It takes courage to own up to an error (or a few of them) and especially to do so publicly. Thank you for modeling how to do this, Jared! Your forthright honesty is refreshing and appreciated.
It's so rare for someone to acknowledge a mistake with such honesty that I admired this newsletter in an unusual way. Acknowledgments of mistakes usually come mixed with many caveats, but I didn't see any of that here. Incredible. Congratulations to the author; feel encouraged to remain humble, as this is a rare quality that the culture of performance and success sometimes tends to undervalue, unfortunately.
For the record, this post made me a subscriber. You don’t often see humility demonstrated much these days. People seem content enough just moving on. I’ve been following on YouTube because you helped me see that philosophy could be practical in a way I never registered before. This is just more evidence that philosophy isn’t just thinking. It’s doing. Big respect.
You have cultivated an audience that has an interest in philosophy and is well informed in philosophy as the commentor himself showed. You are not a hack you are a just a human who shares ideas and sometimes makes mistakes. There should be a sense of pride that your audience understands and argues with the content you create; they inform you and other audience members on what we may missunderstand.
I think it’s an excellent example of how no matter your level or expertise in any field, we all make mistakes and we all should learn and be open to learning. I like how this post is just a long way of repeating Socrates’ immortal line “All I know is that I know nothing.”, and in essence, life is all about rediscovering this fact through every phase and moment of your life.
I want to write this in my language: Usted ha cometido un error y se ha disculpado cabalmente, demostrando la humildad de alguien que nos respeta; y por ende ha dado un ejemplo de dignidad, muchas gracias, todos cometemos errores, lo importante es lo que hacemos después. Escribo esto en mi idioma porque de alguna manera creo que es lo que merece alguien a quien respeto.
Really appreciate the transparency here. The distinction between modes and attributes isn't trivial, it's foundational to understanding how Spinoza resolves dualism. Confusing them turns the whole explantion into something that violates his own definitions. The commitment to going back tothe primary source is key, secondary sources can be misleading even when they're good. This kind of intellectual honesty is what seperates educational content from entertainment disguised as education.
While such errors are painful and humiliating, they are almost a rite of passage.
Your resolutions to avoid further such errors are the correct response.
While the people who commented were right in their criticisms, it's a safe bet they have no clue the amount of time and work that goes into preparing such videos. This is not an excuse, or even a mitigating factor, but it is still a fact. Not doing enough research before a video like this is a normal mistake to make. It's not fun, but live and learn. Don't beat yourself up.
On the facts and principles, the comments are correct. But they also being very judgmental. This is unkind. It is easy to judge from the bleachers.
Your general good faith was evident throughout, most notably during the segment on Being and Time.
On a side note, your pronunciation of Kojève was in fact perfect.
I would like to offer a perspective that is a bit different from the reactions I have seen so far. I think my take is fairly neutral, but I am a very blunt communicator and I have an inability to sugar-coat things. So if anything comes across as too harsh, I apologize in advance. Also, the first part of this comment is aimed more at other commenters here rather than at you, Jared, directly. For that part, I will be talking about you in the third person.
1. I see many people describing this situation as an example of intellectual humility, but I do not think that is quite right. To be clear, I am not saying Jared lacks intellectual humility. I just want to point out that, in this particular case, that label is not the most accurate description. Intellectual humility is difficult because it requires knowing what you do not know and being willing and able, in the middle of a discussion, to say things like “I don’t know,” “I’m not sure,” or “Let me look into this and get back to you later.”
2. What happened here is still an act of honesty and accountability in owning up to a mistake, which is of course very good. But ultimately, it is also simply the right and responsible thing to do for anyone, and especially for someone with a platform and influence. In fact, it is the most beneficial thing to do when it comes to one’s reputation and demonstrating integrity. Staying quiet or letting it slide would have been a genuinely bad move.
3. Yes, the format of the video is fun and silly, but the intention is still clearly educational. Jared and Joe were not just ranking books by casually talking about how they felt about them. If that were the case, the video probably would not even be half the length. They were clearly trying to discuss the content and ideas of the books in order to provide viewers with an overview of those books and thinkers. If anything, I think this kind of format actually gives the viewer an even stronger impression of those books and thinkers, and can be the deciding factor in whether someone chooses to read them or not. So accuracy still definitely matters.
