Peterson, Harris, etc....

Bit strange calling Rogan dumb when it's not like he even claims to be an intellectual. He's probably above average intelligence and even if he wasn't, who cares? He's just having fun getting high on his podcast and I doubt he cares what anyone thinks of his opinions unlike the rest of these guys.
 
What?

Progressive or conservative we all believe some things are positive for society and others aren't and we advocate for the positive. Should we never suggest anything's better than the other because that's believing we're the arbiter of what's positive for society?

Of course not. We all have our opinions, but you've seemed to suggest that it's some indisputable fact that a few young men watching clips of a quirky clinical psychologist with some unorthodox (and perhaps mildly crazy) views on youtube will inevitably (or even potentially) yield an avalanche of negative consequences for society. And that's a) giving Peterson far, far too much credit as an influencer, b) making him out to be a boogeyman that he's not, and c) not supported by a shred of evidence.
 
thats a good point steven. anyone on the fence about these clowns should look up petersons quote on "enforced monogomy"
Yep. Or, more directly, have the misfortune to read Rodger's pathetic 'justification'.
 
thats a good point steven. anyone on the fence about these clowns should look up petersons quote on "enforced monogomy"
Why? I genuinely don't know what a random Peterson quote would tell me about Sam Harris, or the fat bloke sitting beside Peterson (I don't know who that is), for example.
 
“Violent attacks are what happens when men do not have partners, Mr Peterson says, and society needs to work to make sure those men are married. ‘The cure for that is monogamy. That’s actually why monogamy emerges,’

As someone else in this thread pointed out, not only is he a massive piece of shit, he's a psychologist who is somehow unaware of domestic violence.
 
Anyone on the fence about the left should read about how John Edwards cheated on his wife and had a baby with his mistress while his wife was dying of cancer though.
 
Why? I genuinely don't know what a random Peterson quote would tell me about Sam Harris, or the fat bloke sitting beside Peterson (I don't know who that is), for example.

Surely who someone associates with is quite important in determining their character?
 
Anyone on the fence about the left should read about how John Edwards cheated on his wife and had a baby with his mistress while his wife was dying of cancer though.

Don't think any reasonable leftist would try to argue that the left doesn't have plenty of people who are massive cocks and hypocrites in their own right.
 
Of course not. We all have our opinions, but you've seemed to suggest that it's some indisputable fact that a few young men watching clips of a quirky clinical psychologist with some unorthodox (and perhaps mildly crazy) views on youtube will inevitably (or even potentially) yield an avalanche of negative consequences for society. And that's a) giving Peterson far, far too much credit as an influencer, b) making him out to be a boogeyman that he's not, and c) not supported by a shred of evidence.
You're not the arbiter of any of this.
 
Surely who someone associates with is quite important in determining their character?
Perhaps. But in this context, does it matter? I would be interested in their ideas and opinions, not their character. Also, they aren't a homogenous blob. These guys at times openly disagree and debate about a variety of topics. And is it accurate to claim they are all friends? Perhaps they are, but I don't see the issue. l have friends with whom I disagree politically: I have friends on the extreme left and on the "far" right. Some follow guys like Shapiro, some classify themselves as Marxists. Some support Liverpool. I don't define myself through the beliefs of my friends. Nor should anyone else. I stand by my own convictions.
 
Perhaps. But in this context, does it matter? I would be interested in their ideas and opinions, not their character. Also, they aren't a homogenous blob. These guys at times openly disagree on a variety of topics. And is it accurate to claim they are all friends? Perhaps they are, but I don't see the issue. l have friends with whom I disagree politically: I have friends on the extreme left and on the "far" right. Some follow guys like Shapiro, some classify themselves as Marxists. Some support Liverpool. I don't define myself through the beliefs of my friends. Nor should anyone else. I stand by my own convictions.
You're not - as far as I know - an influential public figure though, mate. And not tacitly (or otherwise), publicly endorsing your friends' views even if by association.
 
