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{{Short description|American philosopher and neuroscientist (born 1967)}} | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2014}} | |||
{{Other people||Sam Harris (disambiguation)}} | |||
{{Use American English|date=April 2021}} | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2018}} | |||
{{Infobox writer | {{Infobox writer | ||
| name = Sam Harris | | name = Sam Harris | ||
| image = Sam Harris |
| image = Sam Harris 2016 (cropped).jpg | ||
| caption = Harris in 2016 | |||
| imagesize = 245px | |||
| birth_name = Samuel Benjamin Harris | |||
| caption = Harris, pictured c. 2007| pseudonym = | |||
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1967|4|9}} | |||
| birth_name = Samuel B. Harris<ref>According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905–1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California.</ref> | |||
| birth_place = ], California, U.S. | |||
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1967|4|9}} | |||
| death_date = | |||
| birth_place = ], ], United States | |||
| death_place = | |||
| death_date = | |||
| occupation = {{Flatlist| | |||
| death_place = | |||
* Author | |||
| occupation = Author, ], ], non-profit executive | |||
* podcaster}} | |||
| nationality = American | |||
| education = {{Plainlist| | |||
| education = Philosophy <small>(] 2000)</small>, Neuroscience <small>(] 2009)</small> | |||
* ] (]) | |||
* ] (])}} | |||
| period = | |||
| genre = |
| genre = ] | ||
| subject = |
| subject = ], ],<ref name="pardi"/> religion, ], ], ] | ||
| parents = {{Plainlist| | |||
| known_for = ] | |||
* Berkeley Harris | |||
| notableworks = {{Plainlist| | |||
* |
* ]}} | ||
| spouse = {{Marriage|]|2004}} | |||
* '']'' | |||
| children = 2 | |||
* '']'' | |||
| awards = {{ubl|] | ]}} | |||
| website = {{URL|samharris.org}} | |||
| module = {{Infobox philosopher|embed = yes | |||
| era = ] | |||
| region = {{Hlist|]}} | |||
| school_tradition = | |||
| influences = ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] | |||
| influenced = ], ], ], ] | |||
| thesis_year = 2009 | |||
| thesis_title = The moral landscape: How science could determine human values | |||
| thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/366925574/ | |||
| doctoral_advisor = ] | |||
}} | }} | ||
| |
| signature = Sam Harris signature.svg | ||
| partner = | |||
| children = | |||
| relatives = | |||
| awards = PEN/Martha Albrand Award | |||
| signature = Sam Harris signature.svg | |||
| website = {{URL|http://www.samharris.org}} | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Samuel B.''' "'''Sam'''" '''Harris''' (born April 9, 1967)<ref>]; January 2012, Vol. 73 Issue 1, p37</ref> is an American author, philosopher, and ]. He is the co-founder and chief executive of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.samharris.org/site/about/ |title=About Sam Harris |date=July 5, 2010 |accessdate=July 5, 2010 |quote=Mr. Harris is a Co–Founder and CEO of Project Reason, a nonprofit foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge and secular values in society. He began and eventually received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a PhD in Neuroscience from UCLA.}}</ref> He is the author of '']'', which was published in 2004 and appeared on ] for 33 weeks. The book also won the ]/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction in 2005.<ref>PEN American Center (2005). <www.pen.org>. Retrieved on 2011-12-01.</ref> In 2006, Harris published the book '']'' as a response to criticism of ''The End of Faith''. This work was followed by '']'', published in 2010, his long-form essay ''Lying'' in 2011, the short book ''Free Will'' in 2012, and '']'' in 2014. | |||
'''Samuel Benjamin Harris''' (born April 9, 1967) is an American philosopher,<!--Discussed in the talk page and reached consensus. See the discussion titled "Neuroscientist, Philosopher".--> neuroscientist, <!--Also discussed in the talk page--> author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including ], religion, ethics, free will, ], meditation, psychedelics, ], politics, terrorism, and artificial intelligence. Harris came to prominence for his ], and he is known as one of the ], along with ], ], and ].<ref name="phil-now">{{cite magazine |last1=Madigan |first1=Tim |title=Meet the New Atheism / Same as the Old Atheism? |url=https://philosophynow.org/issues/78/Meet_the_New_Atheism_Same_as_the_Old_Atheism |magazine=Philosophy Now |access-date=August 15, 2018 |date=2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|publisher=] (OUP)|editor1-last=Bullivant |editor1-first=Stephen |editor2-last=Ruse |editor2-first=Michael |title=The Oxford Handbook of Atheism |date=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-964465-0 |page=246 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jbIVAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA246 |access-date=22 May 2019}}</ref><ref name="BJJ" /> | |||
Harris is a contemporary ] and proponent of ] and the "]". He is also an advocate for the ], ], and the ] to criticize religion.<ref name="salon.com">Don, Katherine (2010). ''Salon'' (Oct. 17). {{Retrieved|accessdate=2011-12-01}}</ref> His writing and talks on religion have provoked debate, which he has actively encouraged. Some commentators have called Harris's criticisms aggressive and intolerant, while others have praised his unapologetic directness as long overdue. In conjunction with world events involving violence and Islam, Harris has broadened his critical focus on Islam in society, which has resulted in death threats and outraged commentators equating his criticism with ].<ref name="Tablet1">Samuels, David. May 29, 2012. . ]. Retrieved: 6 October 2014.</ref> Harris and others have ridiculed the term, saying it has been misused and that such labeling is an attempt to silence criticism.<ref name="Indi1">; ''The Independent''; April 12, 2013</ref> In 2015, Harris and ], a ], began collaborating on a book titled ''Islam and the Future of Tolerance''; a civil discussion of opposing viewpoints on "a topic of great importance." | |||
Harris's first book, '']'' (2004), won the ] and remained on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for 33 weeks. Harris has since written six additional books: '']'' in 2006, '']'' in 2010, the long-form essay '']'' in 2011, the short book '']'' in 2012, '']'' in 2014, and (with British writer ]) '']'' in 2015. Harris's work has been translated into over 20 languages. Some critics have argued that Harris's writings are ].<ref>Greenwald, Glen (April 3, 2013). , ''The Guardian''.</ref> Harris and his supporters, however, reject this characterization,<ref> from the ] channel ''The Rubin Report'', September 11, 2015.</ref> adding that such a labeling is an attempt to silence criticism.<ref name="Indi1">, ''The Independent'', April 13, 2013.</ref> | |||
Harris has written numerous articles for '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and the journal '']''. His articles touch upon a diversity of topics including religion, ], ], ], terrorism, and ].<ref>Harris, Sam (2011). <www.samharris.org>. Retrieved 12-21-2011.</ref> In his 2010 book ''The Moral Landscape'', Harris argues that science can help answer ] and can aid the facilitation of ].<ref name="salon.com"/> He regularly gives talks around the United States and Great Britain, which include speeches at the ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. He also gave a shortened speech at ], where he outlined the arguments made in his book ''The Moral Landscape''.<ref name="TED">Harris, Sam (2010). ]. February 2010.</ref> Harris has also made numerous television appearances, including interviews for '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']'', among others. He has also appeared in the documentary films '']'' (2005) and '']'' (2013). | |||
Harris has debated with many prominent figures on the topics of God or religion, including ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. Since September 2013, Harris has hosted the ''Making Sense'' podcast (originally titled ''Waking Up''), which has a large listenership. Around 2018, he was described as one of the marginalized "renegade" intellectuals,<ref>{{cite news |last= Weiss |first= Bari |date= 2018-05-08 |title= Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web |url= https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2018/5/10/17338290/intellectual-dark-web-rogan-peterson-harris-times-weiss |work= The New York Times |location= New York City |access-date= 2022-07-30}}</ref> though Harris disagreed with that characterization.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last1=Nguyen |first1=Tina |last2=Goldenberg |first2=Sally |date=March 15, 2021 |title=How Yang charmed the right on his road to political stardom |language=en |work=] |url=https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2021/03/15/how-yang-charmed-the-right-on-his-road-to-political-stardom-1368366}}</ref><ref name="republic">{{Cite web |title=#225 – Republic of Lies |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmcdu6B_YUU&t=833s |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/lmcdu6B_YUU |archive-date=2021-10-30 |website=YouTube| date=November 18, 2020 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> In September 2018, Harris released a ] ], ''Waking Up with Sam Harris''{{efn|Now named ''Waking Up: Guided Meditation''}}. He is also considered a prominent figure in the ] movement, promoting meditation practices without the need for any religious beliefs.<ref name="Salon-Sam"/> | |||
==Early life and education== | |||
