A Beginner’s Guide to Philosophy – Feat. Philosophize This!

1. 

   @CosmicSkeptic

   March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

   Get all sides of every story and be better informed at https://ground.news/AlexOC – subscribe for 40% off unlimited access!

2. 

   @anaemiczombie

   March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

   10:58 there is a dichotomy in the ways of thinking therein my mind:

   1. The stark, ratiocinated, scientific, pedantic, rational being within me that thinks as the aforementioned adjectives

   2. The irrational, inquisitive, self-indulgent, alienated, and foreign being within me that has made itself applicable to what is ‘preternatural’ as opposed to what is ‘natural.’

3. 

   @ColtiesCrashout

   March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

   Took me 40 minutes to adjust to Steven West having a face

4. 

   @debrachambers1304

   March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

   Loved Alex's tangent about spoilers, it reminds me he's actually a human being.

5. 

   @alex1701waller

   March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

   I was not expecting philosophize this to look like the rapper Necro

6. 

   @gravewalkers

   March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

   What did the nihilist zen master say to the other nihilist zen master? "Hey."

7. 

   @beor2193

   March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

   I think there's an interesting thing, philosophy makes you think about things and perhaps even argue for and against stuff. But it doesn't mean things are real, could be made up like sci-fi or fantasy, you can't really prove anything after a certain point, defaulting to axioms does a poor job of convincing people not on the same page. It's more like choosing between stage masks, patterns of thinking or behaviour saying something to you.
   Like the fine tuning argument, it is after the fact as we are talking about it, but a lot of the questions are off. Oversimplified, if you decide to have a traditional four legged table, you can't set any length separately for each leg independently from each other and the situation where the table goes to, or it won't be a table, a lot of the variables depend on each other. Or you can mess around and now It has no legs as it is bolted to a wall, or floating on magnets, and the example outlived its usefulness. It is pretty easy to imagine a mirror anti matter universe, but constants didn't change, it is pretty easy to imagine sugars and proteins having opposite chirality (some of the science about that is worth looking into, there are experiments about that, and it matters a lot in some cases, look up Contergan). It is pretty hard to imagine something very off, like different strong force may mean matter behaves differently, so other constants in that world need to be different for matter to exist similar to what we understand. It doesn't matter if it exists or not, it is basically a thought experiment like the trolley problem or Mary's room until proven or disproven.

8. 

   @emzz2004

   March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

   For a more general start on philosophy, a classical way to begin with primary sources in the history of philosophy is to read (i) the four dialogues by Plato that recount the death of Socrates, that is Plato's Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo, in that order; and/or (ii) Descartes' Discourse on the Method followed by Meditations on First Philosophy.

   Alternately, for a contemporary-thematic rather than historical introduction to philosophy, a typical way to begin is with survey texts on the major fields of philosophical work. E.g., Shafer-Landau's The Fundamentals of Ethics, Audi's Epistemology: A Contemporary Approach to the Theory of Knowledge, Baronett's Logic, Loux's Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction, Heil's Philosophy of Mind: A Contemporary Introduction, or others like these.

9. 

   @barlow2976

   March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

   May I add that the following was what inspired my interest in philosophy, I was off to the school library the morning after that episode of Monty Python was broadcast, I had to know who they were:

   Immanuel Kant was a real pissant
   
   Who was very rarely stable
   
   Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar
   
   Who could think you under the table

   David Hume could out-consume
   
   Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
   
   And Wittgenstein was a beery swine
   
   Who was just as sloshed as Schlegel

   There's nothing Nietzche couldn't teach ya
   
   'Bout the raising of the wrist
   
   Socrates, himself, was permanently pissed

   John Stuart Mill, of his own free will
   
   On half a pint of shandy was particularly ill
   
   Plato, they say, could stick it away
   
   Half a crate of whiskey every day

   Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle
   
   Hobbes was fond of his dram
   
   And René Descartes was a drunken fart
   
   "I drink, therefore I am"

10. 

