- 1 day ago
Stefan Molyneux looks at Universally Preferable Behavior, or UPB, in terms of moral superstitions and social norms. He points out how probing long-held moral ideas can uncover risks tied to power systems. His own stories show the fallout from pushing against those norms, and he covers the mental effects of facing taboos. He stresses that moral ideas need to hold up under examination to count as valid, and he puts forward UPB as a way to handle ethical talks with a focus on objectivity and to chase truth despite pushback from society.
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LearningTranscript
00:00Alright, so somebody ran UPB through Grok and was sort of arguing with Grok to get Grok to understand UPB, and it was a consent loop thing, and I'll post it on social media, but it was interesting, but it was incorrect.
00:13And when we were working with AI to create the sort of StephBot AI, which is available for donors at premium.freedomand.com, I worked with a lot of AIs to try to get AI to understand what was UPB, what UPB meant.
00:32But the foundational proof of UPB is this. It's very simple, and I know that sounds like being a dick, I get that, but you know, just bear with me.
00:44It's not because it's so complicated, it's because all of our morals are superstitious, right?
00:52All of our morals are superstitions.
00:55Now, there are superstitions that happen in many ways to accord with reality, right?
01:03In the same way, like, when there's a tsunami, the first thing that happens is the water level goes down, because like the water level is gathering where the tsunami is, right?
01:13So, there are these Pacific Islanders, the last time there was some big tsunami, they saw it first, they got to higher ground, because they had a, you know, when the water goes down, it means that the sea god is angry and there's going to be a big wave, right?
01:25So, they had a superstitious understanding of the facts of reality that when there's going to be a tsunami, the first thing that happens is the water level goes down, because it's gathering in the big tall tower of a wave, right?
01:36So, all of our morals are superstitions, and questioning superstition, this is why it's so hard to think about UPP, but questioning superstition was extremely dangerous throughout all of human history,
01:56because power is based upon rules and exceptions, and the only way that rules and exceptions can be justified is through superstition.
02:06I mean, prophets provide miracles, and miracles are exceptions to the laws of physics, that's how you know that they're miracles, and this is how their divinity is established.
02:18God is eternal, God is all-powerful, all-knowing, God can create everything out of nothing just by willing it and so on, and so God is an exception to everything that we know.
02:30God is all-powerful and immaterial, whereas that which is immaterial has no power.
02:36If somebody said, I'm going to hit you with an invisible arrow, an arrow that has no corporeal form, like, there's no atoms, I'm going to mime, I'm going to hit you with it, and when I say invisible, I don't just mean you can't see it, but it's real, I'm going to hit you with an incorporeal arrow, you would not be particularly worried, I guess you were, if you were into voodoo or something like that, right?
03:01So that which is immaterial has no power. Try and building, try building a fire using only air, in other words, don't use any sticks, where you can't build the fire.
03:13So that which is immaterial has no power, but God, who is immaterial, is all-powerful, right?
03:19So, we've created a massive exception.
03:22And questioning these exceptions throughout human history, if you got very far, and obviously, I have a direct experience of this, right, having suffered a lot of blowback over, I mean, for almost 20 years, really, having suffered a lot of blowback for telling the truth that goes against the superstition of the blank slate, that goes against the superstition of the generic soul of religion, and so on, right?
03:50So, it's very dangerous to tell the truth, and I don't have Oscar Wilde's wit, right?
03:55He says, if you're going to tell people the truth, you have to make them laugh first, otherwise they're going to kill you.
04:00I do not have his famous wit.
04:01I can resist everything except temptation.
04:04But I know, and you know, and everyone knows, that if you attempt to bring reason to the question of superstition, you are in very, very, very dangerous territory, right?
04:20So, when I went to go and give my speeches in 2018, I think it was, yeah, seven years ago, I went to give my speeches in Australia, Australia, with Ms. Southern, I was simply using anthropological and historical data to talk about the brutality of the native population.
04:42Now, that goes against the superstition of the noble savage, and the noble savage is necessary to make, especially white people, because it really only ever gets applied to white people, the noble savage myth is essential to make white people feel guilty for existing.
05:01Oh, it's all stolen land, and there were these wonderful, peaceful natives, and you all came along and just killed them all and gave them smallpox blankets, right?
05:08It's a way of dehumanizing and demoralizing Europeans.
05:14So, when I point out that 40% of the children were killed in native societies and rape was used as a weapon of war and all the other things I talked about in that speech, I mean, these are all facts.
