Freedomain with Stefan Molyneux

Wednesday Night Live 18 September 2024

In this episode, I reflect on personal challenges with subscription trends and seek feedback on my content quality. This leads to a discussion on attracting toxic individuals, revealing my own patterns in relationships and the dynamics of dysfunction. I share insights from upcoming interviews focused on philosophical inquiries and emphasize the importance of stepping back from draining relationships. We explore personal responsibility, societal pressures, and how experiences shape our understanding of risk and resilience. I express gratitude for the community's support and encourage listener engagement, reminding everyone that our choices shape our journey.

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"Women in power. Especially the HR Karen's hellbent in turning every organization into their personal powerplay fantasy. Not a particularly brilliant question, but I would value your insight. Your thoughts?"

GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND AUDIOBOOK!

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Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!

Also get the Truth About the French Revolution, the interactive multi-lingual philosophy AI trained on thousands of hours of my material, private livestreams, premium call in shows, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!

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Hi Stef, not sure if this is much of an argument but I had something I'd like your thoughts on. Some creative writing on my part combined with some skepticism inspired by one of your characters from the 'The Future', I think you might know who I'm talking about. Feel free to rebut this with some creative writing too if you find it appropriate. :)

"Do we mirror reality, and if so which parts of reality?"

"Are animals not a part of reality? And are we not more animal than object? Why then should we look towards objects as a source of direction for how we should live our lives?"

"Contradiction? Bah. Only heaven itself can afford the luxury of consistency. When put inside of a mortal body, I dare say even the sun itself would have days that it would feel like hiding its glorious light."

"To live according to logic and rationality is to try to make ourselves Gods. But we are not. We have the capacity to see a glimpse of godhood, but so long as we need to eat, sleep and reproduce, we will forever remain animals struggling against the hand of death."

"The humble farmer toils on his soil and regardless of how consistent he is in his labours, the locusts will devour that which he has sown."

"So tell me Mr Philosopher; to whom does the farmer partition for his lost crop?"


What is it about human beings that gives them the unique capacity to be sadistic? This question was inspired by my reading of “Survival I’m the killing fields”. Some the things the communists did to people is not something I can comprehend.


Hey, Stef! How do you stop ruminating over people? my family is one to sweep things under the rug a lot and certain members seem to be in a consistent cycle of failure. my mother is an enabler and complains about it but never does anything to stop it. I distance myself from my family and only occasionally visit them because it's usually a very draining experience but I do ruminate over them and I really wish they didn't live in my head. any tips?! Thank you!

GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND AUDIOBOOK!

https://peacefulparenting.com/

Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!

Also get the Truth About the French Revolution, the interactive multi-lingual philosophy AI trained on thousands of hours of my material, private livestreams, premium call in shows, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!

See you soon!

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Divorced, remarried, I have one boy from the first marriage and two boys from the second one. After my first son was born, I managed to gradually work myself into one of these two horrible choices: catastrophic marriage or catastrophic divorce. I chose the second one out of selfishness and fear that I would replicate my parent's marriage. I denied my older son the joy of seeing his parents in love and I will forever be sorry for that.

When I had my second boy with my current wife, she became very cold and distant to the one from the first marriage, which I suppose is quite normal when having to take care of a baby.

But after all this time she still seems reluctant to fully accept my firstborn into our family when he's with us. I know that philosophy is about prevention, not cure, and I'm sure that my kids will never end up where I am right now, but any tips on how to help my family be happier would be greatly appreciated.


Oh Stefan! I would love a show on how to throw an amazing dinner party! Sounds like you're a pro at it!


Hey Stef, we have antibiotics, internet, relative peace and freedom and I most probably will not die as a drafted soldier, but I am still unable to feel gratitude and make myself happier just because my ancestors lived in incomparably worse conditions. Even if I am the 2nd wealthiest generation in the World history I tend to perceive myself as a tax slave in a luxury barn. Would you have any tips on how to practice gratitude and how to teach gratitude to my children?


How to wish well rationally?
In your presentation "Vampire Love Kills!" you describe that stating "you're lucky" means admitting helplessness to achieve goals like having a six pack through hard work at the gym. Is "Freedomain dot com slash donate" the new well wishing phrase? You keep referring to the shortness of your remaining days which is depressing.


