| This might be Skepticism |
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| But we're not sure |
| Who's asking? |
“”People who don’t want you to think are never your friend
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| —TheraminTrees’ motto |
TheraminTrees is a British YouTube atheist and skeptic who publishes animated videos that debunk common religious arguments and misconceptions.
He is the brother of QualiaSoup, a similar YouTuber who is now retired.
Scope[edit]
As of December 2022, TheraminTrees has over 295,000 subscribers and over 20 million views.[1] He makes about $1,100 per video and has more than 500 Patrons on Patreon.[2]
He appears to have been received positively by the atheist community.[3][4][5] He's been positively reviewed by Hemant Mehta.[6] He was listed as one of Richard Dawkins' "Secular Stars".[7]
Content[edit]
“” This is an adult-oriented channel that explores issues around abuse, manipulation, dogma and systems of undue influence.
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| —TheraminTrees |
Abuse[edit]
- living with abusers
- letting go of fixing people
- infantilization
- concealing abuse
- exposing abuse
Manipulation[edit]
- commanded to love
- 'science' of the gaps
- double binds
Dogma[edit]
- losing faith
- respecting beliefs
- seeing things
- religion- the bad parent
Kiwis and Chickens[edit]
ThermainTrees argues religion and pseudoscience work in similar ways, in that both are forms of psychological manipulation that are based on faulty logic and exploit people's uncertainty in some way, such as by offering prophecies and predictions to people facing uncertain futures or by preying on those in dire sickness. He categorizes pseudoscience into two groups:
- Kiwis: Pseudoscience that has absolutely no scientific value, aside from perhaps placebo effect. The metaphor is that like the actual bird
, kiwis can't fly, i.e. they can't be used for conducting any actual science. Examples include astrology and feng shui. - Chickens: Pseudoscience that has some shred of actual science, but it's bogged down by poor standards, flawed beliefs, or faulty logic, analogous to how a chicken can fly, but only with great effort due to its weight and poor wings. Dianetics is his example, as he thinks it has some hallmarks of legitimate therapeutic practice but believes it's far too occupied with the unconscious and beliefs like past lives and spirits.[8]
External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/user/TheraminTrees/about
- ↑ https://www.patreon.com/TheraminTrees?ty=h
- ↑ http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=4965
- ↑ http://advocatusatheist.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-impossible-game.html
- ↑ https://richardprins.wordpress.com/2010/05/02/the-better-than-average-driver-and-who-isnt/
- ↑ https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2015/07/06/theramintrees-explains-his-journey-out-of-faith-in-this-beautiful-video/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20180609092306/https://www.richarddawkins.net/community/secularstars/
- ↑ 'science' of the gaps