    @barlow2976

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    I love philosophy, but I am limited by my intelligence.That's why it's great there are popular philosophy channels out there, to explain the basics, which is enough for me to start thinking my own thoughts.I started with an Idiots Guide to give me an idea who i was interested in.. Think by Simon Blackmore is a good start too, and a read I still take into the sauna with me. I struggle with philosophy texts, I read and re-read, think I understand it, then realise I don't. I liked Spinoza's ideas, bought a copy of Ethics and then decided I would be better off with YT videos.. To be honest I've realised my limitations, but still enjoy thinking about freewill, consciousness etc, and explaining my thoughts to others.Everybody can benefit, and it's a great shame basic philosophy isn't on school curriculums. If we are taught to be critical thinkers we can survive (or rather you can, I'm old) the age of the internet, if not the human race is doomed. Discuss.🤣

11. 

    @Mman7368

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    The thing about scientists who commit fraud so they can publish something even if they need to fudge the numbers, is that, sometimes, it must work. If it never worked and every fraudulent scientific outcome was uncovered, then scientists (who are generally smart and results driven), wouldn't bother doing it – but they do, and quite often. So, there must be a significant number of scientific papers out there that have fudged numbers just so that they could be published that have not and will not be uncovered for a long time to come, and they've been absorbed into the scientific "consensus".

12. 

    @bruisevain125

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    I'm 16 years old and I've been intrigued into philosophy.
    This is my second video about philosophy as a total beginner and Im very curios while being absolutely mind boggled, constantly asking myself a lot of questions.
    The explanation from Alex O'Connor about Analytic and Continental philosophy including the painting was great 1:02:19 and I think I know what type of philosophy I'd want to go for now. cheers

13. 

    @ValentimGuenduoa

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    This is teaching at its finest!

14. 

    @MuhammadIbrahim-kl3pz

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    Why Socrates?

    I think "Memetics" the theory of cultural evolution,gives a compelling reason.
    E.g culture accumulates as a result of occupying the limit space in the human mind.
    Socrates happens to do just that,just like you brought him up you are in essence spreading this culture to millions of your viewers they in turn do thesame,so it's not that he's cool or anything but because he happens to occupy our minds by chance.

15. 

    @cloudbloom

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    This was great thanks fellas

16. 

    @Ken19700

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    Continental philosophy has killed more people than anything else created by human beings.

17. 

    @timjallow2644

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    57:43 thank you for not spoiling The Outsider. I haven’t read it yet. ☺️

18. 

    @lemonboiyoutube

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    17:40 – is there any empirical research to show that people who study philosophy are acutally better at thinking? whatever that means, lol

19. 

    @leobulero3485

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    one big problem with modern philosophers is the devergence of philosophy and sciences.
    and most modern stereotypical philosophers are ideological. honesty, humility and rigorous self scrutiny i find rare among modern philosophers. unfortunately we also experience significant censorship and censorship, cancel culture due to ideologica, political and cultural reasons among academia i personally see resignation and some dangerous developments.
    i have seen Alex develop a good philosopher and communicater, especially because he is clearly evolving and can publicly change his mind, many can't do. his high interest in theology is a bit uninteresting to me and i hope he evolves more beyond that and establishes himself to say and critic what he thinks without being cancelled.
    at the moment he flourishes within Christian community and is extremely non confrontational with imo severe dishonest, theist and other ideologists.
    but he has a lot of time and i hope he expands his interests to other important fields.

20. 

    @Zamer27

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    6:18 Hearing "Socrates never wrote down anything himself, rather his disciples wrote down his ideas" really reminded me of someone 😂

21. 

    @josegaming2850

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    My problem with philosophy rn is the advanced English in philosophy, english is a secondary language for me and im struggling 😂, is weird because even tho my english is not great is somehow better than my Spanish which is my primary language

22. 

    @Scarlitk

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    thank you Alex for introducing me to this man and his work. i will start checking, been dipping into philosophy recently a lil bit, reading overall history and his podcasts will be good and useful addition

23. 

    @Souljacker7

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    Steven has made too many BJJ references. We gotta know what's his belt!

24. 

    @willieluncheonette5843

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    "The most useless activity in the world Is philosophy

    Philosophy has not done any service to humanity, it has only filled people's minds with unnecessary chattering and noise. It has not given man any radical transformation, it gives you only a false feeling of knowing. It is a pseudo phenomenon and it prevents you from searching the real truth because you become so addicted with words, you forget totally that truth is not a word, that God is not a word, that love is not a word. The philosopher becomes more and more wordy. He becomes so full of words, he forgets completely his being. He is surrounded with the crowds of words, clouds of theories, hypotheses, which all pretend to be conclusive, but none of them is conclusive.

