Within Reason #100 Philosopher Shootout - 16 Thinkers, Ranked (With Joe Folley)
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Mar 23, 2025 
In a lively discussion, Joe Folley, a Cambridge Philosophy graduate and YouTube star from 'Unsolicited Advice,' joins to rank 16 famous philosophers. They dissect the philosophical duels between Hume and Descartes, and Plato versus Aristotle, revealing the strengths of empiricism and rationalism. The conversation dives into the ethics of Peter Singer and the existential complexities posed by Nietzsche and Kierkegaard. Joe critiques contemporary thinkers like Hitchens and Peterson, wrapping it all up with a cheeky ranking of their philosophical legacies.
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Rationalism vs. Empiricism
- Rationalists like Descartes believe in innate knowledge, accessible without experience.
- Empiricists like Hume believe all knowledge comes from observation and experience.
Hume's Missing Shade of Blue
- Alex O'Connor finds Hume overrated, citing the "missing shade of blue" example.
- Hume admits it's a counterexample to his empiricism but dismisses it.
Hume and the Problem of Induction
- Hume's empiricism struggles to justify induction, deriving general truths from observations.
- He acknowledges the problem but doesn't abandon empiricism, hoping for a future solution.