Freedomain with Stefan Molyneux

THE BEAUTIFUL TRUTH ABOUT REALITY!

There is an old saying in philosophy, which is that metaphysics is not a problem to be solved, but a disease to be cured.

Metaphysics is notoriously tricky, but eminently solvable.

The definition of metaphysics is the study of the nature of reality. This naturally begs the question: what is reality?

Now there are definitely challenging problems in philosophy, such as the definition of ethics and virtue, and morally appropriate actions in ambiguous circumstances, and so on. However, philosophy should at least be able to answer the question that is easily and instinctually answered by every other living being. Single celled organisms can tell the difference between themselves and others, between food and debris – insects can navigate from one continent to another – as can birds – and babies can very quickly figure out the difference between themselves and the world around them.

It is reasonable to hope that philosophy can answer a question easily solved by tiny-brained organisms. Ethics is a discipline peculiar to human beings, but the need to differentiate between dreams and reality is common to countless creatures who never need to bother their minds about virtue.

In other words, if little brains can solve a problem effortlessly, surely big brains can solve it as well! If a six-month-old baby can lift a weight, surely an adult can as well.

The failure of philosophy to resoundingly answer a question easily solved by your average bee has not done much to enhance the reputation of philosophy. The general perception that philosophy is an abstract and useless discipline that has little or nothing to do with practical life is only further embedded in our minds when we wake from a nightmare, knowing for certain it was not real, and philosophers wag their fingers at us and claim that we have no way of actually knowing that!

The vast majority of people have no trouble whatsoever navigating empirical reality – in fact, those who claim they cannot do this – who see visions or believe that they can fly – are defined as mentally ill, and treated as such.

The everyday tools and machines that we use to navigate empirical reality and survive within it are all designed, created, marketed, transported and sold by people with a full and complete ability to differentiate waking reality from subjective impressions. Try giving a child the "idea" of candy rather than a actual piece of candy, and see how he or she reacts. Even a toddler has no trouble differentiating between the contents of a mind – an idea – and something in reality – a piece of candy.

We can only hope that giant-brain philosophers can achieve the empirical wisdom of an 18-month-old toddler.

The first thing to understand about metaphysics is that it is the study of everything in the universe except the human mind. Subjectivity by definition is that which occurs within the mind, and therefore is not reflected or reproduced in external reality. You may prefer the colour red, I prefer the colour blue – the objective wavelengths representing red and blue exist in the world, and can be measured objectively – but the preferences exists only in our minds.

Now you might be screaming at me and claiming that I am begging the question or jumping the gun, because I have just casually tossed off a definition of subjective and objective without proving anything – and you might cry that these are all just assumptions without evidence.

If you've ever played golf, and really worked to improve your swing, one of the things a coach will do is take a video of you, and then slow it down so that you can see every detail of your movements. Slowing down to see the details is essential for improvement – in both sports and thought.

You are reading this using your eyes, or listening to it using your ears. Your reaction that I have not proven anything proves that you have already proven everything...

Philosopher Stefan Molyneux answers question on an explosive livestream: August 21, 2022.

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Philosopher Stefan Molyneux answers questions in an electrifying live stream, such as:

Jerome Frank says, In Law and the Modern mind, formal logic is flawed and therefore, absolutism is false. He cites some cogent examples from F.C.S. Schiller and some Piaget, saying when a child discovers his father is not omniscient, he shifts to other ideas as a surrogate, to maintain the absolutism he dreams to be true.

He also mentions word magic and that words become bigger than the concept, making words elastic enough to encompass everything to their particular bias.

Any thoughts or rants on any of the above?


I’ve talked to my husband about peaceful parenting and that you have never punished your daughter. We are hoping to start a family in the next year.

He thinks it’s possible raising boys and girls is different, that he was much more difficult to raise than his sisters, and was constantly in a power struggle with his father. He thinks maybe boys do require more discipline in order to become disciplined men. He agrees physical punishment is not acceptable.