    Philosophy has not reached to any conclusion and it will never reach — it is an exercise in utter futility. It is a good game if you want to play an intellectual game, an intellectual gymnastics; it is hair splitting.

    The philosopher thinks about the truth. His approach is rational. Reason is his instrument.. For three thousand years in the West, ten thousand years in the East, philosophers have been struggling to find the truth, and not a single philosopher has been able to find it.

    The way of philosophy does not go with truth at all. It is just rational gymnastics. So one philosopher can argue against another philosopher, and they go on arguing for centuries, but they have not come to agreement on a single point. Philosophy is the worst wastage of human intelligence that is possible. "

25. 

    @fotiskamanis

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    Steven West's humility is inspiring

26. 

    @AlexGulino86

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    22:45 you guys forgot to mention the most important aspect of it. Training your mind actually physically restructures your brain to be better at analyzing things in general. Its makes things second narure to you that others may not even consider. Same thing as exercise. It always helps to be more fit in every situation, even if you dont have to utilize it fully.

27. 

    @buzzisonline2895

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    I love listen to Philosophize This! while walking for hours

28. 

    @JenneterrMada

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    This deserves more views.

29. 

    @jollyjim3536

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    Brilliant!!

30. 

    @LauraWynn

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    I have a question when it comes to homeless people, why is it that some people believe that only people with money should be allowed to drink alcohol or gamble? Why should it be that only people who are better off in life should be allowed to enjoy luxuries in life? I do not care what a homeless person is going to spend that money on It is not my business and if they feel that at that moment in time they need to go get a drink at a bar with that money that is perfectly acceptable to me or if they believe that at that time they need to go try to gamble to win big so they can get out of poverty I am okay with that that is their choice. When we take away their ability to make their own decisions we're taking away their autonomy.

31. 

    @andrelacerda7930

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    Oh gosh!!! so strange to give a face to the voice!

32. 

    @carinaaugust643

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    my two worlds are colliding

33. 

    @arturodelarosa4394

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    45:40 What I did is I started philosophy this in episode 1, and then if what I hear on the episode seem interesting I then got the book/s if not I would just kept going through the episodes, a couple of times I did go back on something old, but in general the podcast was very useful in this way.

34. 

    @arturodelarosa4394

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    the most important question for me is: how does one plow through the philosophy that makes you roll your eyes? for me is metaphysics and perhaps something even Simone Weil, is like I really want to read them because it seems fundamental, but my brain refuses, I literally catch myself Rollin my eyes or just fall asleep book in hand. How do you do it?

35. 

    @arturodelarosa4394

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    27:00 I disagree Steven, you like to put down your first episodes. But I'm one of the ones who discovered you recently and I immediately went back to episode 1. not only did I enjoy them. but I kind of miss them, it provides a much needed background that you need to understand contemporary philosophy. I think You outgrew them and that is why you put them down, but I would dare say they are critical for us noobs. I actually resent more the contemporary philosophy, it feels dense and uncurated because they don't have the benefit of hundreds of years of perspective and rebuttals. The contemporary philosophers also seem to favour rewriting epistemology in order to appear sophisticated which makes them a pain to follow. I feel like I don't know how to take Zikzek for example, there is this suspicion that he might be full of shit and I can't tell because he is contemporary and probably contextualizing his ideas in my blindspot just because we likely have the same blindspot being contemporary.

36. 

    @LazAustin

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    I kind of started with the Founding Fathers / libertarianism then decided to do a read through of all the famous Greek and Roman thinkers before doing a deeper dive into the enlightenment and premodern thinkers.

37. 

    @deanbeckerley5530

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    These channels have piqued my re-interest in philosophy but I’d appreciate if someone can suggest a channel with a more academic and contemporary take on philosophy rather than one that tries to appeal to the YouTube masses

38. 

    @xavierquinonez9883

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    Interestingly enough, it was martial arts that made me realize that I was wasting a lot of intellectual potential and really doing nothing if I'm not proactively learning

39. 

    @claudiomontes-y9j

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    You win the internet today.

40. 

    @primeirrational

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    He answers a bit unpleasantly?

41. 

    @satanicfurrymaster

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    42:15

42. 

    @LoumanYT

    March 18, 2026 at 3:08 am

    Hard watch

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