A street epistemology tutorial: How to reason people out of their faith (video)

[rug]

October 2, 2014
by Dan Arel

This great video from Anthony Magnabosco explains how to talk people out of their faith in 5 minutes right on the street using the methods as described in Peter Boghossian’s book, A Manual for Creating Atheists.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/danthropology/2014/10/a-street-epistemology-tutorial-how-to-reason-people-out-of-their-faith-video/

"I want to help him."

[cbayer]

1. OMG, I couldn't watch this for very long.

Street epistemology? He is indistinguishable from the evangelical preachers one might find on a street corner.

[rug]

2. Hey, be nice. He wants to help him.

[cbayer]

3. He could have just said he wants to save him.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

12. Exactly.

I regularly read atheists complaining that believers (most often Evangelical Christians) keep trying to convert them, and this is very annoying.

Here is an atheist doing precisely the same thing. Is it only bad if "they" (meaning "them" by "they&quot do it?

Oh, and I did not find his arguments all that convincing. Perhaps it is because I actually know something about the bases of my religion.

[ZombieHorde]

4. I'm enjoying the video.

I watched the plain interview first, as suggested, but I am not sure doing so is really adding to my experience. I wish the man being interviewed also broke down his reasoning and feelings during the conversation. Conversation dissections are very interesting to me.

I studied conversation dissections between married couples in a Comm class that concluded married couples don't usually know what the other person is talking about during disputes. The researchers filmed their study, so you could see and hear the disconnects for yourself. It was a very interesting study, in my opinion.

[rug]

5. One thing I learned about effective communication: don't enter a conversation assuming superiority.

[cbayer]

6. I'm curious.

Would you enjoy it if it were a street preacher trying to convert someone?

What I am asking is whether it was the conversation dissection that you enjoyed or the content or both.

I have seen some videos of conversation dissections and I agree that the conversations between couples who are arguing can be really fascinating.

[ZombieHorde]

7. I would enjoy it if the street preacher broke down his/her tactics

and his/her train of thoughts like this guy does in Rug's OP.

The content is interesting to me because I am interested in religious debate, which is also why I love the Religion Group here on DU. If the roles were reversed, I would still enjoy the video because the breakdown is my favorite part.

[cbayer]

9. That is pretty much the answer I thought, or hoped, you would give.

I don't really experience this as debate, but more like proselytizing. But I didn't get that far into it.

[okasha]

10. It doesn't. register any differently

than the Christian proseletyzer who attempted to accost me in the grocery store parking lot yesterday afternoon. This guy would get the same response as the Christian from me: remain silent and keep walking.

[cbayer]

11. Me, too.

I dislike this kind of thing whether the goal is conversion or deconversion. It's all about people who believe they have the right answer.

[AtheistCrusader]

8. Depends, are you screaming offensive shit through a bullhorn, and waving signs in my face, or

speaking to me like a human being, just trying to start a conversation?