fear, and Guilt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn for free on Brilliant for a full 30 days: https://brilliant.org/Unsolicitedadvice/ . You’ll also get 20% off an annual Premium subscription.Uploaded 10-04-26The way we talk about books online has been bothering me for a while, and I wanted to talk a bit about it. We'll be talking a bit about ragebait, a bit about snobbery, and a bit about literacy, and we'll try to paint a slightly different way forward.Support me on Patreon here (you lovely person): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSubscribe to my Substack here for more of my writings: https://josephfolley.substack.com/00:00 Literary Ragebait10:20 The Origin and Variety of Snobs23:40 The Capture of Value35:45 The Worship of KnowledgeThis video is sponsored by Brilliant Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first 500 people to use my link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare https://skl.sh/unsolicitedadvice05241Uploaded 16-05-24Over the years a consistent claim has emerged from both some theists and some atheists that morality is untenable without the existence of a God. But is this true? Today I will explore three variants on the position that "Atheists have no morals" to see which ones hold water and which are simply unfounded assumptions.Support me on Patreon here: https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSign up to my email list for more philosophy to improve your life: https://forms.gle/YYfaCaiQw9r6YfkN7Papers cited:For claim that people harbour a distrust of atheists: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22059841/Benefits of group camping trips: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1348050/fullRelationship between religious attendance and generosity (an example of pro-social behaviour): https://news.gallup.com/poll/122807/religious-attendance-relates-generosity-worldwide.aspxA paper questioning the relationship between atheism and pro-sociality. and the correlation sometimes found: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22925142/For Investigations between the religiosity of societies and their levels of anti-social behaviour: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Society-without-God-Religious-Contentment/dp/0814797237Relationship between prosociality and religion: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38407059/#:~:text=years%20of%20research-,Religiosity%20predicts%20prosociality%2C%20especially%20when%20measured%20by%20self-report%3A,doi%3A%2010.1037%2Fbul0000413.On Atheists being more interested in consequentialist ethics and Theists being more interested in Group Cohesion: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0246593Article on Moral Anti-Realism: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-anti-realism/00:00 God and Morality01:20 "Atheists are Bad People"07:57 "Morality Needs God"14:09 The Atheist's Conundrum19:09 Post-Theistic Morality Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like anyone, I have favourite books, and many of them are classics. And I sometimes like to go on Goodreads and read one star reviews of them, to torment myself a little. Today, I will share this with you.Uploaded 01-03-26Support me on Patreon here (you lovely person): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSubscribe to my Substack here for more of my writings: https://josephfolley.substack.com/Lord of the Rings Song: https://youtu.be/I3g6mFI4Fug?si=XVzH4kNs4ENVsQhg00:00 Wuthering Heights07:42 No Longer Human13:10 Pride and Prejudice20:49 The Idiot24:33 The Apologia30:54 The Lord of The Rings Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

George Orwell is widely seen as a prescient author. This is often applied to his thoughts about totalitarianism and surveillance. But it applies just as much to his ideas about propaganda, which are surprisingly up-to-date, and mirrored in the book How Propaganda Works by Jason Stanley.Uploaded 26-03-26Support me on Patreon here (you lovely person): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSubscribe to my Substack here for more of my writings: https://josephfolley.substack.com/00:00 What even is propaganda, anyway?09:50 Epistemology and Ideology21:30 The Influence of Language36:32 Propaganda and You Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is an old video on Nietzsche and does not really reflect my current views on him. Sorry about that.Uploaded 20-07-24There has been increasing discourse online about the concept of a "Christian Revival" or otherwise a general religious revival. And I find this very interesting because almost exactly the same debate took place over the course of the 19th century. And chief among the critics of religion as an answer to nihilism was the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. So it is worth hearing him out - even if we end up disagreeing with him. Let's find out if a religious revival is really the answer.Support me on Patreon here (you wonderful person you): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSign up to my email list for more philosophy to improve your life: https://forms.gle/YYfaCaiQw9r6YfkN700:00 Religious Revival - A Dilemma01:48 Lived Religion07:05 Religion and Nihilism: A False Dichotomy14:08 Religious Authority and its Critics21:11 Nihilism and The Will Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are few experiences as terrifying as feeling totally alone. Being lonely and feeling alienated from everyone else around you. And nowhere is this explored better than in Albert Camus' landmark novel, The Stranger. So get ready to dive into this wonderful novel, and maybe answer the question of why we are so lonely.Uploaded 12-06-24Support me on Patreon here (you lovely person): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSign up to my email list for more philosophy to improve your life: https://forms.gle/YYfaCaiQw9r6YfkN700:00 The Ultimate Outsider01:29 Indifference and Difference07:08 Judgement and Condemnation13:18 Confusion and Chaos20:22 The Comfort of The Absurd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices