Epic Rap Battles of History Eastern vs Western Philosophers Reaction

[@bknpnck]

Peter once said this one is like the pinnacle of what ERB is capable of doing and I agree because it has a ton of clever lines and great jokes, much more than average There's also a lot of amazing things to catch on if you know the references or easter eggs well enough (Bethany caught one where Sun Tzu, played by Timothy DeLaGhetto/Tim Chantarangsu, sneaks in the background), like the fact that the Western ones split up from Nietzsche insulting Socrates because in real life Nietzsche learned a lot from Socrates but then grew to hate his philosophy

[@filipvadas7602]

I love that the philosophers' individual egos made them bicker to the point they didn't even finish the battle properly. A great way to show how wisdom means nothing without humility or self-control.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Well said 🙂

[@paulmurphy3023]

"I'll end any MFer like my name in a spelling bee!" Is one of the funniest lines in any ERB to me

[@Khadharphak]

Legit, sometimes it just pops into my head out of nowhere and makes me chuckle

[@The_One_In_Black]

The funny thing is that I will never mispell his name because of this battle.

[@austinfrostin4962]

Same

[@galonski64]

Also my favorite too.

[@phantomslay5612]

This is one of my favorite ERBs of all time.

[@mr.magenta8470]

Shaka Zulu vs Julius Caesar is another very witty battle that you'll enjoy. Can't wait to see you react to it one day

[@shadowaccount8620]

Want to know something? My interest in reading began with learning more of Nietzsche's philosophy because of this ERB. What a butterfly effect.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

A silly rap video inspires more learning 🙂 love it

[@_aballa_]

Not sure if you know but that like from Socrates "I'm toxic like a hemlock sip." is a reference to how he died. He was sentenced to drink hemlock because of the charges of moral corruption and impiety.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Didn’t know that 😯

[@HB-fq9nn]

Nietzsche and Confucius owned this battle.

[@Vejitatheouji]

I’d argue Sun Tzu was up there too.

[@Inoffensive_name]

B-b-but... Voltaire's rhyme scheme?!

[@Koyotee25]

Sun Tzu and Voltaire

[@PAINNN666]

I agree with Ken

[@MrCageCat]

Probably their most historically complicated/accurate video.

[@jprogaminggd]

This is definitely one of my favorite ERBs of all time and definitely one of their best. Also, George Carlin vs Richard Pryor would be a great one to do next!

[@tedgonzalez985]

Probably been said many times already, but y'all have the BEST format to reacting to ERB; watching it first for fun and then watching it again in parts to discuss the lines being said. How I wish every other ERB reactor did it the way y'all do. They pause CONSTANTLY and comment about EVERYTHING for minutes at a time. It bloats up their videos so much, when all I want is for them to just watch the video and discuss it after. You guys and the Renegades do it the best. Thank you. 👍

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Thanks for saying that. 🙂🤗

[@AlexanderAzarov]

It's the difference between Reaction videos like this and Breakdown videos like those other reactors do. Both have their place.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

My favorite ERB.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

Also...lmao.

[@LovelyBeachCoast-us1ec]

mine 2 😈

[@bknpnck]

@@v.emiltheii-nd.8094 Excellent choice

[@VegaSlides]

Same

[@stumilesyt]

Eastern won overall for sure from the first two rounds but I think the Western's in-fighting verse hits harder! Particularly, one of my favourite ERB bars of all time is from Socrates - "I'll not be taught camaraderie from a frog who rigged the lottery. You make a mockery of ethics, so keep your fat nose in your coffee"! The syllable pacing and inner rhyming is sooo good, gets stuck in my head all the time. Plus it's a really good dig at Voltaire!

[@dr.skuller8984]

Yall might not see this but thank you. It's been a rough few days and yalls reactions make my days brighter. Love yall.

[@rob0893]

Hope your day goes well friend!