05:25But it goes against the superstition of the noble savage that is necessary for demoralizing white people, because, again, it's only ever applied against white people.
05:37Well, who are the natural enemies of communism, so communists do that, blah, blah, blah, we all know this stuff.
05:41So, whenever you talk against superstition, it's very dangerous, right?
05:44So, I had lots of excitement trying to get in the country, I had actually, I'd never really talked about this, I had quite a lot of excitement trying to get out of New Zealand, detained at the airport and all kinds of exciting stuff, and it's quite dangerous.
06:00That's why I was simply quoting anthropological facts, everything was sourced, but you were going against superstition, and those in power have their power because of superstition, and lies, basically.
06:15So, when you bring reason to falsehoods, we get very nervous.
06:21Let me ask you this, how well would you do on a math question if there were a pack of wolves in the giant hallway, or a tiger, or a lion, prowling and padding up and down?
06:36So, you would not be able to concentrate on the mathematical questions, or the spelling bee, or whatever it was, because you'd be constantly checking to see where the lion was, whether it was hungry, whether it was near you, and it would be almost impossible to concentrate on the exam, right?
06:55So, when talking about UPB, people's brains go into fight-or-flight mechanism, and this is particularly true for people who are, say, our good friend John, who's, I think, a professor who's benefiting from these exceptions, right?
07:11Taking money from the government, having special privileges, and so on.
07:14So, the reason why he's hostile to UPB is, I mean, I'm not saying he'd be conscious of this, but, yeah, he'd be hostile to UPB because UPB would overturn his privileges.
07:23Or reveal them as unjust and immoral.
07:26So, the reason why UPB is tough to talk about and to think about, why people get squirrely and staticky and all of that, is because it is a way of getting killed.
07:39I'm not kidding. It's a way of getting killed.
07:41If you start to provoke the kind of questions that interfere with the designs and justifications for power,
07:50in other words, if you raise the cost of owning human beings, of controlling human beings, right?
07:57Because if people believe in these superstitions, then they're much cheaper and easier to control.
08:05I mean, people don't like the mafia, and they rebelled against it finally and did pretty well in that rebellion,
08:10but people don't particularly like the mafia, but they'll sort of submit to it because they'll use violence,
08:15and the police aren't very helpful, and so on.
08:18So, it's different, of course, with political power that people think is necessary and justified, and so on, right?
08:24So, when you start bringing questions of universality and rationality
08:29to the twisted pockets of superstition that justify power, there's a great sense of threat.
08:36A tiger is loosed in the mind.
08:39Or, of course, to put it another way, as I usually do,
08:43all those who enthusiastically attacked the contradictions of power with universal rationality got killed.
08:50And so, who's left over?
08:52Who's left over are the people who don't want to do that,
08:55but they also don't want to admit to themselves that they're avoiding questions of morality and universality
09:03because they're frightened of the people in power.
09:07And, I mean, to be cautious about the people in power is a wise thing to do, right?
09:13Because obvious reasons.
09:16But people don't want to admit that to themselves
09:19because one of the most important aspects of obeying power
09:25is you don't see it for power, right?
09:28That's what really lowers the cost of human ownership
09:30is when the people you have power over
09:33do not see the power, right?
09:38So, in my debate on spanking recently,
09:43they were talking about the necessity of governments
09:46because of defense and so on, right?
09:49And so, they don't want to think
09:52that they subjugate themselves to political power
09:55because it is powerful,
09:56but they have to say,
09:57it is rational and necessary and good
10:00and I'm doing the right thing by society
10:03and the alternative would be infinitely worse
10:05and it's crazy to think otherwise
10:06and what's the matter with you?
10:07Like, they have to twist themselves
10:10into, like, body contortionist-style cramps.
10:15I was trying to think of the right word there, cramps.
10:17In order to justify that they do not submit to political power
10:23because political power is big and strong and aggressive.
10:27No, no.
10:28They are submitting to political power
10:31in the same way that someone who's dangerously overweight
10:35submits to a dietitian and a personal coach,
10:39like a fitness coach, right?
10:41That somebody who has cancer
10:44submits to radiation and chemotherapy, right?
10:48They're submitting to something that's rational
10:50and helpful and good and all of that, right?
10:52And again, this is not to diss either of those guys at all.
10:55I mean, I enjoyed the debate
10:56and I was glad to have the invitation,
10:58but, you know, facts are facts.