Perhaps. But in this context, does it matter? I would be interested in their ideas and opinions, not their character. Also, they aren't a homogenous blob. These guys at times openly disagree and debate about a variety of topics. And is it accurate to claim they are all friends? Perhaps they are, but I don't see the issue. l have friends with whom I disagree politically: I have friends on the extreme left and on the "far" right. Some follow guys like Shapiro, some classify themselves as Marxists. Some support Liverpool. I don't define myself through the beliefs of my friends. Nor should anyone else. I stand by my own convictions.

They certainly don't agree with one another, in fact they likely disagree more than they agree on many topics.
 
Perhaps. But in this context, does it matter? I would be interested in their ideas and opinions, not their character. Also, they aren't a homogenous blob. These guys at times openly disagree and debate about a variety of topics. And is it accurate to claim they are all friends? Perhaps they are, but I don't see the issue. l have friends with whom I disagree politically: I have friends on the extreme left and on the "far" right. Some follow guys like Shapiro, some classify themselves as Marxists. Some support Liverpool. I don't define myself through the beliefs of my friends. Nor should anyone else. I stand by my own convictions.

Of course. Would be a boring world if we all got agreed, and I get along well with people who hold plenty of views I'd disagree with. But at the same time people can sometimes be defined to an extent by the company they keep politically - you'd likely be uncomfortable befriending and socialising with someone if they admitted to being an out and out Nazi, for example. That's not to say such a label applies to Peterson/Shapiro obviously, much as I personally quite dislike both, but they do have a history of making some fairly troubling remarks and if you're a neutral arbitrator it's certainly interesting to see how Harris seems to have drifted from his old atheist crowd to conservative-type commentators over time in his public associations. Although the extent to which we're discussing them all does funnily enough probably give them all credit than they deserve by applying so much scrutiny to a meet-up. So yeah, I agree, don't judge people on who they hang out with alone, but there are obviously limits to who we tolerate politically. Or at least there should be.
 
They certainly don't agree with one another, in fact they likely disagree more than they agree on many topics.
They're too self-congratulatory a crowd to make me believe they're simply trying to find hitherto absent common ground.
 
They're too self-congratulatory a crowd to make me believe they're simply trying to find hitherto absent common ground.

I don't think they are attempting to seek common ground. When Harris was part of the old four horsemen, there was more of a feeling that each of them were attempting to reconcile their views on atheism. This new thing is just a marketing clique imo.
 
Don't think any reasonable leftist would try to argue that the left doesn't have plenty of people who are massive cocks and hypocrites in their own right.

I was just making a dumb and unfair point in response to another dumb and unfair point. I consider myself left-leaning on most issues, but my god, this so-called progressive movement is really testing my patience. The extreme sanctimony and demand for absolute moral purity (and sheer hysteria when someone is perceived to step out of bounds even slightly) makes me understand more and more why someone would want to give them the middle-finger and vote in someone like Trump.
 
This new thing is just a marketing clique imo.
Well that says it all. It appears they have the cowardice of their supposed convictions.
 
I was just making a dumb and unfair point in response to another dumb and unfair point. I consider myself left-leaning on most issues, but my god, this so-called progressive movement is really testing my patience. The extreme sanctimony and demand for absolute moral purity (and sheer hysteria when someone is perceived to step out of bounds even slightly) makes me understand more and more why someone would want to give them the middle-finger and vote in someone like Trump.

let me help you out there mate, youre not left leaning
 
You're not - as far as I know - an influential public figure though, mate. And not tacitly (or otherwise), publicly endorsing your friends' views even if by association.
True. But if I agreed with something, I would endorse it, theoretically. They also publically endorse their disagreements. One could accuse Bill Maher of publically endorsing Shapiro's views by association: having him on his show and giving him a platform to speak. Seems a bit arbitrary.
 
Borden said:
The extreme sanctimony and demand for absolute moral purity (and sheer hysteria when someone is perceived to step out of bounds even slightly) makes me understand more and more why someone would want to give them the middle-finger and vote in someone like Trump.
Nah, sorry, but that doesn't fly. Most of us - if we're actually honest - would admit that PC barely affects our lives beyond sensationalist daily headlines (and we're not exactly lacking in sensationalism; we're practically force-fed with it). So, being irritated to the point of empathising with the 'other side' is the weakest, knowing, & most wilfully self-justifying excuse there is.
 