PART 1

Thank you for answering my previous question regarding the rationality of child abuse. I’d like to continue that discussion if possible by raising a few points. First I’d like to clarify why this matters to me personally because without the context, I think we might misunderstand our intentions.

My brother recently became a parent. I tried to advocate for peaceful parenting (this was before you finished the book), and he said he trusted more in how he was raised, with corporal punishment. The typical points of “I turned out fine”, etc were raised by him. It was a lost cause, and by the end of it, he felt as though his honour was challenged by me calling it cowardly. He wanted to spar with me in a ring for 5 rounds as a way for me to prove my point (he’s older than me by 4 years and also more muscular). The only other way he’d accept my proof would be through raising my own children peacefully and seeing what kind of adults they would be. At that point course, the damage to his own children would already be done.

Long story short this was the end of our relationship. I have grieved, and I’m still in the process of accepting things, but a part of that process for me is steel manning his position. Maybe in seeing it completely destroyed I’ll have more peace of mind. As such in Part 2, I shall continue to play devils advocate. There might appear to be some level of disassociation in part 2 since there is clearly an emotional undercurrent to this discussion. A call-in might be good, but for this I prefer the slower process of contemplating and responding through argumentation. The emotions are still being processed and this sore emotional underbelly might also be why I haven’t yet read peaceful parenting.



First I think you made a few fantastic points which are worth repeating and rephrasing just to make sure I understand you.

1. “If you can’t hit any characteristic of a child, how can you hit a child?” I.e. if there is no justification for violence against someone with a single characteristic of a child, how can violence be justified when you have those characteristics in aggregate?
2. “Rationality is an abstract thing and abstract things judge abstract things. You don’t judge particular actions, you judge arguments. It’s a category error to say that reason should judge individual actions.” I.e. Reason is a standard that we use for judging the quality of abstractions. If we want to judge the quality of actions outside of practicality, we use morality.
3. “Practicality is taking the steps in order to achieve a goal. Morality is universally preferable behaviour.” I.e. something is given the quality of being ‘practical’ when it makes it likely that a given goal will be achieved. Something is given the quality of being ‘moral’ when it is universally preferred and enforceable.

With these points in mind, I have a question regarding point 3. If the act of copying yourself / reproduction is universally observed across all living organisms, does this qualify as a universally preferable behaviour? Since morality is exclusive to human beings, then does reproduction both (physically or memetically) qualify as a universally preferable behaviour since human beings show a universal preference for this?

If it is universally preferable to reproduce, with memetic reproduction as one part of this process, then child abuse can be considered a form of memetic reproduction that has a moral status because it is an enforceable subset of a universally preferable behaviour (reproduction). On the other hand, memetic and physical reproduction is goal oriented and practical. Since you made a distinction earlier between the practical and the moral, is this not a case of the two overlapping? If the two can overlap, then are we back to the point I was arguing earlier of rationality and practically overlapping, since you said that morality is a subset of reason.

The key mechanism here is to first say that reproduction is a UPB. Then to say that child abuse is a form of reproduction (memetic). Once child abuse is seen as a form of reproduction, it has moral and rational status. On the other hand, reproduction is also practical. Therefore, you have the moral/ rational intersecting with the practical.

Thank you in advance.



I am struggling with how to navigate raising children: should I participate in creating the belief that Santa Claus exist ?

I don’t have children, but actively planning to have children.

I’m leaning towards not wanting to participate in creating the belief in Santa Claus because it seems like a huge deception. When I explain to people why I don’t find it healthy for children to be deceived then I’m typically met with “oh! you have to! it’s just for fun! it’s magical! It’s Christmas! It’s part of childhood!”

My best answer would be to explain to my children that Santa Claus is not real, explain the concept, and allow them to enjoy the fictional character.

( Then , I’ll face the problem when my child tells other children that Santa Claus is fictional, future podcast question I suppose, lol)

Recently, you’ve said that Izzy is quick to identify contradictions because you’ve never asked her to believe in contradictions.