[@DavidBeefyJr]

I'm there with you bro. I also love to see either be happy and their happiness makes me happy. I hope everything gets better for you.

[@jackjay2812]

Dude same

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Sorry you had a rough couple of days. We’ve all been there. Hopefully things got better or will get better soon and it really means a lot that our videos can be a bright spot 🙂🤗😊

[@SymbioticSpider9729]

Really awesome that you've got around to this one! This is another one of my personal favorites amongst many others It was originally conceived as Socrates vs Confucius, but Peter had to do a different angle for it to not be tedious for him, something along those lines lol and it's also one they've went on the record by stating the research was probably the most difficult to do I'm glad they still trucked on forth and turned it into a trio battle, this is one of the best examples of how a group battle should be written I'd say, the results payed off immensely Still pulling through to see George Carlin vs Richard Pryor or Issac Newton vs Bill Nye, great reaction as always! :)

[@gianfeliciano9816]

Fun fact: The "Yeah!" in the background is the same one used in Jay-Z's song In Paris.

[@augustinensang3109]

Skillex vs Mozart Shaka Zulu vs Julius Caesar Ash Ketchum vs Charles Darwin

[@jackclark4413]

One of my favorite ERBs.

[@TheyCallHimTheGambit]

Glad to see you are finally reacting to this masterpiece

[@chaddon7685]

"Let me be frank / Don't start beef with the Frank / Who hangs with B. Franks giving ladies beef franks!" Love it!

[@RasmusVJS]

Once we get to the 2nd and 3rd verse, the Westerners take it for me, particularly Voltaire. The rhyme schemes in his verse against Socrates are impeccable.

[@supersizesenpai]

My favorite is "Let me be frank: don't start beef with the Frank, Who hangs with B. Franks, giving ladies beef franks!" Translation: Let me be honest: Don't start an argument with me Benjamin Franklin and I are best buddies Ben and I loooove sex. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@shadowset3386]

YES I'm so happy, this is my favorite ERB of all time, and it's great to see the two of you react to it. Below I'll mention some of the meanings behind the lines, in order. In the Western Philosopher's Second Verse, Nietzsche talks about taking control of your life, and also about the Ubermensch, which was basically like a higher being of human or the next stage of human in Nietzsche's works. In the Eastern's Philospher's Second Verse, when Confucius is talking about Nietzsche, he says he killed god, Nietzsche wrote several works, and it was a pretty famous phrase of him in his books. He basically talked about how humans killed god, often with pity. Then Confucius says "You tried to plant a new German psyche, but you just grew hate, me no Third Reichy" This is actually a reference to how Hitler, Mussolini, and other facists loved Nietzsche's works, because even though Nietzsche hated stuff like anti-seminists, they misinterpreted his work to be supportive of the thoughts of people like Hitler. When the Western Philosophers are arguing, Nietzsche starts it with Socrates, and Nietzsche actually absolutely hated Socrates, he wrote it about it multiple times. On the flipside, Nietzsche never argued with Voltaire, because Nietzsche actually loved Voltaire and his works, so cool detail there. Overall, this song honestly flows so well and is probably one of, if not their most historically intensive songs to date, it has so many tiny details and references in it. Glad you two enjoyed!

[@silentassason]

"Enact the ancient Asian art of beatboxing." - Sun Tzu - The art of war.

[@Pvt.Private]

I was waiting for this one so long ❤❤❤

[@Wickerrman]

1st bit: Eastern 2nd bit: Western 3rd bit: About even tbh..."suck Soc's dick" and "these fortune cookies" are both great lines!

[@naomikirisaki]

Finally, another good old rap

[@BurntBattleBagel]

Sun tzu (prounouned "soon za") best qoute for me was "make your plans as dark and impenetrable as the night, and when you strike, fall like a thunderbolt" perfectly explains his style in this battle. Said what he said and left a large impact and gone, like lightning, but the thunder sticks around

[@thiagohayashi9936]

Lao Tzi emphasizing "move b*tc*" also aligns with his philosophy. The Tao (main subject of his philosophy... Named TAOISM) is about moving in sync with the universe, so, moving people and things is great part of his work (or not work, since universe is moving those things for you).