I was just making a dumb and unfair point in response to another dumb and unfair point. I consider myself left-leaning on most issues, but my god, this so-called progressive movement is really testing my patience. The extreme sanctimony and demand for absolute moral purity (and sheer hysteria when someone is perceived to step out of bounds even slightly) makes me understand more and more why someone would want to give them the middle-finger and vote in someone like Trump.

What's this specifically in reference to though? Do you mean when people on the left condemn figures like Shapiro etc, or in how they expect their own candidates to be? Cause as much as I do agree some posters can sometimes be a bit too extreme to the point of WUMmishness, I don't think there's really anything particularly wrong about pointing out how Shapiro's views make him come across like an absolute knob to someone who's not on the right. And yeah, it'd be nice if everyone was civil, but recent elections have shown that polite civility isn't really working against the right a lot of the time, and that alternative approaches need to at least be considered. Sometimes a bit of conviction is needed, and if something is completely opposite your moral and ethical compass, why should you not make that known? Isn't that politics?
 
Of course. Would be a boring world if we all got agreed, and I get along well with people who hold plenty of views I'd disagree with. But at the same time people can sometimes be defined to an extent by the company they keep politically - you'd likely be uncomfortable befriending and socialising with someone if they admitted to being an out and out Nazi, for example. That's not to say such a label applies to Peterson/Shapiro obviously, much as I personally quite dislike both, but they do have a history of making some fairly troubling remarks and if you're a neutral arbitrator it's certainly interesting to see how Harris seems to have drifted from his old atheist crowd to conservative-type commentators over time in his public associations. Although the extent to which we're discussing them all does funnily enough probably give them all credit than they deserve by applying so much scrutiny to a meet-up. So yeah, I agree, don't judge people on who they hang out with alone, but there are obviously limits to who we tolerate politically. Or at least there should be.
This is fair. I pretty much fully agree.
 
Whatever you might think of them individually or as a group, this whole 'movement' if it even is one, is at least engaging people to think about and engage with issues. That has to be seen as a positive, I mean before YouTube and the likes came a long what did people consume? Pure shite from daytime TV and radio? Ideally the more people engaging with issues the better.

There is a concern about echo chambers and a pseudo circle-jerk forming when the same guests are just going on each other's shows and straw-manning or cherry picking certain things from the radical left. However this same thing could be aimed at any number of political or philosophical publications or broadcasters. From what I've understood there's a fair bit of disagreement between the likes of Peterson and Harris when they meet.

The only one of this supposed 'intellectual dark web' I've ever really listened to is Peterson on Rogan's podcast and on that shameful C4 'interview'. Bret Weinstein and his wife who's name I've forgotten were also on Rogan once and that was an interesting listen too. Personally I think it's a good thing they are gaining popularity, it's just up to the other side of the debate to put forward similar personalities to offer an alternative. I've always believed that education and ease of access to information is paramount. This platform of long-form debate and communication that we now have through the internet can therefore be a great benefit.

The likes of Harris, Peterson etc are really just one of the early waves I think. Like anything it's important to think for yourself and not take everything you hear as gospel. One problem you see more and more these days is dismissing someone entirely if they say one controversial or horrendous thing. That doesn't really add up. If you have a good argument in one area, having a faulty belief or argument in another doesn't mean the former should be discredited too. What it does mean is that you have to consider carefully and critically which parts of their argument you think may be correct or at least interesting and be more than ready to disagree on others.

For example with Peterson he is a very religious man, so your alarm bells should be ringing straight away when he wants to tell you about why monogamy is important or how he uses biblical parables to explain how we should ideally live our lives. On the other hand, you can look at things like compelled speech and his arguments on why equality of outcome is a dangerous idea and clearly see there is merit there.
 