Thanks to crypto I went from nearly broke to top 1% (in the west) in 2 years time. It wasn’t just luck. I spent 2017-2020 studying and working at it.

I was shocked to see nearly zero genuine joy from friends or family for me for this achievement after humbly disclosing it.

Are almost all human beings innately resentful and jealous, even of those closest to them? Should I judge them for it? It does sadden me. Thanks.


Hi Stef! How can I minimize the risk of my 10 month old daughter becoming a childless leftist feminist in the future? I am happily married, my wife stays at home, we're into PP and I assume this is a good starting point. However what I'm worried about is the ubiquitous leftist propaganda that she will encounter. Taking into account that the society as a whole tends to be lefty and that women tend to be more compliant I am afraid that she won't be able to reject the peer or social pressure and will soak up their ideas. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.


Is it possible that the darker part of myself is in part what has kept me safe in later half of life? My upbringing and past is about as sordid as one can imagine but my latter half has been quite the opposite. To the point where I often feel “square” or “upright”. Or I may be made to feel such.


sometimes I get angry too easily and its of course my fault.

is this the "dark personality" you talked about last Q&A or something else?

Because I don't care for that specific part of me but maybe I am missing something about the "dark personality" thing and maybe its got a purpose to serve?

Id love your thoughts!!


Death penalty and UPB?

Well, don't we all need it?

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This one will TRULY blow your mind and soul...

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or, how you are exploited through philosophy...

What is reality? How do we know?

Ferocious but illuminating!

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Philosopher Stefan Molyneux aims his philosophical expertise at a wide variety of listener questions, including:

If your definition of love is 'an involuntary response to virtue' and virtue is defined as 'behaviour of high moral standards'. then because higher mammals are capable of basic morality as part of their social behaviour, it then follows that animals can be rudimentary virtuous and therefore can be loved. The difference is that the moral standards of an animal like a dog or a rat are imposed by a trainer, rather than by moral reasoning like in some humans.

In a way governments are already in a state of anarchy to each other. do you think a viable way forward is for people to just move instead of bothering with democratic process? wont that make the governments wake up and start to compete for citizens?

About the relationship reality, you give advice to young men and women. But what advice do you have for men who are over 45 without resources and without children and women who are over 40 without children?

In my experience human beings are hierarchical creatures. We naturally create hierarchies in just about any context. My question is, or questions are, rather, how does/would upb operate inside a hierarchy, would upb maintain or undermine one how would different people with different levels of seniority interact with one another in a family/ community/ work/ society/ &c?

Baby talk. Is it of any benefit to talk to babies in a "baby voice"?
I personally think it's a bit strange as babies are intelligent should be spoken to as such

Could you maybe give us some life lessons on working hard? I'm talking working tirelessly up to the point of exhaustion on a daily basis. Do you have any techniques to be ever-resistant to burnout? (Context: I'm in tech; and I wanna start my own SaaS company)

What do you say to people who lack motivation, goals and purpose in life?

Why do Christian’s sing?

You’ve said in the past that memes can really capture the cultural zeitgeist. What do you think about doing a meme review of listener submitted memes?

what is your take on John Rawls theory of justice? This is what this left use to justify many of their woke ideas

how do you heal significant trust issues from being tricked and abused by a narcissist? - I myself have been tricked by a woman who seemed perfect the first 1.5 - 2 years, but then proceeded to turn into the narcissistic monster she really was. I now fear that every woman I encounter also is a potential narcissist in disguise, as I was not able to see any significant warning signs before I was in too deep with my now ex-girlfriend. Any tips or insights on this would be much appreciated.

With UPB and a free society, is there a possible down side ??
Imagine, _ In 300 yrs, if children were parented well and the Capitalist System worked in a reasonable Free/Open fashion.
Could society then implode because of a lack of abrasive / resistances ??
A lack of opposites ??
What I’m teasing at;
Q; Is UPB a Utiopian Ideal??
If it was ever realised fully enmass _ could there be a huge negative reaction & consequences because UPB could flatten the polarity of opposites and remove necessary resistances ??