11:02So, of course, political power,
11:04and this is back to the Hobbesian argument,
11:06political power says,
11:08well, in the absence of a centralized state,
11:11it's just a war of all against all.
11:14Nature read in tooth and claw,
11:15life is nasty, bloody, brutish, and short, right?
11:18That's the reality.
11:20So we trade away some of our freedoms
11:21in order to gain security
11:23by surrendering to the state and so on, right?
11:27So when you start to examine things rationally
11:32and you start to look at morality
11:36from a logical objective standpoint,
11:41people get really, really, really freaked out.
11:46And I've seen it for 20 years, right?
11:48Longer, really.
11:49But I've seen it for 20 years.
11:51There's just kind of static.
11:53And this gaslighting,
11:56this obfuscation,
11:57this subterranean,
11:59I'm still out in full sunlight,
12:01burrowing, and so on.
12:03And I...
12:05It took me a while to understand it.
12:07I have been blessed, slash, cursed
12:10with a lack of fear
12:13of whatever answers make sense.
12:16I did not develop UPB
12:21almost 20 years ago
12:23and sit there and say,
12:25oh my God, I can't publish this.
12:27Like Eugene O'Neill with
12:28Long Day's Journey Tonight
12:30said it can't be published
12:31until like 10 years after he's dead.
12:34So...
12:34I didn't sit there and say,
12:36oh my God, this is terrifying.
12:38I was like, wow, this is exciting.
12:40This is cool.
12:41Now, this does come at a price.
12:43It came at a price for me.
12:44Although I had paid that price before,
12:47but the price for me of UPB
12:51was statism, right?
12:53Because I was a minarchist
12:53in the objectivist style
12:55for 20 years.
13:00And 15 to 35,
13:03something like that.
13:04So I was a minarchist for many years
13:06and then I finally got the DRO thing
13:08and I was like, oh,
13:10so we don't need that, right?
13:11And that was good
13:11because minarchism,
13:13the idea that the government
13:15is necessary for national defense
13:17and for courts,
13:20law system as a whole,
13:22maybe prisons,
13:23that kind of stuff,
13:24that is a cope
13:26and that's a pocket of power.
13:28And Ayn Rand, of course,
13:30is rational enough
13:30that I think it's one of the reasons
13:31why she got kind of depressed
13:34was that she was unable
13:35to iron out that pocket of power
13:37that she needed
13:38or she felt she needed
13:39because at the end
13:42of Atlas Shrugged,
13:43they like fix the constitution.
13:45They rewrite bits of the constitution
13:47and she thinks
13:49that's going to solve everything.
13:50And that's because
13:51she thought her writing
13:52was going to solve everything.
13:53I remember Leonard Picoff after,
13:55a very young Leonard Picoff,
13:56of course,
13:56after Atlas Shrugged,
13:57after Atlas Shrugged
13:57was published in the late 50s,
13:59he was like,
13:59well, this is going to be fantastic.
14:01They're going to repeal
14:02all of these laws
14:03and Directive 10-289s
14:06in like a year.
14:07And of course,
14:08it didn't happen
14:08and so on, right?
14:10So she thought
14:10that her words
14:11would have peculiar
14:13and particular power
14:14and so she thought
14:15that fixing the constitution
14:17would solve everything,
14:19but of course,
14:20it doesn't, right?
14:21It's just
14:21ink on a page.
14:23It's just
14:24ink on a page, man.
14:26I do, man.
14:27So,
14:28so that's the challenge.
14:30I had to give up
14:31my comprehension
14:33of the world
14:34that the government
14:34should be there,
14:35but smaller
14:36in order to
14:37pave the way
14:38for UPB.
14:40I don't,
14:41if I was still a minarchist,
14:42I don't really know
14:42that I could have developed
14:43UPB
14:44because it would have
14:45gone too much
14:46against my assumptions.
14:48I would have said,
14:48well, hang on,
14:49but UPB means
14:50that political power
14:52is unsupportable
14:54by objective ethics
14:55and that would have
14:57crashed up
14:57against my minarchist.
14:58I don't know.
14:58I just,
14:59I don't know
14:59that I would have had
15:00the just blank
15:01slate curiosity
15:02to move forward
15:04with the examination.
15:06So,
15:07that's one of the reasons
15:09why people have,
15:10I mean,
15:10it's really the foundational reason
15:11that any of their ancestors
15:13who came up with UPB
15:16and promulgated it
15:18and so on
15:19would
15:20have been ostracized
15:23or killed,
15:23like,
15:24it would have been,
15:24it would have gone very badly
15:25for them
15:27as a whole.
