Outgrowing NEW ATHEISM - Alex O’Connor

Atheist YouTuber sensation Alex O'Connor tells his story of moving beyond his “New Atheist” heroes (alongside his "childish" username @CosmicSkeptic) to embracing a more mature and nuanced approach to religious & worldview discourse as his fame and success grew. He also shares his view on Justin's thesis about The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God, and what might bring about his own conversion.

Alex O'Connor is an Oxford graduate in Philosophy & Theology, hosts the Within Reason podcast, runs a YouTube channel of 1 million subscribers, writes for UnHerd, and has chaired conversations with public intellectuals and influencers including Jordan Peterson, Richard Dawkins, William Lane Craig, and Iain McGilchrist.

00:00 Intro
01:43 Cosmic Skeptic is dead?
03:26 Teenage channel origins
05:28 Botching the Ontological Argument & humility
12:32 New Atheism is dead?
15:42 Is Religion inherently bad?
21:50 Did New Atheism give atheists a bad name?
24:09 About “The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God” podcast
24:58 A new interest in God among intellectuals?
29:10 What would make Alex believe?
35:12 Is there a rebirth of Belief in God?
37:05 Watch Next…!

[lanishx]

Alex is such an intellectually honest person, it's breath of fresh air to see in the youtube space.

[HassanRadwan]

When I left Islam I was full of enthusiasm and vigour to critique Islam and made lots of videos. But eventually you reach a point when you've got it all out and it no longer feels raw. So I think for many of us who left a religion, talking about it and making videos was a sort of cathartic process where you reach the point when you simply no longer have the urge to keep flogging what has become a very dead horse.

[ThroughTheKJVBibleInOneYear]

Alex has matured and humbled in a way that is both unexpected and heartwarming. His journey from youthful arrogance to mature seeker is astonishing. He's gone from being someone I couldn't stand listening to for more than five minutes to someone I genuinely look forward to hearing from. Well done, sir. Never stop looking.

[ditchboyhill_]

Speaking as an atheist here, there are so many athiests on this platform who like to dunk on religion, it makes sense most of them were indoctrinated into it and a lot even got abandoned by their families for it, but man it's nice to see someone sharing taking critisism in a calm and collected way, I think hes a lot better at getting across his message than most.

[clausable]

Honestly, I don’t think the plague of thought on society is atheism nor theism. I think it’s the lack of reasonable discourse and discussion. Society has become so much more offensive and hateful and divisive. Unreasonable theists are just as difficult to listen to as unreasonable atheists. People that grew up in unreasoned hierarchies/worldviews has led to them taking the opposing side.

The fact that Alex O’Connor has realized this and discovered how to combat it, even slightly, is beautiful.

[infinitelyexhausted]

I can't help but like Alex O'Connor

[davidr]

I don't want to be just another Christian heaping praise on Alex, but here we go: When he interviews atheists and the atheist makes a point, I'll often think of a point or a counterargument I would like to follow up with the person on, and VERY often Alex will make the same point I'm thinking of in the very next sentence. This is incredibly rare to have someone that knows how to steel man positions so well.

[dawnkeyy]

Absolutely SUPERB editing.

First time watching this channel, and this is amazing. Whoever finds the clips and comments etc. they are talking about, and edits them in without being disruptive or messing with the flow of the conversation, you are an absolute artist, and the feeling that you're proud of your work seeps through the video

[UnknowinglyUnknowable]

I remember when I first started losing my faith, I watched and enjoyed many of Alex’s old atheist response videos. I thought they made very good points. I became obsessed with trying to refute every argument for God. I thought the belief in God in general to be an evil and idiotic idea. And that religion was nothing but a plague on society, and we’d be far better off without it. Now, looking back at that time in my life, I find myself (like him in his old videos) to have been simply, very arrogant. Now, I find myself watching his newer videos and enjoying them far more. And though I still no longer believe in God, I find that I can far better empathize with people who do. And I definitely acknowledge all of the benefits that religion can have on society. And if one day something happens to me that convinces me of a God again, I will be very glad to accept it.

[HotManJonah]

I am a *Catholic* but I respect Alex.. don’t get me wrong, I don’t agree with his views, but that’s okay. It’s normal to disagree! It’s good to see people with understanding of philosophy/theology!
Even though we don’t agree, thank you for making good arguments and challenging us! We need people such as you!

[benevans]

Alex has the ability to be assertive in the heat of an argument and humble and honest in self reflection. If he continues on this path, who knows what great works will come…

[TechChaserSSBM]

From my perspective, Dawkins and Hitchens are the old atheism, because they were the norm when I was learning about it.
Alex is actually the true new atheist to me, one who is not militant against people who believe in the supernatural, but who instead sits cooly and calmly within an impenetrable fortress that poor reasoning cannot infiltrate.

[baselius]

No matter ones stance on theism. Humility is the only way to truth by being open to listening and not only question the other person but yourself. Alex's humility is leading him to greater understanding and others with him.

[ScepticalJunkie]

What I really like about the two of you is how you have an intellectual conversation without the childish you're wrong I'm right that we see so often in this space. Keep up the great work.

[iamangelahan]

A true skeptic evolves their thinking over time through evidence, experience, and learning. Alex exemplifies this, providing an inspiring model for those striving for rational thought. His conversations with Christians have sharpened the minds of both believers and non-believers. Allowing us access to the entire evolution of his belief and thought is an incredibly selfless act - Alex shows us how one can exist with intellectual humility in a chaotic and cached world where your every act is under scrutiny. Thank you Alex!

And of course thank you, Justin, for creating the spaces and stages that make these valuable conversations possible. ❤

[joannemoore]

So refreshing to have such a respectful, open, and empathetic discussion between 2 people with different beliefs

[JohnSmith-twpo]

I went to God as a child out of loneliness, crashed out when I determined a literal interpretation of the Bible would be an appalling reality, became a New Atheist, then realised that having a hatred of religion was in a sense still being controlled by religion. As a result, I have a far more positive view of religion and am a lot happier - though I don't believe the literal account of the Bible, I go to church, read the Bible and consider it an irreplacable part of Western Civilisation. I can relate to Alex's journey a lot.

[zewisdom]

A few uears back the first time I see him was arrogant teenager. Now seeing him matured intelligent young philosopher is breathtaking.

[RadicalPersonalFinance]

I admire Alex enormously. It's hard to start something when you are young and then grow out of it when all of your youth is on public display. I always believed that he himself would move beyond the immaturity though; even though he was brash he was clearly serious. And seriousness is the necessary first ingredient of progress. Keep up the great work, Justin and Alex!

[les]

For what’s it worth. My life changed after reading “Thinking fast and slow” by Daniel Kahneman. I realised that I, like everyone else, am a jigsaw of inherited genes, childhood environment, state education and personal experiences. Maybe unique, but nothing original, all assimilated from others and my environment. Even my rationality, philosophy and morality is derived from my environmental bubble. I realise that it’s impossible to escape from this, but the realisation of it has allowed me to understand who I am and to accept that my “Truths” are only my “Truths” and are relative and equally unproven as those of others. It’s the awe of the evolving mind, if you care to keep it open. We hold ourselves back by constantly shouting “Eureka” and adopting it as a “Definitive Truth”.