I recall the age I realized Santa Claus wasn’t real, but feared if I let anyone know then I wouldn’t be getting as many gifts. This led me to develop an ability to deceive the “giver” into “yes, I’ll believe what you want in order for me to get what I want”.

It all seems so innocent when looking at a fat jolly man dressed in a red suit.

Is Santa Claus (maybe include Easter bunny, tooth fairy, other pagan folk lore, etc) a contradiction that Izzy was never asked to believe in?

thanks!



Hello Stefan!

My first question is: How can I become a more content person?

For example, I fall into a cycle of saying, "This is going to be our forever home!" and then after a few years, I start dreaming of something bigger and better, getting excited about the prospect of moving again. I can't seem to go 3-4 years without feeling the itch to move up!

My second question is: Why am I struggling with feeling left out?

Maybe my two questions are somehow linked. Lately in my community and circle of mom/homeschooling/neighborhood friends, I've been aware of recent instances where I haven't been invited to join a dinner or gathering. Logically, I tell myself that it's okay! We live in a small town and I don't have to be invited to everything! Emotionally it still hurts though.

Thank you!

GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND AUDIOBOOK!

https://peacefulparenting.com/

Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!

Also get the Truth About the French Revolution, the interactive multi-lingual philosophy AI trained on thousands of hours of my material, private livestreams, premium call in shows, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!

See you soon!

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In this episode, I explore investment strategies amid rising inflation, advocating for tangible assets over traditional ones like real estate and cryptocurrency. I reflect on how my philosophy has influenced listeners' views on atheism and parenting.
We discuss Solana and my skepticism about its efficiency, focusing on the trade-offs between decentralization and centralization in tech. I highlight the importance of recognizing both advantages and disadvantages in all decisions and urge listeners to engage with credible sources that acknowledge inherent complexities.

GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND AUDIOBOOK!

https://peacefulparenting.com/

Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!

Also get the Truth About the French Revolution, the interactive multi-lingual philosophy AI trained on thousands of hours of my material, private livestreams, premium call in shows, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!

See you soon!

https://freedomain.locals.com/support/promo/UPB2022

"How, mental health do we help those who do not want help... The addicts, the anti social, ideally we do not create them but what do we do with the ones already broken that do not want help???"


"Are you banned from twitter, and if so is there a chance you could look at getting unbanned now that Elon owns the place?"


"What's next for you Stefan Molyneux after the peaceful parenting magnum opus? Any stones unturned?"


"Why do people prefer echo chambers so much? How can they so viciously defend ideas so fragile that they cannot question their own worldview?"


"Here’s a few:
"Make a general prediction for the country over the course of the next 20-25 years.
"how to build mental toughness and resiliency and how to manage stress and worries . How to cope with loss of a loved one, career, and/ or how to navigate life’s ups and downs in a healthy manner.
"How to raise masculine strong boys into men while also being a part time dad because discipline and guidance is a challenge with a baby momma terrorist.
"If you were single, what kind of woman would you be looking for?"

GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND AUDIOBOOK!

https://peacefulparenting.com/

Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!

Also get the Truth About the French Revolution, the interactive multi-lingual philosophy AI trained on thousands of hours of my material, private livestreams, premium call in shows, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!

See you soon!

https://freedomain.locals.com/support/promo/UPB2022

I have written my first article in years for the amazing new Islander magazine. It's called "Losing the Language of Freedom," and it is a must-read!

You can get the magazine here:

https://lotuseaters.com/islander-2-11-09-24

QUESTIONS

"Related to your post of death by heroism.

"Is creating and nurturing life a superpower, e.g. creating families?

"I can scarcely imagine the amount of joy there is in been involved as a parent, and seeing the progression in your daughter for example.

"Why do the man-children avoid it? What is the fear?"


"Hi Stef, I'm a couple of weeks behind on your show and working on catching up! If this has been mentioned before then please skip over my question :) I heard on the lotus eaters podcast that you have contributed an article in their latest issue of the islander magazine, which had me immediately purchase it. As a UK citizen I find their podcast to be very useful in navigating the maelstrom that my country has become over the past 2 months, so I am excited to hear that my favourite guide in moral reasoning (you) is collaborating with them again. It will be a few weeks before it is printed/posted out so I was wondering if you could drop any hints about the subject of your article? If you think that it's best that I wait to find out for myself then I fully understand!"