15:28So,
15:28that's why
15:29it is like saying
15:30to people,
15:32do math
15:32while
15:34there's
15:35a drooling,
15:37slavering,
15:38bloody-toothed predator
15:39right behind you.
15:41Do math
15:42when you're one
15:43of the last three people
15:44standing in a horror movie.
15:46Can't be done.
15:48So,
15:48there's a lot of static.
15:50And,
15:50of course,
15:51the king,
15:53the priests
15:54and so on,
15:54would regularly
15:55send out spies
15:56trying to talk people
15:58into heresy
15:59or treason.
16:01Oh,
16:01I don't like the king.
16:02Do you like the king?
16:03No,
16:03I don't like the king either.
16:04Right,
16:05mate,
16:05you're nicked.
16:06You'll never take me alive,
16:08copper.
16:09Right,
16:09you're nicked.
16:10You're in the tower.
16:11You're beheaded.
16:13Because it turns out
16:14the guy who's telling you,
16:16I hate the king,
16:16you hate the king,
16:18is one of the king's spies
16:19and you're dead.
16:21You're dead.
16:23Live on time,
16:24live on time.
16:26So,
16:28that was a lot of caution.
16:29A lot of caution
16:30and a lot of deadly fear
16:32of universal ethics.
16:35Now,
16:35as to why,
16:36it doesn't really matter why,
16:38I don't have this particular barrier,
16:40I just,
16:40I just sort of figured,
16:42like,
16:43what's the point
16:43of being
16:45half unlikable
16:47if you're gonna go,
16:49go big or go home?
16:50Right?
16:51What's the,
16:51I mean,
16:51what's the point of being
16:52half unlikable?
16:54Like,
16:54I mean,
16:55I remember Schwarzenegger
16:56saying,
16:57you know,
16:57well,
16:57of course I'd try to be president
16:59if I'd been born in America,
17:01why wouldn't you
17:02go for the top?
17:03Why would you want to aim for the middle?
17:04Just aim for the top,
17:05right?
17:06So,
17:06for me,
17:07it was like,
17:07I don't want
17:08all the negatives
17:10of philosophy
17:11and none of the positives.
17:12So,
17:13to me,
17:13to be a minarchist
17:14is kind of the worst
17:15of both worlds
17:15because you annoy everyone.
17:17You annoy the true statists
17:18and you annoy the voluntarists
17:20and the end caps
17:21and so on.
17:22So,
17:23to be,
17:23to be halfway
17:25to consistency
17:27is almost worse for me
17:28than being just
17:29inconsistent
17:30and a hedonist.
17:31It's sort of like,
17:32be a hedonist
17:33and be guilty.
17:35That's worse
17:35than just being a hedonist
17:36and enjoying it
17:37or not being a hedonist.
17:38Being a hedonist
17:39and being guilty,
17:40that's bad.
17:42Because
17:42virtue
17:44is how we get
17:45to be loved
17:46and the more consistently
17:47we are virtuous,
17:48the more consistently
17:48we are loved.
17:50So,
17:50to have
17:51beliefs
17:52that put you
17:53outside
17:54of regular conformity,
17:57which is,
17:57you know,
17:57it's a,
17:58they're pleasant.
17:59It's pleasant.
18:00There are benefits
18:01and bonuses
18:01in
18:02real conformity.
18:05I mean,
18:05otherwise,
18:05it wouldn't be
18:06a pull at all.
18:08So,
18:08to not have
18:09the pleasures
18:09of conformity
18:10and also
18:11not have
18:12the pleasures
18:12of deep
18:13and genuine
18:14integrity,
18:15like consistency,
18:16well,
18:16that just seems,
18:18that's like
18:18one foot on the boat,
18:19one foot on the pier,
18:21and the boat and the pier
18:22are drifting apart.
18:23Like,
18:23you know,
18:23pick a side,
18:24go to the fingers,
18:25sit on the fence,
18:26but it don't work.
18:27So,
18:28UPB is simply saying
18:31if that
18:33which is claimed
18:35to be universal
18:36cannot be universalized,
18:39the claim
18:39is rejected.
18:41If I said
18:42open
18:4324 hours a day,
18:46seven days a week,
18:47but only from noon
18:49to 3 p.m.
18:50on Tuesday,
18:51that would
18:52not make any sense,
18:53right?
