What 'should' the role of religion in society be?The West and the Middle East have very different attitudes to religion and it's place in society: the former generally removes it from politics, the latter doesn't. The West is more economically developed and has higher HDIs than the Middle East; despite the fact that until a few centuries ago, Western Europe was a backwater compared to the thriving and sophisticated civilisations of the Middle East.But are these two variables- secularism and development- related? What are the consequences of religion in politics? What happens when the basis of morality comes from a religious text? And if, as in more secular countries, the basis for politics and morality isn't religion- what is it? Why is the West generally secular anyway? What's different about it? And did that difference also enable the West's economic development?In this episode, we explore all these questions and more. Religion is a very sensitive topic. This video is not meant to attack anybody or facilitate prejudice: and this channel will never tolerate that in general. This video seeks to use sociology, political science, and history to academically examine different civilisations in more detail, based on honest analyses of different religious texts and social science methodology. There are no agendas or ulterior motives behind this video: it's just one person trying to understand the world around them using social science, and attempting to relay that understanding to you.With that disclaimer out the way, enjoy!

Even the biggest NPC you know can still feel happiness, sadness, pain, disgust, and love. But why? Why have we evolved to feel things, rather than just process information and compute responses? Why is it that no matter how much you could learn about neurobiology, you could never deduce what it feels like to see the colour blue? What is a mind anyway? What is it made of? How does it relate to the body? Is there more to the universe than just energy and matter? And who- or what- has consciousness anyway? Does consciousness pervade the entire universe?We explore all these questions and more from multiple perspectives. Here, we examine all the various philosophical and scientific perspectives on consciousness, giving you all the positions you need to know to help you understand the debate properly. This episode will explore philosophy, life, neurobiology, and the universe: all within the framework of real experts and scholars. As always in Polymath, we delve into this complex debate giving you just the facts and just the scholarship: nothing else. And it's all in just 20 minutes! More episodes on consciousness will potentially come out on this channel in the future, exploring some key concepts and neuroscience further. Until then, enjoy!

Mental illness: what is it, who has it, and is it even real? Let's find out!Everyone is talking about mental illness these days. The transcending of stigma is good, but it's led to a massive explosion of misinformation- and in some cases, plain lies- online. You switch on a screen and get bombarded with thousands of people all giving their takes, their opinions, their guesses, their ideas. But when it comes to something like mental illness, people's 'opinions' aren't good enough: we need facts. And that's where this video comes in.In this video, we look at psychology, neuroanatomy, neurobiology, sociology, history and more. None of that information is filtered through the lens of my opinions or agenda: it's just expert consensuses from lots of different fields, all integrated together to give you legitimate answers. Enjoy!PS: In this video I say that a certain individual has committed multiple rapes and human trafficking; these are in fact allegations and I withdraw my comments because I was presenting these allegations as facts. I also say in this video that the same individual has been teaching other individuals how to commit human trafficking online. I withdraw this comment too, as although a BBC investigation that people were being taught how traffic women on this individual's group chat, it's not proven that he specifically was teaching people how to do it.

Why are you the way that you are?No, I'm not quoting your parents, I'm asking a profound scientific question. What makes you psychologically distinct from other people? Are there meaningful personality differences caused by age, gender, nationality, politics, health, and religiosity? What are they? Let's explore!And as always with Polymath, this is not a video where I shower you with opinions or guesses. We will examining reliable, scientific info from personality psychology, and always basing what we say on evidence and empirical data: so you can be sure that you're getting proper answers. Enjoy!

We've all heard of it- what is it?What do fascists want? What do they believe? What makes fascism different from other ideologies? And what makes fascism so violent?We'll be answering all these questions and more- and we'll be doing it properly. None of this episode is my opinion, or a 'hot take', or guesses. All of this is reliable, academic information from political science, political philosophy, political psychology, and modern history, all integrated together to give you the best answers possible.And it's all in 20 minutes! So sit back, relax, and enjoy a pleasant, soothing discussion about fascism and violence. Enjoy!

Why do female, educated US university staff rate female job applicants as less competent and less likely to get hired? It's probably not that they're misogynist: let's go a little deeper.This is a 20 minute compression of a colossal psychological and sociological journey spanning 3 hours: Episode 25 of Polymath. In this 20 minute video, we strip away our society to its core and scientifically analyse its norms, structures, and beliefs. What does it mean to be a man? To be a woman? To be a human being? What makes a woman 'good'? Why, in fact, do people act the way they do? Why do different groups and demographics come into conflict?This video is not designed to push an agenda or make you think a certain way: we don't do that here. If you don't believe that systemic sexism exists, that's fine- you don't have to. Just watch the video and if you disagree with it, you have the freedom to do so: just don't close yourself off to other views. And remember- for the mountain of evidence which I don't have to time to address in this video, check out Episode 25 here https://open.spotify.com/episode/7tKa3m6PHbboR8qJolsDIl?si=42ac9591750b42fd. Enjoy!