"Apologies if it has been asked before, but I read implicit in your philosophy that God (if such an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent being exists) has not made his approval known of any particular religion. Is the question of God and any potential source of divine revelation outside of the scope of your interest, does it seem like God has not approved of any religion or that any and all miracles are not credible, or something else entirely?

"I ask this because as a Catholic I glean divine approval of Traditional Catholicism (such as it was before John XXIII) from the miracles of Catholic saints and the eucharist (and besides that the truth of the testimony of many Catholic martyrs)."


"How can you tell the difference between a legitimate desire or need and a narcissistic impulse that demands to be satisfied? Sometimes I feel like the boundary between self-care and self-indulgence is blurry."


"I posted a lengthy question in this thread a few hours ago on my relationship struggles. But then I remembered the RTR AI and pasted my question to it and received a thorough and amazingly helpful response. I’ve deleted my question here to give others more opportunity to get theirs answered, and want to call out the RTR AI and its benefits."


"What do you think of the new YouTube policy where they will restrict/hide fitness & exercise content for teenagers because 'it can lead to negative self beliefs and body image disorders'"


"Hi Stef, I'm noticing recently on Gab and other right majority platforms a marked rise in hatred for capitalism, ultimately basing their criticisms on things that are the direct results of state action. Why is it that many right-leaning people clearly understand the social consequences of government action, but appear to dismiss it entirely when it comes to economics?"

GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND AUDIOBOOK!

https://peacefulparenting.com/

Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!

Also get the Truth About the French Revolution, the interactive multi-lingual philosophy AI trained on thousands of hours of my material, private livestreams, premium call in shows, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!

See you soon!

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Friday Night Live 13 September 2024

In this episode of Friday Night Live, I explore the shifting dynamics of modern relationships, focusing on the financial success of women on platforms like OnlyFans and the implications for traditional male roles. We discuss the decline of monogamy and its impact on sexual access, while also addressing listener questions about navigating romance within friend groups.
I highlight the significance of genuine interest in relationships, the effects of societal perceptions on attraction, and the importance of human connection, especially as we age. The conversation also touches on quirky trends in food culture, leading to broader reflections on personal philosophy. Join me for an engaging hour that delves into the complexities of relationships in today's world.

GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND AUDIOBOOK!

https://peacefulparenting.com/

Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!

Also get the Truth About the French Revolution, the interactive multi-lingual philosophy AI trained on thousands of hours of my material, private livestreams, premium call in shows, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!

See you soon!

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In this episode, we delve into personal experiences and struggles shared by callers. Topics include societal pressure, childhood trauma, academic challenges, cultural identity, relationships, self-image, and coping mechanisms like pornography. Callers discuss feelings of abandonment and neglect, tracing these emotions back to family dynamics and fears of rejection. We explore the impact of neglect on self-worth and offer insights on improving social skills, self-perception, and rebuilding self-worth in healthier ways.

GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND AUDIOBOOK!

https://peacefulparenting.com/

Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!

Also get the Truth About the French Revolution, the interactive multi-lingual philosophy AI trained on thousands of hours of my material, private livestreams, premium call in shows, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!

See you soon!

https://freedomain.locals.com/support/promo/UPB2022

Wednesday Night Live 11 September 2024

In this episode, we delve into the complexities of personal relationships and societal values, focusing on parenting and autonomy. I challenge the libertarian views on freedom and property rights, exploring the implications of immigration and the welfare state. Sharing insights as a parent, I discuss guiding children through our mistakes and the emotional struggles of connecting with distant family members. The conversation also addresses autonomy in the context of societal pressures around issues like abortion. Join me for a thought-provoking look at love, responsibility, and the connections that define our lives.

GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND AUDIOBOOK!

https://peacefulparenting.com/

Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!

Also get the Truth About the French Revolution, the interactive multi-lingual philosophy AI trained on thousands of hours of my material, private livestreams, premium call in shows, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!

See you soon!

https://freedomain.locals.com/support/promo/UPB2022