The Way of the Intellectual Dark Web

What Joe Rogan and His Associates Can Teach Us about Political Dialogue

Author: Jamie Q. Roberts

Roberts presents a rigorous and accessible assessment of the Intellectual Dark Web’s origins, shared philosophy, cultural importance and limitations.

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Summary

Roberts presents a rigorous and accessible assessment of the Intellectual Dark Web’s origins, shared philosophy, cultural importance and limitations.

Description

Roberts presents a rigorous and accessible assessment of the Intellectual Dark Web’s origins, shared philosophy, cultural importance, and limitations.

Since the mid-2010s, the Intellectual Dark Web (IDW) has been an unprecedented cultural and intellectual phenomenon. Using primarily podcasts and YouTube videos, a new generation of public intellectuals has appeared, loosely coalesced, and gained a vast global audience. This movement has encompassed a range of individuals, notably Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson, Eric and Bret Weinstein, Ben Shapiro, Heather Heying, and Sam Harris. Other names more broadly associated with the grouping have included Steven Pinker, Jonathan Haidt, Elon Musk, Niall Ferguson, and Stephen Fry. There is a sprawling and ever-growing list of those who have appeared on IDW podcasts and videos, started their own podcasts along similar lines, and share a general ethos. It is a dispersed movement, but a significant one, given the reach of these various online outlets is in the millions globally. Roberts draws together and synthesises the core ideas espoused by the members of this movement and critically assesses its origins, coherence, and the impact it has had on politics and public discourse. He asks – to what extent has the IDW lived up to its professed goal of moving beyond polarisation and radicalisation?

An insightful read both for followers of the IDW looking for a coherent and critical overview and for students of popular culture looking to understand this massive but decentralised popular intellectual movement.

Critic Reviews

"A thorough, thoughtful and charitable overview of that ambiguous phenomenon known as “The Intellectual Dark Web.” Jamie Roberts accessibly presents the political, philosophical, epistemological and ethical concerns that underlie the IDW. In doing so, he clarifies the objections of this ideologically diverse group to Critical Social Justice (wokeness). The Way of the Intellectual Dark Web will be of value both for those too entrenched in their corner of the Culture Wars to see the patterns within this unlikely collective, and for the more sensible people who would like a detailed overview without wading in too far."

- Helen Pluckrose, IDW figure

“What is the Intellectual Dark Web? Even though I am one of the early founding members I was not really sure what it was I belonged to—beyond my own characterization of it as 'a commitment to the search for truth and free speech as the royal road to it’—until I read Jamie Roberts fair and thoughtful analysis that covers all the major players and ideas associated with the IDW. A masterful work of cultural history in this unique moment."

- Michael Shermer, Publisher Skeptic magazine, author of Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational, and an original member of the Intellectual Dark Web

About the Author

Dr Jamie Q Roberts is a lecturer in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. He specialises in international relations with a focus on international security and popular culture. More broadly, he is a ‘first principles’ political philosopher who is interested in the relationship between the individual and the group, the nature of progress, and the creation of knowledge. Additional interests include exploring the political insights we can gain from literature.