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thats a good point steven. anyone on the fence about these clowns should look up petersons quote on "enforced monogomy"

As someone else in this thread pointed out, not only is he a massive piece of shit, he's a psychologist who is somehow unaware of domestic violence.

One thing that Peterson is very good at is confusing the shit out of people. I just think he's too obtuse for his own good. It's amazing how often his "enforced monogamy" stuff gets misunderstood but hey, at least it's a great stick to beat him with and these "debates" are all about scoring points after all. So that's the main thing.
 
Whatever you might think of them individually or as a group, this whole 'movement' if it even is one, is at least engaging people to think about and engage with issues. That has to be seen as a positive, I mean before YouTube and the likes came a long what did people consume? Pure shite from daytime TV and radio? Ideally the more people engaging with issues the better.

There is a concern about echo chambers and a pseudo circle-jerk forming when the same guests are just going on each other's shows and straw-manning or cherry picking certain things from the radical left. However this same thing could be aimed at any number of political or philosophical publications or broadcasters. From what I've understood there's a fair bit of disagreement between the likes of Peterson and Harris when they meet.

The only one of this supposed 'intellectual dark web' I've ever really listened to is Peterson on Rogan's podcast and on that shameful C4 'interview'. Bret Weinstein and his wife who's name I've forgotten were also on Rogan once and that was an interesting listen too. Personally I think it's a good thing they are gaining popularity, it's just up to the other side of the debate to put forward similar personalities to offer an alternative. I've always believed that education and ease of access to information is paramount. This platform of long-form debate and communication that we now have through the internet can therefore be a great benefit.

The likes of Harris, Peterson etc are really just one of the early waves I think. Like anything it's important to think for yourself and not take everything you hear as gospel. One problem you see more and more these days is dismissing someone entirely if they say one controversial or horrendous thing. That doesn't really add up. If you have a good argument in one area, having a faulty belief or argument in another doesn't mean the former should be discredited too. What it does mean is that you have to consider carefully and critically which parts of their argument you think may be correct or at least interesting and be more than ready to disagree on others.

For example with Peterson he is a very religious man, so your alarm bells should be ringing straight away when he wants to tell you about why monogamy is important or how he uses biblical parables to explain how we should ideally live our lives. On the other hand, you can look at things like compelled speech and his arguments on why equality of outcome is a dangerous idea and clearly see there is merit there.

I think the podcast as a medium is a bit of a game-changer. The ability for people to talk through their ideas at such length (without being forced to debate them in front of an audience) is a brand new phenomenon. That's how a not particularly intelligent, hacky stoner comedian like Joe Rogan ends up being associated with this whole thing. He's been at the forefront of the whole podcast scene from day one.

If you actually take the time to listen to podcasts involving most of this "intellectual dark web" people then you soon realise they're all quite different, with fairly diverse ideas on lots of different topics. I mean, Sam Harris is a strident atheist, while Peterson is strongly religious. When two men are so completely in disagreement over such a fundamental world view then it's really kind of stupid to decide they're basically interchangeable.
 
One thing that Peterson is very good at is confusing the shit out of people. I just think he's too obtuse for his own good. It's amazing how often his "enforced monogamy" stuff gets misunderstood but hey, at least it's a great stick to beat him with and these "debates" are all about scoring points after all. So that's the main thing.
“Violent attacks are what happens when men do not have partners, Mr Peterson says, and society needs to work to make sure those men are married. ‘The cure for that is monogamy. That’s actually why monogamy emerges,’
It's crystal clear. If this is another that's not what I mint comment, he needs to shut up and feck off because his grasp of the English language would need to be so bad he should be in kindergarten not a stage.
 
Oh my god, they're having drinks :eek:

It's interesting to see how obsessed some people seem to be with this group, to the point that a mundane picture of them having drinks triggers several instant reponses from people who hate them. The thread has evolved from a discussion about Shapiro to a couple of posters bumping it every once in a while to tell us all how stupid he, Peterson and the rest of them are. It's like reverse fanboyism.

This, we're laughing at a few lads having a meal. It's like they're humans too (except Shapiro, jury's out on him)