[@Caldera01]

Both Nietzsche and Sun Tzu got done dirty here. Nietzsche was NOT a nihilist, he only saw nihilism as a necessary middle point for a person to find true purpose, not the end point in of itself. He HATED the concept of nihilism as an end point, even if he saw the necessity of it. Similarily Sun Tzu was NOT a war monger, quite the opposite. The very FIRST point of The Art of War is that war is inherently destructive and one should avoid it as much as possible. Everything after that is more about how to handle things when you find yourself in a state of war regardless. Still the most important lesson of the book is the importance of peace. Lastly, the fascists took Nietzsche and bastardised his work to fit their ideology. Nietzsche's 'ubermensch' DOES NOT condone racial supremacy. The entire point is that you become 'ubermensch' once you defeat nihilism by finding purpose for yourself, nothing more, nothing less.

[@ahedjehad8514]

i like how they utilized philosophy in this ERB especially with Sun Tzu, and how he got inside the head of the western philosophers. :)

[@illyahrthebard3303]

I think the guys who played the Eastern philosophers were professional rappers, so they definitely had an edge

[@xheralt]

This proves the Law of Philosophic Conservation -- for every philosopher, there is an equal and opposite philosopher!

[@earendilthemariner5546]

Gotta do Churchill vs Roosevelt and Mansa Musa vs Jeff bezos

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

Unpopular opinion: Western Philosophers won.

[@Wickerrman]

It's certainly much closer than they make it sound. I think it's a mix for each section.

[@Xynotha]

I think its cool that the easterners had a slower tempo and less word count in their raps but arguably had a stronger impact than the westerners. Socially realistic imo 😂 precise strikes considering Sun Tzu and his military knowledge

[@seancolorado]

I agree Eastern ones had better flow which made bars, which may have otherwise been equal in a vacuum, more impactful

[@LovelyBeachCoast-us1ec]

Eastern people won 😈

[@silentassason]

What is winning?

[@LovelyBeachCoast-us1ec]

@@silentassason that is the question 🤔🤷‍♂️

[@coolbanana165]

I'm not really sure why they chose Voltaire, rather than say, Kant, Hegel, or J.S.Mill. Or Descartes... Id say he represents the Enlightenment better.

[@LovelyBeachCoast-us1ec]

yay finally 🥹🙏

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

🥳🥳

[@LovelyBeachCoast-us1ec]

@ ❤️✌️🥰

[@danielramsey6141]

When you dig deeper into this Fight. You have to realize that Western Philosophy didn’t develope until Way Late! While Chinese Philosophy and Society Had been Around for 1000 Years! Yes, there was War! But you gotta Remember that China has stayed pretty damn strong even when Europe colonialists were trying to Infiltrate.

[@JnEricsonx]

Puppy....

[@meswil]

Shaka Zulu vs Julius C or Steve jobs vs mansa musa

[@SymbioticSpider9729]

You mean Jeff Bezos vs Mansa Musa? They've already done Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates

[@meswil]

@@SymbioticSpider9729 yeah man i meant jaff vs Mansa

[@PAINNN666]

Confucius

[@batmanvideogames]

I wish you would react to this series more often . You should also react to Dis Raps for Hire

[@ivanteoh930]

I didnt like how racist ERB was

[@lejandario7779]

Y'all should react to Harris vs Trump before it becomes a thing of the past

[@LovelyBeachCoast-us1ec]

I am writing this to help out these two angels and this video and this channel with the algorithm 🥹🙏

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

We appreciate it as always 🤗

[@LovelyBeachCoast-us1ec]

@ I appreciate you guys as well 🥹❤️🙏