18:53It's like that old
18:54Stephen Wright joke.
18:56Came to a convenience store,
18:57tried to go in,
18:58it was locked,
18:59the owner was leaving,
19:01and I said,
19:01hey man,
19:02the sign says
19:03open 24 hours,
19:05and he says,
19:06well,
19:06yeah,
19:06but not in a row.
19:08That's the joke,
19:09right?
19:10My girlfriend
19:11and I went camping
19:13and she got
19:13poison ivy
19:14on the brain.
19:15Now she can only
19:16scratch it
19:17by thinking
19:18about sandpaper.
19:20Man,
19:20I went to see him
19:22once,
19:22Stephen Wright.
19:23Good comedian.
19:24God,
19:24he was terrible
19:25at music.
19:25I don't know
19:26what the hell
19:26was going on
19:27with all that music.
19:27Anyway,
19:29so if you say
19:30this rule
19:32applies everywhere
19:33in the universe
19:34and only
19:36in Pittsburgh,
19:37this is a physical
19:38law that is universal,
19:40it applies everywhere
19:40in the universe
19:41and only in Pittsburgh,
19:43one of those
19:44statements is false.
19:45If it's only in
19:46Pittsburgh,
19:47it's not universal.
19:47If it's universal,
19:48it's in Pittsburgh,
19:49but not only in
19:50Pittsburgh,
19:50if you say
19:52to someone
19:53I want you
19:53to tell me
19:54the truth
19:54by lying to me,
19:56that's a contradiction.
19:58So there are
19:58self-contradictory
20:00statements
20:00and they're invalid.
20:03Gases cannot expand
20:04and contract
20:05while being heated,
20:06right?
20:07Two and two
20:08cannot equal four
20:09and the opposite
20:09of four
20:10at the same time.
20:11So there's
20:12a special kind
20:13of disproof,
20:16obviously known
20:17as contradiction.
20:18Go north and south
20:19at the same time,
20:20if you have a theory
20:22that says gravity
20:22both repels
20:23and attracts
20:24at the same time.
20:25Right,
20:25so those are
20:26contradictions.
20:27If you claim
20:29that a rule
20:31is universal
20:32and it cannot
20:35be applied
20:36universally,
20:37then that rule
20:39is self-contradictory.
20:41Let me say this
20:42again.
20:43If you claim
20:44that a rule
20:45is universal
20:46and the application
20:48and the application
20:48of the universal rule
20:50is impossible,
20:52then the proposition
20:54is invalid.
20:56So, of course,
20:56people go through
20:57a lot of mental fog
20:58to try and work
20:59their way around this.
21:00They say,
21:00well, but morality
21:01is not universal.
21:02Morality is not blah,
21:03blah, blah.
21:03It's like, okay,
21:04but then what's the difference
21:04between morality
21:05and an opinion?
21:07And the moment
21:07you correct someone,
21:08you cannot say
21:09that morality
21:10is subjective
21:11and universal
21:11because by correcting them
21:13you're saying
21:13that the truth
21:14is infinitely preferable
21:15to falsehood,
21:17that accuracy
21:17is infinitely preferable
21:18to inaccuracy,
21:20consistency
21:20is infinitely preferable
21:21to inconsistency
21:23or anti-consistency.
21:25So, UPB
21:26is the examination
21:28of the proposition
21:30that that
21:32which is universal
21:34or that which is claimed
21:35to be universal
21:36must be universal.
21:38That's all.
21:40If you claim
21:41something is universal
21:42but it cannot be universal,
21:44your claim is false.
21:46If you have a rule
21:47that says
21:48everyone must walk north
21:50but when
21:52everyone walks north
21:54everyone must also
21:55walk south,
21:56that would be
21:57a contradiction.
21:59It would be like saying
22:00everybody
22:02must stand
22:03on everybody's shoulders.
22:06That's a contradiction.
22:07Everybody
22:07must give everybody
22:09a leg up.
22:12Everybody
22:12must sing higher
22:14than everybody else.
22:16These are
22:17asynchronous
22:18propositions.
22:20If I say
22:21everybody
22:22must stand
22:22on everyone's shoulders,
22:24that's impossible.
22:26Ah, but what if people
22:27did it vertically
22:28and so on, right?
22:29But it is impossible
22:30for everyone
22:31to stand
22:32on everyone's shoulders.