Harris grew up in a ] home in Los Angeles, son of actor Berkeley Harris<ref>{{IMDb name|364473|Berkeley Harris}}</ref> and '']'' creator and TV producer ].<ref name="SusanHarris">{{cite news | url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-10-20/entertainment/8503130034_1_selma-diamond-funniest-people-golden-girls/2 | title='Girls' Series is sold gold for Harris | work=] TV Week| date=October 20, 1985 | accessdate=18 September 2013 | author=Anderson, Jon}}</ref> His father came from a ] background and his mother is Jewish.<ref name="Tablet1"/> His parents rarely discussed religion, though it was always a subject which interested him.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishtvnetwork.com/?bcpid=533363107&bctid=1329234778 |title=Does God Exist? |publisher=] |date=November 6, 2007}}</ref><ref name="Segal2006">{{Cite news |last=Segal |first=David |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501998_pf.html |title=Atheist Evangelist |publisher=The Washington Post |date=October 26, 2006}}</ref> Harris has been reluctant to discuss personal details such as where he now lives, where he grew up, or what his parents did, citing security reasons.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Piccalo |first=Gina |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2006/oct/02/entertainment/et-harris |title=Oh, dear God—it's him again |publisher=Los Angeles Times |date=October 2, 2006}}</ref> In 1986, as a young student at ], Harris experimented with the drug ], and has since written and spoken about the powerful insights he felt psychologically under the drug's influence.<ref> (2008). ''The Science Studio''. Science Network. October 3, 2008. </ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Sam |title=MDMA Caution with Sam Harris |date=June 28, 2011 |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgUd0Xv5skk }}</ref> Harris was a serious student of the martial arts and taught ] in college. After more than twenty years, he began practicing two martial arts again,<ref name="Free Will">{{cite book | title=Free Will | publisher=Free Press | author=Harris, Sam | year=2012 | isbn=978-1451683400}}</ref> including ].<ref name="BJJ">{{cite web | url=http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/05/the-atheist-who-strangled-me/309292/ | title=The Atheist Who Strangled Me | work=] | date=April 24, 2013 | accessdate=August 11, 2014 | author=Wood, Graeme}}</ref> | |||
== Early life and education == | |||
Harris became interested in spiritual and philosophical questions when he studied at Stanford University. He was fascinated by the idea that he might be able to achieve spiritual insights without the use of drugs.<ref name="newsweek.com"/> Leaving Stanford in his second year, he went to ], where he studied ] with ] and ] religious teachers,<ref name="newsweek.com">{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Lisa |year=2010 |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/10/18/atheist-sam-harris-steps-into-the-light.html |title=Sam Harris Believes in God |publisher=Newsweek}}</ref><ref name=Segal>Segal, David. ''The Washington Post,'' October 26, 2006.</ref> including ].<ref name="Science on the Brink of Death">{{cite web | url=http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/science-on-the-brink-of-death | title=Science on the Brink of Death | date=November 11, 2012 | accessdate=November 14, 2012 | author=Harris, Sam}}</ref> Eleven years later, in 1997, he returned to Stanford, completing a ] degree in ] in 2000.<ref name="Segal2006"/><ref>{{cite web |title=The Iconoclast: Sam Harris wants believers to stop believing |first=Lewis I. |last=Rice |publisher=Stanford Magazine |url=http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2005/julaug/show/books.html }}</ref> Harris began writing his first book, '']'', immediately after the ].<ref name="Segal2006"/> | |||
Samuel Benjamin Harris was born in ], California, on April 9, 1967.<ref>'']'', January 2012, Vol. 73, Issue 1, p. 37</ref><ref name="Playboy Interview">{{cite magazine|title=Playboy Interview: Sam Harris |magazine=] |date=Winter 2019 |volume=66 |issue=1 |page=44 |url=https://archive.org/details/Playboy_USA_Winter_2019/page/n45/mode/2up}}</ref> He is the son of the late actor Berkeley Harris, who appeared mainly in ] films, and television writer and producer ] (née Spivak), who created '']'' and '']'', among other series.<ref name="guardian-spiritual"/><ref name="SusanHarris">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/10/20/girls-series-is-solid-gold-for-harris/ |title='Girls' Series is solid gold for Harris |work=] TV Week |date=October 20, 1985 |access-date=September 18, 2013 |author=Anderson, Jon}}</ref> His father, born in North Carolina, came from a ] background, and his mother is ] but not religious.<ref name="Tablet1">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/belief/articles/qa-sam-harris |title=Q&A: Sam Harris |first=David |last=Samuels |magazine=] |date=2012-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127023653/https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/belief/articles/qa-sam-harris |archive-date=2023-01-27 |url-status=live |access-date=2014-10-06}}</ref> He was raised by his mother following his parents' divorce when he was age two.<ref group=SH>{{cite web |url=https://www.samharris.org/blog/item/im-not-the-sexist-pig-youre-looking-for |title=I'm Not the Sexist Pig You're Looking For |website=www.samharris.org |access-date=2016-04-23 |date=2014-09-15 |archive-date=2016-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418202514/https://www.samharris.org/blog/item/im-not-the-sexist-pig-youre-looking-for}}</ref> Harris has stated that his upbringing was entirely secular and that his parents rarely discussed religion, though he also stated that he was not raised as an ].<ref>; ]: '']''; January 5, 2007</ref> | |||
