This week on the channel +2.1M views this week

Joe Bart puts Vsauce's consciousness theories on pause

Alex O'Connor's interview with Michael Stevens supplies the questions in Joe Bart Philosophy's only new upload.

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Joe Bart Philosophy Story of November 3, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.

How Are We Even Conscious Right Now?

Things we can learn from the video

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0:32Joe argues that free will is limited by influences people cannot control, including thoughts and dreams.
8:21Stevens introduces Jaynes's theory that inner thoughts were once experienced as external divine commands.
14:42Joe favors cultural and linguistic explanations for changing accounts of consciousness over rapid evolutionary brain changes.
17:03Stevens imagines a film about infants raised by automated machinery without human interaction.
23:33Stevens explains why philosophical inquiry can remain valuable without reaching definitive answers.
44:00Joe says discovering that life was simulated would not change the fact of his mortality.

Michael Stevens says he doesn't think humans have free will. Joe Bartolozzi is willing to grant us a little: "I think you have free will to an extent."

That disagreement gives "How Are We Even Conscious Right Now?" its starting point. Joe isn't interviewing the Vsauce creator himself; he's watching Stevens' conversation with Alex O'Connor, pausing to question the ideas and bring chat into the discussion. The week's only upload has reached about 770,000 views.

The most intriguing detour is Julian Jaynes's bicameral mind theory, which proposes that people once experienced inner thoughts as external, divine commands rather than modern self-aware reflection. Joe immediately presses the awkward question: wouldn't following those voices already require a conscious self? As Stevens discusses changing descriptions of dreams and inner speech, Joe argues for cultural and linguistic change rather than a sudden evolutionary transformation.

The comments extend the discussion rather than settle it. Viewers debate whether choosing freely is compatible with outcomes being determined, and some ask for a dedicated lucid-dreaming video. By the closing stretch, the conversation has wandered through cultural stagnation, folding phones and simulated reality. Philosophy apparently has room for a smartphone complaint.

Across the channel, the week brought roughly 2.1 million views while subscribers held steady. Daily viewing is currently below half its usual level, a quieter picture than nearby education channels Asianometry and BBC Timestamp, both running above their normal daily viewing.

The consciousness upload is Joe's busiest video right now. Behind it, September's "What Happens If A Human Never Learns A Language?" continues drawing viewers, keeping language and the mind at the center of the channel's active archive.

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Where next?

Also in Explainers, history and educationSubscriber surge +99,972 subscribers in a dayTED reaches 28 million subscribers with connection on the agendaTalks about keeping friends through parenthood and reconsidering romantic dealbreakers accompany an unusually large subscriber gain.Channel: TED · Story of November 3, 2026

A different discovery todayVideo taking off 12x its usual first dayFrom "please don't leave" to "ask Grok": John Oliver's midterm tourThe election-week main story drew about 3.8 million views in under a day, and its comment section filled more than twice as fast as usual.Channel: LastWeekTonight · Story of November 3, 2026

What viewers say

Sometimes i think im conscious enough to know im not conscious
@aryastarkkkkkkSee it on YouTube
Speaking of lucid dreaming that would be a great philosophy video
@shadw4701See it on YouTube
I think free will is something that we as people can say exists, but I don't think that it does. While one person may do as they please, the outcomes of their actions were always going to happen.
@skyzer8173See it on YouTube

2 more comments

I love these type of post makes me think about life
@Hyuga_genes14See it on YouTube
Vsauce, Alex, Joe bart in one video is wunderbar
@PortableClockSee it on YouTube

Public comments from the video's page on YouTube