4. Yes, the commenter’s tone was harsh and clearly emotionally charged at first. But that reaction is very understandable. To me, they come across as someone who is both knowledgeable and deeply invested. If they did not care, they would not have been frustrated. And if they were not frustrated, they would not have spent their precious time writing a long comment trying to explain what Jared got wrong. I also think it is important to point out that this commenter actually has a lot of goodwill, honesty, self-awareness, and capacity for self-reflection. After cooling down, and after Jared acknowledged the mistake, they explicitly said, “my comment was rooted in anger and ungraciousness and exasperation—I apologize.” I feel bad for them to see people criticize their original frustrated attitude without acknowledging that follow-up. (Btw, I also think they seemed disappointed in Jared at first, but in a way, isn’t that a compliment? They simply expected more from him and believed he could do better. One would only feel that way if they already thought somewhat highly of someone, right?)
Finally, and this is probably my most sensitive and controversial take: I do not think the commenter is actually getting enough credit for what they did. If the situation was that you already realized the mistakes during editing or beforehand, then that is fine. But if you only became aware of the mistakes because of their comment, then I think the main thing to say is not “Sorry,” but rather “Thank you.” The overall energy around this situation doesn't have to be one of grief or embarrassment, but one of gratitude and appreciation.
There are several things this frame of mind can hopefully achieve:
– We can be grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow, both personally and professionally. It can motivate both ourselves and others to think more critically about ourselves and everything in general.
– We can appreciate that there are knowledgeable people who genuinely care about these things. The world would be a much worse place without them.
– We can allow this experience to serve as an example of how mistakes and dialogue can turn into beautiful opportunities for reflection and growth.
– Most importantly, we can and should encourage people to keep offering corrections and pointing out mistakes, both in our work and in the work of others.
We need to make it clear that people are doing something valuable when they share their knowledge and hold others accountable. They deserve to receive credit and feel appreciated for doing that. I do not think this is done often or well enough, and that may be one reason people sometimes feel the need to raise their voice or resort to personal attacks just to be heard. If we can normalize openly acknowledging and genuinely appreciating those who correct us and hold us accountable, everyone benefits. We all get to learn and grow and hopefully move a bit closer to wisdom together while appreciating one another in the process. I believe that if critique and correction were more openly valued, any discussions would become healthier and more productive.
I think at least a few of the things I brought up here simply needed to be said, which is why I am making an exception to write this long comment. It is an exception for me because I usually only exclusively interact with Joe’s content and audience. I have almost no knowledge of your personality, Jared, so I do not know how you or the people here will receive this. But I feel like taking a bit of a risk today.
If anything here helped lessen or guide even a small portion of your grieving energy in a different direction, I would consider this time and effort well spent. :)
Personally, I don’t have any hard feelings toward the original commenter. The fact that they said ‘you’re better than that’, I thought, made it clear that this was an error that they really didn’t expect from me. They apologized for their tone (unprompted) and then explained a bit more. It wasn’t a fun interaction at first – I hate that I made such a dumb mistake in the video, giving people a caricature of a philosopher I greatly admire – but I’m glad they said something.
Many times, negative comments are purely insults. Anyone who makes videos gets them on a regular basis. This comment wasn’t like that. It was substantive. That’s why I couldn’t just ignore it — they made it very clear what I’d gotten wrong. And I always appreciate being able to correct my own beliefs.
Just wanted to say that I actually found this post helpful for personal reasons. When listening to the conversation between you and Joe, I was actually somewhat discouraged by my own lack of familiarity with a lot of the classics. I think, as so often happens, seeing other people my age exhibit so much competence and confidence in an area that I want to be competent and confident in felt bad. I felt behind.
Your mistake, and the correction of it, was grounding for me. It reminded me of the easy to forget fact that we are all error-prone humans, and that philosophy is a thoroughly human endeavor in that sense. So thank you for your correction, it exhibits integrity and humility.
I know public mistakes are there own kind of discouraging, and it's likely to live with you in the back of your mind for a while. If you can, remember that the mistake helped some of us too.
It takes courage to own up to an error (or a few of them) and especially to do so publicly. Thank you for modeling how to do this, Jared! Your forthright honesty is refreshing and appreciated.
