Am about to binge watch. I’ve been wanting something like this.

Absolutely 😘😘😃😀

Same here and it's not subject-related I'm watching every talk, lecture, interview And I'm enjoying it

Yes a teacher, not a priest!

8 95 I have 3

Love the way you have articulated his personality.. Analytical and clear.

Thank God there's God to thank then, ya?

My friend, I used to be agnostic, until I started having mystical experiences. Started in 2019 when I was 39. We are most definitely the people living in Plato’s cave. If you want to know the truth ask for it and meditate!

@@DFMoray Tell us more please.

​@@nathanmalik1697 Anyone who's experienced a good mushroom trip can tell you all about exiting Plato's cave.

@@technomage6736 The reason why pdf file atheists are constantly high on drugs, is because their life have no meaning when they have no free will

Excellent.

respect for that

According to atheist religion which rejects free will and any form of personal responsibility and accountability, Why was it not evil when mao did away with 70 million people?

+Connie Bach Does that make me a genius in this aspect? I've been doing that as well of recent. I mean, yeah I know this was two years ago, but I've been doing this for at least three months now entirely of my own volition, and had the idea in mind since maybe...eh can't think about when it started.

+Connie Bach : yes.....agreed......!

Mduenisch, not quite. There's a difference between thinking these things in your own mind and lecturing them in front of a wide audience like Alain does. Like the difference between thinking of an invention and actually realising an invention into reality. It's realising your brilliant idea that makes you a genius, not just having the brilliant idea.

God damit! He doesn't. Did you even watch it?

@@omrin3826 According to atheist religion, Why is incest, necrophilia and cannibalism not wrong?

I don't think it's just community. I think ritual is something that is also very important. I had a discussion with a close friend of whom I would label as a spiritual Atheist, and he and I agreed that religion won't die, not because it gives people comfort. There's something profound about the experience of ritual, and the fact people are taking part in something that has been done for over a thousand years (depending on the religion).

My Reluctant Theology You could have ritual without religion, it really depends how you define religion though.

moyga Agreed. Many times, when I argue about religion, I find myself thinking "there are many religions that don't have that." Usually the argument is about belief structure and authority, and not about "religion."

marisafari The downside of 'community' is a meddlesome, intrusive, and judgmental community. That sort of 'community' that holds you back and down, most of us could all do without.

we have a spiritual part and a physical part. The spiritual part is not a soul that is magical, it's a function of the brain. When atheists understood that God does not exist in reality... they've dispensed with the idea that we have a spiritual part. With their scientific minds, they didn't get that we evolved with this spiritual part of us and religions are just crude beginnings to explore and understand this part of us. Instead of throwing it all out, they should have evolved it, understand it and improve it. Something that today is starting to happen.

differous01 Dawkins is a damn fool

because...?

differous01 His constant argument with caricatures of Christians as if there is only one type of Christian in the world and if they don't believe what he says they believe then they are not a Christian to Dawkins. It is the lowest brow intellectualism possible. I am not a Christian nor religious whatsoever. However, his arrogance and tendency to transplant his own personality on to others and to then argue against it is droll at best. As Mr. Botton said, there is a richness in culture within Christianity that need not lend itself to literalism. He is the archetype of the Post-Mordern idiocy that has infected a rich culture that whether atheists like it or not is steeped in Christian beliefs.

differous01 Hitchens was the same away with caricatures but he at least was witty and far more intelligent in his understanding of western culture. Dawkins shows himself to be of the build a "new man" tradition that infected the world through Nazism and Stalinism.

David Longfellow What "new man" tradition are you thinking of? The Ubermensche?

((balanced and intellectually honest)) So, we could say the Earth goes around the Sun from Mon-Sat and the other way around on Sundays? That's balanced. Or biological evolution only operates in non-believers, where as believers have never evolved but were created, complete and final, 10,000 yrs ago? That's balanced. So as we don't offend believers. Reality doesn't give two figs about the stuck up arrogance of homo sapiens insisting they are something special in the universe. If you can't stomach reality Chris, move out of the reality kitchen. Plenty of happy-clappy new age churches around ready to welcome you.