While his original major was in English, Harris became interested in philosophical questions while at ] after an experience with ].<ref> (2008). ''The Science Studio''. Science Network. October 3, 2008. </ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Sam |title=MDMA Caution with Sam Harris |website=] |date=June 28, 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgUd0Xv5skk}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |via=Youtube |website=Cogent Canine |title=First Time Sam Harris Took E |date=2017-12-06 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFyg4blzlDM |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602232651/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFyg4blzlDM&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=2020-06-02 |access-date=December 8, 2017}}</ref> The experience interested him in the idea he might be able to achieve spiritual insights without the use of drugs.<ref name="newsweek.com" /> Leaving Stanford in his second year, a quarter after his psychoactive experience, he visited ] and ], where he studied ] with teachers of ] and ] religions,<ref name="newsweek.com">{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Lisa |year=2010 |url=http://europe.newsweek.com/rationalist-sam-harris-believes-god-73859?rm=eu |title=Sam Harris Believes in God |work=Newsweek}}</ref><ref name="Segal2006"/> including ].<ref group="SH" name="Science on the Brink of Death">{{cite web |url=http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/science-on-the-brink-of-death |title=Science on the Brink of Death |date=2012-11-11 |access-date=2012-11-14 |author=Harris, Sam |archive-date=2017-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909005157/http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/science-on-the-brink-of-death }}</ref> For a few weeks in the early 1990s, he was a volunteer guard in the security detail of ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morrison |first=Patt |date=2014-09-24 |title=No God? No problem, says god-free thinker Sam Harris |url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-morrison-sam-harris-spirituality-without-religion-20140924-column.html |access-date=2023-05-04 |work=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US|department=}}</ref><ref name="Segal2006">{{Cite news |last=Segal |first=David |date=October 26, 2006 |title=Atheist Evangelist |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501998_pf.html | |||
He received a ] degree in ] in 2009 at the ],<ref name="Segal2006"/><ref name = Greenberg>{{Cite news |last=Greenberg |first=Brad A. |title=Making Belief |publisher=UCLA Magazine |date=April 1, 2008 |accessdate=2009-10-28 |url=http://www.magazine.ucla.edu/depts/quicktakes/making-belief/ }}</ref><ref name="HealyLATimes">{{Cite news |last=Healy |first=Melissa |title=Religion: The heart believes what it will, but the brain behaves the same either way |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 30, 2009 |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/09/religion-the-heart-believes-what-it-will-but-the-brain-behaves-the-same-either-way.html |accessdate=2009-10-17 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124025949/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/09/religion-the-heart-believes-what-it-will-but-the-brain-behaves-the-same-either-way.html | archivedate=January 24, 2014}}</ref> using ] to conduct research into the neural basis of belief, disbelief, and uncertainty.<ref name="Segal2006"/><ref name="HealyLATimes" /> His thesis was titled "The moral landscape: How science could determine human values", and his advisor was ].<ref name="thesis">{{cite web | url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/366925574/ | title=The moral landscape How science could determine human values | publisher=] | date=2009 | accessdate=5 June 2014 | author=Harris, Sam}}</ref> | |||
|access-date=2023-05-04 |issn=0190-8286}} </ref> | |||