It's so rare for someone to acknowledge a mistake with such honesty that I admired this newsletter in an unusual way. Acknowledgments of mistakes usually come mixed with many caveats, but I didn't see any of that here. Incredible. Congratulations to the author; feel encouraged to remain humble, as this is a rare quality that the culture of performance and success sometimes tends to undervalue, unfortunately.
I think this gave me more food for thought morally than the video so, thanks for your example.
For the record, this post made me a subscriber. You don’t often see humility demonstrated much these days. People seem content enough just moving on. I’ve been following on YouTube because you helped me see that philosophy could be practical in a way I never registered before. This is just more evidence that philosophy isn’t just thinking. It’s doing. Big respect.
You have cultivated an audience that has an interest in philosophy and is well informed in philosophy as the commentor himself showed. You are not a hack you are a just a human who shares ideas and sometimes makes mistakes. There should be a sense of pride that your audience understands and argues with the content you create; they inform you and other audience members on what we may missunderstand.
I have a lot of respect for you, Jared.
I am more likely to trust your videos now Jared as I know you are an honest man.
Endless respect for this. You’re certainly not a hack. Thanks for what you. Keep up the good work!
Perhaps the way you handled your mistake is the most important lesson you've taught so far. Hats off!
I think it’s an excellent example of how no matter your level or expertise in any field, we all make mistakes and we all should learn and be open to learning. I like how this post is just a long way of repeating Socrates’ immortal line “All I know is that I know nothing.”, and in essence, life is all about rediscovering this fact through every phase and moment of your life.
Keep up the good work philosopher king!
Do I message this number? I’m confused
I want to write this in my language: Usted ha cometido un error y se ha disculpado cabalmente, demostrando la humildad de alguien que nos respeta; y por ende ha dado un ejemplo de dignidad, muchas gracias, todos cometemos errores, lo importante es lo que hacemos después. Escribo esto en mi idioma porque de alguna manera creo que es lo que merece alguien a quien respeto.
Thank you for owning up to your mistake. I still think calling you pedant was not necessary. We are humans and make mistakes.
Really appreciate the transparency here. The distinction between modes and attributes isn't trivial, it's foundational to understanding how Spinoza resolves dualism. Confusing them turns the whole explantion into something that violates his own definitions. The commitment to going back tothe primary source is key, secondary sources can be misleading even when they're good. This kind of intellectual honesty is what seperates educational content from entertainment disguised as education.
While such errors are painful and humiliating, they are almost a rite of passage.
Your resolutions to avoid further such errors are the correct response.
While the people who commented were right in their criticisms, it's a safe bet they have no clue the amount of time and work that goes into preparing such videos. This is not an excuse, or even a mitigating factor, but it is still a fact. Not doing enough research before a video like this is a normal mistake to make. It's not fun, but live and learn. Don't beat yourself up.
On the facts and principles, the comments are correct. But they also being very judgmental. This is unkind. It is easy to judge from the bleachers.
Your general good faith was evident throughout, most notably during the segment on Being and Time.
On a side note, your pronunciation of Kojève was in fact perfect.
I would like to offer a perspective that is a bit different from the reactions I have seen so far. I think my take is fairly neutral, but I am a very blunt communicator and I have an inability to sugar-coat things. So if anything comes across as too harsh, I apologize in advance. Also, the first part of this comment is aimed more at other commenters here rather than at you, Jared, directly. For that part, I will be talking about you in the third person.
1. I see many people describing this situation as an example of intellectual humility, but I do not think that is quite right. To be clear, I am not saying Jared lacks intellectual humility. I just want to point out that, in this particular case, that label is not the most accurate description. Intellectual humility is difficult because it requires knowing what you do not know and being willing and able, in the middle of a discussion, to say things like “I don’t know,” “I’m not sure,” or “Let me look into this and get back to you later.”
2. What happened here is still an act of honesty and accountability in owning up to a mistake, which is of course very good. But ultimately, it is also simply the right and responsible thing to do for anyone, and especially for someone with a platform and influence. In fact, it is the most beneficial thing to do when it comes to one’s reputation and demonstrating integrity. Staying quiet or letting it slide would have been a genuinely bad move.
3. Yes, the format of the video is fun and silly, but the intention is still clearly educational. Jared and Joe were not just ranking books by casually talking about how they felt about them. If that were the case, the video probably would not even be half the length. They were clearly trying to discuss the content and ideas of the books in order to provide viewers with an overview of those books and thinkers. If anything, I think this kind of format actually gives the viewer an even stronger impression of those books and thinkers, and can be the deciding factor in whether someone chooses to read them or not. So accuracy still definitely matters.