***** There is plenty of empathy involved in a multitude of scientific fields and pursuits. And as far as I am concerned, empathy is a an umbrella for many morals. Medicine, for example, the quest to be involved in medicine is often driven by empathy and wanting to care for others, of course this is not exclusive as there are some, as in all professional fields, that are driven by money. Marine biology is a science, and one my daughter wants to pursue, her reasons are to help animals, the planet and therefore, in turn, the human race as whole. Along with the fascination of the ocean, of dolphins etc... she is driven by her empathy and morals in that she sees this as a path worth travelling and caring about. She's 8 years old. That empathic 'spirit' is alive in many scientists, so to say science has no morality is short sighted, as the benefits of scientific progess have helped, and harmed, the human race since it's inception. you could question this and suggest that it's the person that uses the science that has the morals and the science itself is 'moral-less' as it is some what inanimate, but science, by definition is the practice, it cannot exist without the interactions of humans, therefore cannot be devoid of a moral influence. Science: the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment." Some fields hold morals as a fundamental to their existence, some are driven by what some call the spiritual self seeking answers, and some is just practical or capitalist. But even civil engineering can have a moral purpose if you need to build a bridge so people can cross a river to reach a field and avoid starvation.

This is atheism. They unlike religious people do not share a set of ideas because they are who they are. They know how to think and are of very different backgrounds and different ideas, which is what makes the world beautiful. If you want everyone to think in a particular way, or live in some utopia, life would be plain boring. I personally prefer a more aggressive (non violent, unlike religions) approach towards religion, and that all those great things he talks about don't belong to religion. Religion has only adapted.

You can cover up a lot bad historic deeds with $97 billion dollars per year.

No. What you are proposing is that atheists simply forget that religions are essentially lies that have become entrenched in society and "play along" to obtain "some form of spiritualism, collective moral guide and sense of community" (your words). We find "spiritualism" in the wider sense in a number of other endeavours, we definitely do not think that the bible (I'm assuming that's where you're heading with that one) is a "collective moral guide"; on the contrary, it is a horrible book that can be ripped to shreds for all the bloodthirsty and horrible ideas that are captured therein. To jump to your final point that "religion is a route to Good/God" and a way of living, that is plainly nonsense. Look around you and at the way people of the same religion treat and regard other people of the same religion, but of different cults/denominations. Look at all the harm religion has done and is doing and again tell me how this is a route to a good life. The happiest, wealthiest countries at the moment are the least religious. There is no positive correlation between religion and what a secularist views as a good life. The religious are such narrow minded people that I will happily forego community with them and live a solitary and happy life.

@@alegriart Devotion and judgement are not particularly compatible.

Alain is a brilliant Speaker, well read & very very interesting, we need more Alain’s in our life. But....Alain takes us on a journey as to how he views the world, through his eyes & brain. We all have different functioning brains. Some are always seeking information, others have an insatiable Quest for Learning (this is Alain) & telling people. Yet others have no interest in anything other than boozy nights with males & females or doing Drugs. A Rabbi, Monk, Minister, Priest, School Teacher, University Lecturer & a Public Speaker all have one thing in common. They are telling/sharing with you of their life experiences & what they have been taught, told & learnt. Some Speakers (etc) have you captivated from the beginning, whilst others take some time to get your interest.. Other Speakers are the most boring people on Earth (possibly in the Universe). We have all encountered wonderful Teachers, whom we have had admired. A Religious Speaker is no different - they can get their message across or they can’t. Hell, Fire & Brimstone is passé in Western Civilisations today. There are so many misinterpretations of the Bible - plus the Bible was written in times when the majority of people were uneducated & illiterate. Therefore some of the Teachings had to be taught in a simple way for simple people to understand. Many of the most interesting people I have met, have been Rabbis & Christian Ministers. These men are the same as Alain, highly educated & interested in people & the world around them.I have met Nuclear Physicists, Cosmologists, Astronomers at Universities, they told me they were Christians. Imagine my shock, surprise when they told me. They explained the more you delve into Science , there is a pattern. The pattern hasn’t just happened over Millenia by accident - it is so well designed, it has to be from a much higher power that us humans cannot understand. Christianity has had & still has some terrible Members of the Clergy, they are just doing a job they are not really suited for. A CEO, General Manager etc of an Organisation should lead with honesty, truthfulness & passion & only want the best for their employees & the Company’s growth. Thank you once again Alain, you make people question & think....who knows one day you may become another enlightened, educated Rabbi. 🙏🏼🙏🏼

I love this creature more than I love my family and friends combined (sometimes). A very rare clairvoyant truth-teller. Such a treasure of a human-being serving all of humanity.

are you for real? In Germany we always get Ethics or practical Philosophy as an alternative to religious lessons at school. I even think it has to be provided by law. There different religions will be studied, but also different moral questions and philosophical texts and questions referenced.

