Within Reason

#137 Debunking Arguments for God - Graham Oppy

Graham Oppy is Professor of Philosophy and Associate Dean of Research at Monash University. An Australian philosopher of religion, he is often considered one of the most thoughtful and important academic atheists in the world. Buy his book, Arguing About Gods, here [https://amzn.to/49EFuyQ]. Timestamps: 00:00 - Tour 00:31 - The First Cause Argument 14:14 - Can There be an Infinite Regress? 30:46 - The Modal Fatalism Objection 36:08 - The Kalam Cosmological Argument 51:12 - The Fine Tuning Argument 1:06:15 - The Multiverse 1:10:01 - Are the Constants of the Universe Just Necessary?1:15:37 - Was the Hole Designed for the Puddle? 1:20:20 - Anselm’s Ontological Argument 1:33:59 - The Modal Ontological Argument 1:38:23 - Closing

#136 Why Did The World Get So Ugly? - Alain de Botton

Get tickets for my UK tour here [https://www.livenation.co.uk/alex-o-connor-tickets-adp1641612]. Alain de Botton is the creator of The School of Life [https://www.youtube.com/@theschooloflifetv]. A Swiss-born British author and public speaker, his books discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasising philosophy's relevance to everyday life.

#135 Christmas Isn't What You Think - John Nelson

John Nelson earned a PhD in New Testament and Christian Origins from the University of Edinburgh in 2023. He writes for the Substack Behind the Gospels [https://www.behindthegospels.com/]. His thesis [https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/jesus-physical-appearance-9780567723208/] is the first book-length study of Jesus' physical appearance in the Gospels. He runs a weekly Substack called "Behind the Gospels" which aims to make Biblical studies accessible to all. Timestamps: 0:00 - Was Jesus Really Born on Christmas Day? 2:51 - Are the Birth Narratives Attempts at History? 6:34 - Where Was Jesus Actually Born? 16:19 - Were the Birth Narratives Added Later? 20:54 - Was Mary Really a Virgin? 32:57 - Why Does Nobody Else Mention the Virgin Birth? 37:39 - Was Jesus a Product of Adultery?  42:22 - Was Jesus Born in a Manger? 48:07 - Who Are the Magi? 54:05 - Was the Star Really a Star? 01:00:03 - Did Herod Really Order a Slaughter of Infants? 01:06:26 - Is the Christmas Story Anti-Imperial? 01:13:13 - Are Christmas Trees a Pagan Idol? 01:16:12 - John’s Book and the Upcoming Tour

1.75m QnA - Triangles, Getting Owned by GodLogic, and Douglas Adams' Puddle

Timestamps 0:00 - 1,778,795 Q&A 0:24 - How Are You? 5:12 - If You Could Choose Your Date of Birth, When Would It Be? 9:36 - Survival Tips From Bear Grylls? 10:21 - How Do You Remember so Much Stuff? 15:24 - What is Your Dream Podcast? 17:01 - Doesn’t Consciousness Just… Emerge? 29:26 - If You Clean a Vaccum, Are You a Vaccum Cleaner? 35:41 - Is Water Wet? 37:26 - How Many Holes Are In a Straw? 40:55 - Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich? 42:28 - Do You Edit Everything By Yourself? 43:23 - What Would It Be Like to Observe a Contradiction? 43:33 - Which Philosophical Concepts are Often Misunderstood? 50:29 - When I Changed My Mind Mid-Debate 01:01:49 - Would You Tour?

#133 Hank Green on God, Science, and Consciousness

Hank Green (@hankschannel [https://www.youtube.com/@hankschannel]) is one of YouTube's most beloved creators. One half of vlogbrothers [https://www.youtube.com/@vlogbrothers], he is also the co-creator and host of SciShow [https://www.youtube.com/@SciShow] and Crash Course [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCX6b17PVsYBQ0ip5gyeme-Q]. Timestamps: 0:00 - Where Are All the Aliens? 8:08 - What Makes Humans So Special? 17:22 - Has the US Lost its Cultural Identity? 29:34 - Martin Luther Wrong About God? 36:30 - Is the World an Illusion? 46:54 - Should We Believe Our Illusions? 53:58 - How Objective is Science? 59:41 - Does Science Explain Anything? 01:11:10 - Could We Explain Cold to an Alien? 1:22:03 - The Hard Problem of Consciousness 01:27:44 - Will Computers Ever Become Conscious? 01:35:58 - Do You Have Two Brains? 01:42:30 - Should We Be Worried About TikTok? 1:49:08 - Hank’s Video Ideas 01:59:39 - What’s it Like Meeting Your Old Heroes? 2:05:51 - Being a YouTuber