4. Yes, the commenter’s tone was harsh and clearly emotionally charged at first. But that reaction is very understandable. To me, they come across as someone who is both knowledgeable and deeply invested. If they did not care, they would not have been frustrated. And if they were not frustrated, they would not have spent their precious time writing a long comment trying to explain what Jared got wrong. I also think it is important to point out that this commenter actually has a lot of goodwill, honesty, self-awareness, and capacity for self-reflection. After cooling down, and after Jared acknowledged the mistake, they explicitly said, “my comment was rooted in anger and ungraciousness and exasperation—I apologize.” I feel bad for them to see people criticize their original frustrated attitude without acknowledging that follow-up. (Btw, I also think they seemed disappointed in Jared at first, but in a way, isn’t that a compliment? They simply expected more from him and believed he could do better. One would only feel that way if they already thought somewhat highly of someone, right?)
Finally, and this is probably my most sensitive and controversial take: I do not think the commenter is actually getting enough credit for what they did. If the situation was that you already realized the mistakes during editing or beforehand, then that is fine. But if you only became aware of the mistakes because of their comment, then I think the main thing to say is not “Sorry,” but rather “Thank you.” The overall energy around this situation doesn't have to be one of grief or embarrassment, but one of gratitude and appreciation.
There are several things this frame of mind can hopefully achieve:
– We can be grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow, both personally and professionally. It can motivate both ourselves and others to think more critically about ourselves and everything in general.
– We can appreciate that there are knowledgeable people who genuinely care about these things. The world would be a much worse place without them.
– We can allow this experience to serve as an example of how mistakes and dialogue can turn into beautiful opportunities for reflection and growth.
– Most importantly, we can and should encourage people to keep offering corrections and pointing out mistakes, both in our work and in the work of others.
We need to make it clear that people are doing something valuable when they share their knowledge and hold others accountable. They deserve to receive credit and feel appreciated for doing that. I do not think this is done often or well enough, and that may be one reason people sometimes feel the need to raise their voice or resort to personal attacks just to be heard. If we can normalize openly acknowledging and genuinely appreciating those who correct us and hold us accountable, everyone benefits. We all get to learn and grow and hopefully move a bit closer to wisdom together while appreciating one another in the process. I believe that if critique and correction were more openly valued, any discussions would become healthier and more productive.
I think at least a few of the things I brought up here simply needed to be said, which is why I am making an exception to write this long comment. It is an exception for me because I usually only exclusively interact with Joe’s content and audience. I have almost no knowledge of your personality, Jared, so I do not know how you or the people here will receive this. But I feel like taking a bit of a risk today.
If anything here helped lessen or guide even a small portion of your grieving energy in a different direction, I would consider this time and effort well spent. :)
Personally, I don’t have any hard feelings toward the original commenter. The fact that they said ‘you’re better than that’, I thought, made it clear that this was an error that they really didn’t expect from me. They apologized for their tone (unprompted) and then explained a bit more. It wasn’t a fun interaction at first – I hate that I made such a dumb mistake in the video, giving people a caricature of a philosopher I greatly admire – but I’m glad they said something.
Many times, negative comments are purely insults. Anyone who makes videos gets them on a regular basis. This comment wasn’t like that. It was substantive. That’s why I couldn’t just ignore it — they made it very clear what I’d gotten wrong. And I always appreciate being able to correct my own beliefs.
Hi Jared,
Just wanted to say that I actually found this post helpful for personal reasons. When listening to the conversation between you and Joe, I was actually somewhat discouraged by my own lack of familiarity with a lot of the classics. I think, as so often happens, seeing other people my age exhibit so much competence and confidence in an area that I want to be competent and confident in felt bad. I felt behind.
Your mistake, and the correction of it, was grounding for me. It reminded me of the easy to forget fact that we are all error-prone humans, and that philosophy is a thoroughly human endeavor in that sense. So thank you for your correction, it exhibits integrity and humility.
I know public mistakes are there own kind of discouraging, and it's likely to live with you in the back of your mind for a while. If you can, remember that the mistake helped some of us too.
Thanks