@@marchiawue : I think a better idiom in English would be "Can this be true?". Because "Are you for real" implies that you are calling someone a liar, or something negative. Anyway, I envy what Germany has in public education. In Australia and in American in particular, religion has way too much power over non-religious culture and education.

@@wesmahan4757 - I know, right? That's why Christmas stuff has been forced out of public places, prayer out of schools, the 10 commandments, and any mention of God or the bible out of public and political buildings, as well as ongoing removals of any religious symbols in public. You know, cuz religion is so dominating and oppressive, and always get it's way.

@@jameseverett9037 this is interesting if I get you right the religious studies being replaced are mainly Christian scripture and being replaced by ethical programs. What this means is that a particular religion that has sustained German all this years is being eroded and that void I believe would need to be filled due to human quest for something bigger to believe in that's why Islam would fill that void because muslims would not allow ethical lessons to replace their faith.

@@boseman8227 - my apologies, I didn't understand your comment. Are you saying Germans should convert to Islam?

Maybe secular society needs more stories of oneness and belonging to each other, the earth etc ...more rituals etc. 💞🙏

+Sam Lee dude that's harsh. it was a small glitch at best.

I like my analogy :o( what would you compare it to then? a speed eating hot dog man accidentally missing his face and throwing a sausage into the crowd? :o(

That freaked you out?! Well aren't you a special little princess.

eww. a couple of guys who treat women like shit

@@jem30six Are you going to be that way...?

@@Panos__P Yes i am going to be that way! I'm saying it how it see it. I don't dislike men at all, but I don't like men who treat women badly and they both have in very different ways.

@@jem30six I understand Jordan Peterson is a sexist and homophobe. But why do you accuse Alain de Botton of the same?

@@justanotherview3243 because a couple years ago Alain started up The School of Life app on iphone for thinking people to connect and discuss ideas. They had a plan to expand the app to android phones and it extended out to a web you could connect to on PC. The problem was that they tried to insist that people use a photo of themselves, you could not appear offline if you were online. Anyone could contact you via private message without you approving it first. and basically the women on the app became bait for men to join the app and hit on women. No matter what feedback they got from the group they allowed it to be so, although they did let up on having to use an image of yourself. Then the app diverged into a dating app... for thinking people! They said people interested in could use the discussions in the app for approaching one and other, but the thing is, as soon as a woman logged on, the PM started rolling in, I noticed particularly for me, when the Indian time zone came online. They did have a feature to block people after the fact, but not an option to accept before they could PM you. Then we became aware that they had been advertising the new app, with lonely women sitting on a bed, waiting to connect with some like minded person our there... and another ad of a man and a women connecting via the app, and going off on a date after. The other thing with the app, was they did not do a very good job screening children out of the app. I was aware that there was an under-aged child on there talking about sex in an open forum, after i reported it, but nothing happened. oh plus the content of the discussions could be linked to people who were not members of the app! The protections for women were very poor on the app, and when i complained they said, I could leave, and read a book or something. So I did. Which is a shame because it had started off so well, but in the end it was about numbers and making money, and taking advantage of women to get it... imo

Ugh same, really bad audio!

Yes. It still doesn't explain how atheists find some sort of spirituality for our soul, without believeing in some god.

What I'm referring to maybe called Sunday Assembly however I thought it was a group of people who may believe in God but may not prescribe to traditional religion

Absolutely agree with this but, I think the reason he did not delve into what you have explained is because he is trying to stick with the “mainstream” God.. as the capacity to understand anything beyond that is limited.

In internet era everyone can do it. People just need internet access