I read a shocking “takedown” of Joe Rogan by Ars Technica writer Beth Mole. She tries to make the case that “having conversations” or “just asking questions” is the trademark of snake oil salesmen. What an idiotic thesis. Here is a little of what she wrote.
To start, the Paltrows and Rogans of the world just want to ask questions and have conversations to get to the truth—like, the real truth. Rogan is famous for defending misinformation presented on his podcast by saying he's "just asking questions." In addressing the Spotify controversy on Instagram, Rogan repeatedly noted that his podcast is "just conversations."
"I'm interested in finding out what the truth is," he elaborated. "And I'm interested in having interesting conversations with people that have differing opinions. I'm not interested in only talking to people that have one perspective." — Beth Mole, Ars Technica
Beth was so stymied by Joe’s defense, that the only recourse she had was to find another grifter who used it in the past and say that conversations and questions are from the devil. But that’s lunacy.
That’s like saying since bank robbers use cars, people who drive cars are suspect. Or since muggers walk on the sidewalk, that walking on the sidewalk means that you’re a mugger. It seems that Beth is incapable of extending her logic and seeing the fallacy of her argument.
And I’ve never been a fan of Joe Rogan. I’ve steered clear of his podcast because I have a hard time getting past my image of the guy who cajoled people into eating cockroaches on the Fear Factor. But you don’t need to know what Joe is talking about to understand that throwing out the underpinnings of the Age of Enlightenment is a bad idea.
But don’t just take my word for it. What would the Ancient Greek philosophers have to say about Beth’s thesis?
Western civilization is at least partially based on the Ancient Greek enlightenment. The Greek philosophers believed that truth could be reasoned. How do you reason? It is still done the same way they did it in the 6th century. The philosophers would gather and have conversations. Through asking questions and reasoning viable answers, they tried to deduce what the truth was.
There is great wisdom in bouncing ideas off of one another and listening to opposing viewpoints. Asking questions of one another was one of the main tools in Ancient Greece. We need to do more of that today, not less.
Is Beth advocating for a return to the dark ages? Because suppression of opposing viewpoints is the hallmark of despotism. Those who would lose arguments on the basis of logic always advocate for suppression of opposing viewpoints.
The hallmark of a free society is the freedom to express ideas. There is no accepted line of truth that must be adhered too. The hallmark of societies with oppressive governments or despots is that no dissent is allowed. If there is a group or political party in the United States which is openly advocating for the shutdown of dissent, I believe that’s what you call a red flag. And yes, the color red is significant.
"I'm interested in finding out what the truth is," he elaborated. "And I'm interested in having interesting conversations with people that have differing opinions. I'm not interested in only talking to people that have one perspective." — Beth Mole, Ars Technica
Beth was so stymied by Joe’s defense, that the only recourse she had was to find another grifter who used it in the past and say that conversations and questions are from the devil. But that’s lunacy.
That’s like saying since bank robbers use cars, people who drive cars are suspect. Or since muggers walk on the sidewalk, that walking on the sidewalk means that you’re a mugger. It seems that Beth is incapable of extending her logic and seeing the fallacy of her argument.
And I’ve never been a fan of Joe Rogan. I’ve steered clear of his podcast because I have a hard time getting past my image of the guy who cajoled people into eating cockroaches on the Fear Factor. But you don’t need to know what Joe is talking about to understand that throwing out the underpinnings of the Age of Enlightenment is a bad idea.
But don’t just take my word for it. What would the Ancient Greek philosophers have to say about Beth’s thesis?
Western civilization is at least partially based on the Ancient Greek enlightenment. The Greek philosophers believed that truth could be reasoned. How do you reason? It is still done the same way they did it in the 6th century. The philosophers would gather and have conversations. Through asking questions and reasoning viable answers, they tried to deduce what the truth was.
There is great wisdom in bouncing ideas off of one another and listening to opposing viewpoints. Asking questions of one another was one of the main tools in Ancient Greece. We need to do more of that today, not less.
Is Beth advocating for a return to the dark ages? Because suppression of opposing viewpoints is the hallmark of despotism. Those who would lose arguments on the basis of logic always advocate for suppression of opposing viewpoints.
The hallmark of a free society is the freedom to express ideas. There is no accepted line of truth that must be adhered too. The hallmark of societies with oppressive governments or despots is that no dissent is allowed. If there is a group or political party in the United States which is openly advocating for the shutdown of dissent, I believe that’s what you call a red flag. And yes, the color red is significant.
RSS Feed