22:33Even if you have
22:35some zero-gravity thing
22:37and all
22:37eight billion people
22:39are standing
22:39on each other's shoulders,
22:40the bottom person
22:41is not standing
22:42on everyone's shoulders.
22:43Ah, but what if
22:43they're looping?
22:45Yeah, that's a fair pushback.
22:47Yeah, I guess you could
22:48put everyone in space,
22:49everyone could stand
22:49on everyone's shoulders
22:50and it could be
22:51looping.
22:53Okay, yeah,
22:54that's a good pushback.
22:56That is
22:56theoretically
22:58possible.
22:59So,
23:00that's all right.
23:01It seems to make sense
23:02in the moment,
23:02but I can think,
23:03I can construct a scenario
23:04where people could
23:05theoretically stand
23:06on everyone else's shoulders.
23:08But if you were to say
23:09everyone must sing higher
23:11than everyone else,
23:13that is not possible,
23:14of course, right?
23:15Because if I'm singing
23:16higher than you,
23:17you are not singing
23:18higher than me,
23:19by definition.
23:19So, we can't both
23:20be singing higher
23:21than each other
23:22at the same time.
23:23If I create a rule
23:24that says,
23:25if I go north,
23:27you have to go south,
23:29and then I say,
23:30everybody has to go north,
23:32north, right?
23:33So, you've got a whole
23:34bunch of people in a row,
23:35and you say,
23:37every odd person
23:39goes north,
23:40every even person
23:41goes south.
23:42That's the rule.
23:43And then you say,
23:45everybody has to go north.
23:46One of those rules
23:47has to go, right?
23:48If everyone's going north,
23:50every even person
23:51can't go south.
23:52If every even person
23:52has to go south,
23:53everybody cannot go north.
23:54So, when we look
23:56at something like theft,
23:59where if you say,
24:00stealing is universally
24:01preferable behavior,
24:02it is impossible
24:03to universalize.
24:04Because stealing
24:05is unwanted
24:06property transfer,
24:08right?
24:09If you want
24:09property transfer,
24:10there's not charity
24:11or something like that,
24:12right?
24:12Or sex.
24:15But,
24:16if you say,
24:19stealing is universally
24:20preferable behavior,
24:21then what you're saying,
24:23of course,
24:24is that
24:25Bob
24:27must want to steal
24:29from Jake.
24:31Stealing is universally
24:32preferable behavior.
24:33And Jake must want
24:34to steal from Bob.
24:36So, everybody
24:36must want to steal
24:38and be stolen from.
24:41Because if stealing
24:42is universally
24:42preferable behavior,
24:43then you must want
24:44to steal
24:44and be stolen from.
24:46Because it can't be
24:47universally preferable behavior
24:49if one person
24:50doesn't want it,
24:51right?
24:52Rape is when
24:53the other person
24:54desperately or
24:55violently even
24:56doesn't want to have sex.
24:58And you force them,
24:59you monster.
25:01You monster!
25:03So,
25:03something cannot be
25:05both universally
25:07preferable
25:07and violently
25:08opposed,
25:09right?
25:11It's like saying,
25:12I have a business plan
25:13based on everybody
25:15in the neighborhood
25:15both wanting to
25:17eat at my restaurant
25:18and wanting to
25:18burn it to the ground.
25:20Well,
25:21it's kind of impossible.
25:21If you want to
25:22eat at the restaurant,
25:22you don't burn it to the ground.
25:23If you want to
25:24burn it down,
25:24you don't want to
25:24eat there.
25:26So,
25:26if we say
25:28stealing is
25:29universally preferable
25:30behavior,
25:31but in order for
25:33stealing to
25:33occur,
25:34somebody must
25:35hate stealing
25:37or being stolen from,
25:38then you're saying
25:39it is universally
25:40preferable behavior
25:42and
25:43not
25:44preferred
25:45at the same time.
25:46it is universally
25:48preferable behavior
25:49and
25:50violently
25:51opposed
25:51at the same time.
25:54I mean,
25:54if,
25:55let's take a sort of
25:56extreme example,
25:57right?
25:58If you have
25:59an EpiPen
26:00and you're allergic
26:02to bees
26:02and you get stung
26:03by a bee
26:03and somebody grabs
26:05your EpiPen
26:05and runs away
26:07and without that EpiPen
26:08you're going to die
26:09from your allergy,
26:11then you could use
26:12up to lethal force
26:14to get your EpiPen
26:16back.