Why did every society from the dawn of civilisation until the 1800s feel comfortable with slavery? In fact, what's the purpose of civilisation in the first place? What makes a good society? What is 'good' itself?'Liberalism' shouldn't be conflated with being a 'liberal': this sociopolitical philosophy is in fact the foundation of Western politics/morality, and has been called the dominant ideology in world history. It is in fact arguably one of the most important things ever to happen to humanity, and has had an unimaginable impact on the human condition. So what is it?Today, in just 20 minutes, we answer that question objectively, thoroughly, and from an interdisciplinary perspective. There are no opinions or 'hot takes' here: it's all just expert consensuses.On Polymath, I've been producing a series called 'An Objective Guide to Political Ideologies'. I'm going to be remaking these episodes in the format of 20 minute 'Polymath Bites' summary episodes, so stay tuned for more 20 minute content about capitalism, socialism, communism, and more. Enjoy!

If God is real, would He be able to tell with 100% accuracy what you will do in exactly ten years' time? Is your future behaviour already all mapped out by the unconscious machinations of your brain? And where in the brain might free will come from? You can choose to do what you want; but you can't choose what you want. Can a robot truly choose what they want? Can a cat? What about a worm?On today's episode, we'll be exploring the vast scientific and philosophical debate about whether humans have free will. The free will debate is not just confined to philosophy: it's at the forefront of psychology as well. In this episode, we'll be integrating philosophy, psychology, neurobiology, and neuroanatomy to give you all the insight and perspective you need to decide your stance.Sit back, prepare for an existential crisis, and enjoy!

They're terms we've all heard, but what actually are they? What do the left/the right want? What is leftism and what is rightism? Are you left, right, or in the middle?We'll be answering all these questions and more today, giving you objective information from lots of different disciplines for a well-rounded answer that fits snugly into 20 minutes.Introducing the first episode of Polymath Bites, a new format I'm introducing on this channel. These will still address an interesting topic from a multidisciplinary, academic perspective, but will be limited to around 20mins. This is to make the videos more accessible and less daunting, communicating useful information and expert consensuses without warding anybody off. Polymath Bites episodes will either be a remake of a pre-existing 1-2h episode (this episode, for example, is a remake of Episode 08) or introduce a new topic to the channel. Enjoy!

Systemic discrimination 😍✨ what's that all about? And is it even real?The idea of systemic discrimination is a politically charged subject, and the Internet is full of people throwing their opinions at you about this. How about some objectivity? This episode is a colossal, three hour journey through the science of Social Identity Theory, which then applies the insights from this to looking at marginalised groups.This video isnota 'hot take': it is a massive integration of psychology and sociology, with its insights continually backed by real-world, empirical evidence. I am not here to push an agenda on you or tell you how to think: I just want to take all the knowledge experts have on how human beings work, integrate all these facts together, and relay to you a scientific consensus.Social Identity Theory is not just a random idea cooked up by researchers: it's an evidence-backed model of looking at the world, one so powerful and far-reaching that it can change your whole worldview. It asks- and answers- Why do we need other people so much? What happens to us when we're around other people? Do other people define who 'we' are? How do humans think- and hate? Why do stereotypes, bias, prejudice, and discrimination exist? And can we stop it?When we look at systemic discrimination, we'll be doing so through the lens of SIT. Systemic discrimination is an incredibly complex subject, and SIT is just one lens through which we can examine it. But we'll be examining it extremely carefully, looking at the very roots of this phenomenon and always analysing it scientifically and with evidence.Along the way, we'll be exploring a host of other, essential questions. What is the patriarchy? What does modern feminism want? What's the point of representing women and minorities in media? How do the norms of past generations affect us? How can we overcome them? How does the society we live in shape us?This episode is massive. It took so long to film you can actually see the day-night cycle affecting the room's lighting as the video goes on. So please check out my YouTube, @danielaaronlevy, for clips of this episode, breaking it down into more manageable chunks. Whether you choose to watch this video in the form of clips or just raw dog the whole episode, I promise that at no point in the video- or on this channel- will I ever try and stuff an ideology down your throat. Enjoy!