There is the Analogy that it takes 3 generations to make & loose a fortune.
My point is, how would UPB effect the polarity of opposites and is it desirable to aim at a philosophy that could possibly flatten and level out society & culture too much ??

_ IE; If you remove the rock, would sisyphus keep pushing up the hill ??
Or would he look for a new object of resistance??
I understand if this is too wordy and too much abstraction !


Is hope good? Or does hoping for a good future prevent you from creating one?


Do you still plan on playing Unreal Tournament 2004 with us? If so, when? Sounds like a lot of fun, one of my favorite games ever! Thanks for all that you teach us Stef.


Would it be misleading for an atheist convert to Christianity to meet good people and potential partners?


if forgiveness is only possible with restitution, what restitution exists for a stolen childhood?


When should you intervene or use force against others? How do you find that line? Suppose we live in a future free society and there is a small tribe or group of people that isolate themselves. We suspect they are committing heinous acts upon their own people, abusing children for example. At what point do you intervene? If they were raping or murdering it might be obvious that they have crossed the line, but what if they are verbally abusing their children? Where is the line between letting people raise kids as they see fit and needing to step in to protect the innocent?


You mentioned a few shows ago how important it is to men be aware of their mating displays (car, hair, clothes and etc). Does that also applies to social media? I'm asking because I don't really like them, I don't even have an account in broadcast-based networks like Facebook or Instagram.
Is this behavior in any shape comparable to not having a car or being untidy?


Hi Stefan. Could you please elaborate on your apparent dislike of lotteries? Certainly, I understand that one is not likely ever to win (practically zero is zero), but if people think they are fun to play, it seems like one of the few ways that governments raise money voluntarily, i.e., one is not forced to buy tickets. I would be interested in what you have to say on the matter.


Does the brain actually finish developing at 25 or is this a misrepresentation of how the brain ages? Thanks!


I'm not vaccinated and am overall extremely against it. I keep my personal views to myself in professional and casual situations, but when it comes to deep friendship, and certainly with dating, I can't get past it. Its the worst timing because I've really come into my own in many aspects of life within the last couple years. And this, thanks in no small part to you, includes wanting a family.

I've cut things off with nearly perfect women after a date or two over it, but I had a thought the other day that had me second guessing my choices...

If its this hard for me to find someone now, what are the chances my kids will be able to do the same? Is it selfish for me to reject a vaccinated partner when my kids future partners at a minimum are likely to be from vaccinated parents? Especially at the risk of them never existing at all if I keep waiting?

(And just to add, I've tried lowering my standards to get more options. They're still all vaxx'd!)


Thoughts on the affects of polygamy?

How do you know if you "lack toughness" or you're just in a really bad situation where weakness and quitting is justified? What's your take on this whole "Man up!" thing? When is such attitude appropriate and when is it malicious?

I used to work in IT support for years and can really relate to your tech rants!
What was one of the worst tech issues you had to troubleshoot at home or in work?

From a Anarcho-capitalist perspective, why does it seem that every major city is becoming an enclave for the rich? A generation ago there were many working class people buying homes in places like New York or Los Angeles, now any city like New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Sydney, etc, $1,000,000+ homes are the norm. How did the transformation take place? Is the root cause more to do with restrictions on housing development or immigration? What do you think the full social ramifications will be? It feels like hurdling into a situation where there will be a clear distinction between the haves and have-nots in a short time from now. Any desirable real estate market is becoming unobtainable.

when you write, do you have a plan or an idea for where you want the book to go, or do you fly by the seat of your pants?

is there ever an appropriate time to cringe?

what is your favorite way to spend time with your daughter? What is your favorite way to spend time with the whole family?

what is your take on John Rawls theory of justice? This is what this left use to justify many of their woke ideas

A couple's revelation...

The boyfriend speaks first - then the girlfriend reveals the awful truth - one of the worst cases of abuse I have ever heard of...

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Philosopher Stefan Molyneux takes on donor questions on a powerful livestream 31 7 2022

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