26:16You could shoot
26:17the person,
26:18get your EpiPen
26:19back and say,
26:20look,
26:21this theft
26:22was putting me
26:22in immediate
26:23mortal danger.
26:24I was going
26:25to
26:26die,
26:27which would be
26:28a form of assault,
26:29right?
26:29Running away
26:30with someone's EpiPen
26:30when they desperately
26:31need it
26:32would be a form
26:33of a murder,
26:35right?
26:36So,
26:37theft
26:38can be
26:39violently
26:40opposed
26:40in certain
26:42circumstances
26:43up to
26:44and including
26:44a homicide.
26:47So,
26:48something cannot
26:48be both
26:49universally
26:49preferable
26:50behavior
26:51and
26:52simultaneously
26:53violently
26:55opposed
26:55behavior.
26:57Theft
26:57cannot be
26:58universally
26:59preferable
26:59behavior
27:00because
27:01theft is
27:01asymmetrical.
27:02One person
27:03wants to steal,
27:03the other person
27:04does not want
27:04to get stolen
27:05from.
27:06So,
27:06it is a
27:06self-detonating
27:07argument.
27:09Theft
27:09can never
27:09be universally
27:10preferable
27:11behavior.
27:11That's
27:12the
27:12rational
27:13proof
27:13of
27:13secular
27:13ethics
27:14and
27:14rape
27:14and
27:15assault
27:15and
27:15murder
27:15and so
27:16on.
27:17Those
27:18simple
27:18statements
27:19and they
27:20are
27:21disarmingly
27:22simple
27:22and I
27:23claim a
27:24feat
27:24far more
27:26of courage
27:27than
27:27intelligence.
27:29I mean,
27:29don't get me
27:30wrong,
27:30I think I'm
27:31pretty smart,
27:31but this
27:33was simple
27:34enough that
27:36the primary
27:37virtue in
27:38developing
27:39UPB was
27:40courage,
27:41not
27:42intelligence.
27:44Because when
27:45you get it,
27:45and again,
27:46I can't
27:47explain the
27:47theory of
27:48relativity
27:48mathematically
27:49to my
27:50two or
27:50three-year-old
27:51daughter,
27:51but I
27:52could explain
27:52UPB to
27:53her and
27:53she got
27:54it just
27:54right.
27:55So,
27:56that's
27:57kind of
27:57what I
27:58wanted to
27:58explain,
28:00why it
28:00is so
28:01tough.
28:01Why it's
28:02tense to
28:02even talk
28:03about,
28:03why people
28:04get messed
28:04up,
28:05because it
28:05is a
28:07predator
28:07of a
28:08kind.
28:08UPB is
28:10very
28:10dangerous.
28:12It is
28:12perceived as
28:13very dangerous.
28:14When you
28:15close off
28:16the pockets
28:16of power,
28:18the reverse
28:20sub-realities
28:22which remain
28:23invisible to
28:25lower the
28:25cost of
28:25human
28:26ownership,
28:27when you
28:28start to
28:28expose that
28:29people are
28:30not
28:30obeying
28:32rational,
28:34socially
28:34helpful
28:35constructs,
28:36but rather
28:37are frightened
28:38and herded
28:39by the
28:40cattle,
28:41prods,
28:41and bayonets
28:41of political
28:42power,
28:43they don't
28:43like it.
28:44It takes
28:45them out
28:46of the
28:46matrix,
28:46it takes
28:47them out
28:47of propaganda,
28:49and it makes
28:50their lives
28:50very difficult,
28:52and for
28:52what?
28:52I mean,
28:54trust me,
28:54I ask
28:55myself this
28:55question every
28:56week or
28:56two,
28:57and for
28:57what?
28:58I've been
28:59hammering at
29:00philosophy for
29:0244 years,
29:03next year will
29:03be my 45th
29:04year,
29:05round up to
29:06a half a
29:07freaking
29:07century,
29:08and for
29:09what?
29:10Well,
29:11because the
29:11alternative is
29:12infinitely worse,
29:13and because I've
29:14had a great
29:14life out of
29:15doing it.
29:16I have a
29:17wonderful family,
29:17great friends,
29:18blah, blah, blah,
29:18and don't get me
29:19wrong,
29:19it's not,
29:20oh,
29:20it's not,
29:21it's not all been
29:22sunshine and
29:23roses,
29:24no pleasure
29:25cruise,
29:26I consider it a
29:28challenge before
29:29the whole human
29:29race,
29:30and I never
29:30lose,
29:32right,
29:32so,
29:33what for?
