Ben Shapiro vs Alex O'Connor • Is religion good for society?

Ben Shapiro is a distinguished figure in the realm of political discussion, recognised for his bold opinions and remarkable debating skills. Ever-innovative in thought and influential in culture, Shapiro brings a fresh and compelling perspective to this philosophical conversation.  

Atheist Alex O’Connor, the YouTuber formerly known as the Cosmic Sceptic, and host of the Within Reason podcast brings thoughtful philosophical rigour and insight to provoke deliberation on varying timeless faith-science-philosophy topics. Religion’s effects in the evolution of consciousness, Nihilism’s counter to the concept of free will and, ultimately, the basis of varying worldviews serve as crucial discussion points in this thought-provoking exchange.   
  

The Big Conversation is a video series from Premier Unbelievable? featuring world-class thinkers across the religious and non-religious community. Exploring science, faith, philosophy and what it means to be human. The Big Conversation is produced by Premier Unbelievable? in partnership with John Templeton Foundation.

[PremierUnbelievable]

Today's Survey: who's persuaded you? Let us know in the comments below 👇

[harshitgarg]

Alex telling Ben Shapiro "Who is the moral relativist here?" when Ben was defending God's immorality was so good. Great job Alex. I am in complete awe

[matthewdrummond]

Goddamn is anyone talking about the actual content of the debate and not just how respectful it was???

[drsquash]

Imagine what our country would look like if political debate were this honest and respectful

[shahnadirahmed]

Can I just say that Alex quoting "facts don't care about your feelings" was just a masterclass line in this debate. Whole thing is enjoyable to watch, incredibly civil discussion. I find myself vacillating between these two viewpoints almost on a daily basis.

[eitanmagaliff]

"Who's the moral relativist now?" Great stuff Alex. Morality is objective until the book says something we don't like

[coffeetalk]

Alex is truly one of the great atheist thinkers of our generation. Not only is he brilliant and well studied, but he's so emotionally collected. Just an absolute pleasure to watch.

[fernandomendezjr.]

This is a prime example of how to discuss with someone you disagree with. Lovely conversation!

[calorus]

If Gallileo were an outspoken atheist, there'd be nothing left of him other than a footnote to him having been put to death for heresy. Doesn't mean he was an Atheist. Just means if he were, he wouldn't even be known in his own family.

[Pinkie-Red-Studios]

This is the calmest I’ve seen Ben in a debate.

[nickbrasing]

Boy, it's amazing to hear Ben pretty much completely walk back his justification of Biblical slavery since his discussion of it with Jordan Peterson. How his two positions on the subject are even remotely reconcilable is beyond me. And that is the beauty of having to sit across from someone who's not already on your side. We need more of this and not less.

[kylebization]

I did not expect ben to basically admit that free will might not exist but rather that its better to live as if it does. This was shocking to watch. Definitely a testament to just how good Alex is. Also a demonstration that ben is at least honest enough to acknowledge the truth of good arguments. Most pundits can’t manage that.

[basicallyno]

I wish I could be as eloquent in creating a cogent argument like Alex.

[mihaitha]

Nice to see Alex leveling up from not losing his cool while talking to Piers Morgan to not losing his cool while talking to Ben Shapiro.

[wody]

Alex definitely caught Ben in a twist over the slavery issue. Good format and conduct and I would love to see them do this again soon.

[timmanning]

Ben Shapiro always makes me check that I'm not listening to YouTube on double speed

[Bearssuperfan]

I’ll give Ben credit, he outperformed my expectations, but he still failed to adequately address the important issues around his “escape hatch” and moral relativism.

[John-mehz]

I massively appreciate the calm, intelligent, and respectful way that both Alex and Ben conducted this debate.
After all of the polarisation we’ve seen in media recently, I’d almost forgotten how a civilised, intellectual debate actually looks like.
Well done. I hope to see more of this in the future.

[SS-sgvn]

This is ridiculous that this debate was so calm. This is in no way how a debate should be ran. They should be yelling at each other, calling each other names, mocking and not letting each other speak. Ridiculous!!!

[bartkl]

I definitely think Alex was more convincing, but I was pleasantly surprised by how nice and smart Ben was. It's a massive difference from his political work which I honestly find deeply problematic. Anyways, keep these conversations going. They really do a great job in combating further polarisation.