29:35But for me,
29:35it's like a gig,
29:36right?
29:37It's a,
29:37it's a,
29:38I don't know,
29:38I,
29:39it's a gig,
29:39and it's a calling,
29:40and it's a calling,
29:40and it's a gig,
29:41I sort of go back
29:42and forth on this,
29:43but for me,
29:45it is,
29:45it's been
29:46absolutely worth it,
29:48but I'm
29:49also more
29:50comfortable
29:51with social
29:52disapproval,
29:53despite being
29:54raised in England,
29:55I'm more comfortable
29:56with social disapproval
29:57than most people are,
29:58and for most people,
30:00what is the benefit
30:00of talking about
30:02this stuff?
30:02What is the benefit
30:03of pointing this out
30:04and proving it?
30:05It's like the IQ stuff,
30:06like,
30:06what's the benefit?
30:07You just end up
30:08getting ostracized,
30:09which has happened
30:10to me a whole bunch
30:11of times,
30:11from a whole bunch
30:12of different communities,
30:13right?
30:15So,
30:15that's the proof
30:17of UPB.
30:19If that which you claim
30:20is universal
30:21contradicts itself
30:23upon being universalized,
30:25the claim is invalid
30:26and is rejected.
30:28Now,
30:28everyone can respect
30:30property rights,
30:30not whether everyone does.
30:32Everyone can,
30:33from a logical standpoint.
30:34Like,
30:34obviously,
30:35nobody's ever going to
30:35stand on each other's shoulders,
30:37all eight billion people
30:37out there in space
30:38in a big giant circle,
30:39but they could theoretically.
30:40There's no innate
30:41self-contradiction
30:43in standing on
30:44other people's shoulders.
30:46If you were to say,
30:48everyone must stand
30:50on each other's shoulders,
30:51but only one high,
30:53like me and you,
30:55like,
30:55only one high.
30:56If you were to say,
30:56everybody must stand
30:57on each other's shoulders,
30:58but only one high,
31:00that would be
31:01a self-contradictory rule,
31:02because if I'm standing
31:03on your shoulders,
31:04clearly you're not standing
31:05on my shoulders.
31:05It doesn't really matter
31:06how flexible we are.
31:07We're certainly not standing
31:08on each other's shoulders,
31:09right?
31:10So,
31:10that would be an example.
31:13It's impossible,
31:15right?
31:15If you were to say,
31:17you've got two kids,
31:18right,
31:18and they're,
31:19you know,
31:19you say,
31:20I want you to stand
31:20on each other's shoulders,
31:21they just look at you
31:22and laugh,
31:22right,
31:23because it's not possible.
31:24So,
31:24that's all I'm saying,
31:25is that if the implementation
31:26of your general rule
31:27self-contradicts,
31:29not just practically,
31:31but even theoretically,
31:32it is impossible
31:33for two people
31:34to stand on each other's shoulders.
31:35It is impossible
31:36for two people
31:37to sing higher
31:38than each other.
31:39Even if they're both
31:40scaling up,
31:41one is higher than the other
31:42and then the other
31:42is higher than them.
31:43So,
31:44it's asymmetric.
31:45If you have a rule
31:46that says,
31:47every second person
31:48must go south
31:49and everyone must go north,
31:50that is contradictory.
31:52If you have a rule
31:53that says,
31:54theft is universally
31:55preferable behavior,
31:57but theft must be both
31:58wanted and hated,
32:00must be preferred
32:00and the opposite
32:01of preferred,
32:03then it cannot be
32:04universally preferable behavior.
32:05Just like if you say,
32:07every second person
32:07has to go south
32:08and everyone
32:10has to go north,
32:11it would be invalid.
32:12And it's not that complicated.
32:13It's just that
32:14you're trying to get people
32:15to do math
32:16with a tiger
32:16in the room
32:17and they don't like
32:19the situation.
32:20They don't even like
32:21imagining
32:22that they're ruled
32:23not by virtue,
32:25but by hypocritical power,
32:27raw brute power.
32:28Well,
32:29that's the challenge
32:30and I hope that makes sense.
32:31And this is why
32:32I have some sympathy
32:33for
32:34how long,
32:35how long has it been?
32:36How long
32:37you want to keep me wondering?
32:39How long it's taking
32:40to get through?
32:41Freedomain.com
32:42session eight.
32:42Thank you so much,
32:43everybody.
32:44Talk to you soon.
32:44Bye.
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