In 1997, after eleven years overseas, Harris returned to Stanford, completing a ] degree in ] in 2000.<ref name="Segal2006"/><ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Iconoclast: Sam Harris wants believers to stop believing |first=Lewis I. |last=Rice |date=2005 |magazine=] |publisher=Stanford Alumni Association |url=http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2005/julaug/show/books.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016012306/http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2005/julaug/show/books.html |archive-date=2009-10-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.informationphilosopher.com/solutions/scientists/harris/ |title=Sam Harris |website=The Information Philosopher |access-date=April 30, 2016}}</ref> Harris began writing his first book, '']'', immediately after the ].<ref name="Segal2006" /> | |||
Harris married in 2004. He and his wife Annaka are the parents of two daughters.<ref>{{cite web|last=Harris|first=Sam|title=samharris.org|url=http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/drugs-and-the-meaning-of-life}}</ref> Annaka Harris is a co-founder of Project Reason and an editor of nonfiction and scientific books. | |||
He received a ] in ] in 2009 from the ],<ref name="Segal2006" /><ref name = Greenberg>{{Cite magazine |last=Greenberg |first=Brad A. |title=Making Belief |magazine=UCLA Magazine |date=April 1, 2008 |access-date=October 28, 2009 |url=http://www.magazine.ucla.edu/depts/quicktakes/making-belief/}}</ref><ref name="HealyLATimes">{{Cite news |last=Healy |first=Melissa |title=Religion: The heart believes what it will, but the brain behaves the same either way |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 30, 2009 |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/09/religion-the-heart-believes-what-it-will-but-the-brain-behaves-the-same-either-way.html |access-date=October 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124025949/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/09/religion-the-heart-believes-what-it-will-but-the-brain-behaves-the-same-either-way.html |archive-date=January 24, 2014}}</ref> using ] to conduct research into the neural basis of belief, disbelief, and uncertainty.<ref name="Segal2006" /><ref name="HealyLATimes" /> His thesis was titled ''The Moral Landscape: How Science Could Determine Human Values''. His advisor was ].<ref name="thesis">{{cite thesis |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/366925574/ |title=The Moral Landscape: How Science Could Determine Human Values |via=]|publisher=UCLA |type=PhD dissertation |date=2009 |access-date=June 5, 2014 |last=Harris|first=Sam|isbn=978-1-124-01190-5}}</ref> | |||
==Views== | |||
{{Criticism of religion sidebar}} | |||
== |
==Career== | ||
===Writing=== | |||
Harris's writing concerns ], ], and ]. He came to prominence for his criticism of religion (] in particular) and he is described as one of the ], along with ], ], and ].<ref name="bowles_2019">{{cite news|last1=Bowles|first1=Nellie|date=December 14, 2018|title=Patreon Bars Anti-Feminist for Racist Speech, Inciting Revolt|work=]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/24/technology/patreon-hate-speech-bans.html|access-date=30 August 2019|quote=On Dec. 6, Patreon kicked the anti-feminist polemic Carl Benjamin, who works under the name Sargon of Akkad, off its site for using racist language on YouTube. That same week, it removed the right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos a day after he opened an account.{{pb}}"The moves prompted a revolt. Mr. Harris, citing worries about censorship, announced that he would leave Patreon.{{nbsp}}...{{pb}}{{pb}}"...{{nbsp}}Mr. Harris, who gathered his fan base as a pugnacious atheist and fierce critic of Islam{{nbsp}}...|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224213124/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/24/technology/patreon-hate-speech-bans.html |archive-date=24 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="phil-now"/> He has written for publications such as '']'', the '']'', '']'', '']'' (of London), '']'', and '']''.<ref name="edge-bio">{{cite web |title=Sam Harris |url=https://www.edge.org/memberbio/sam_harris |website=Edge.org |access-date=August 26, 2018}}</ref> Five of Harris's books have been ], and his writing has been translated into over 20 languages.<ref name="edge-bio"/> '']'' (2004) remained on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for 33 weeks.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Van Biema |first1=David |title=What Your Brain Looks Like on Faith |magazine=Time |url=http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1694723,00.html |access-date=August 16, 2018|date=2007-12-14}}</ref> | |||
===Podcast=== | |||
Harris argues that religion is especially rife with bad ideas, calling it "one of the most perverse misuses of intelligence we have ever devised."<ref name=prob>{{Cite news| author = Sam Harris |work=] | url = http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/sam_harris/2007/10/the_problem_with_atheism.html | title = The Problem with Atheism | date = September 28, 2007 |accessdate = December 6, 2007}}</ref> He compares modern religious beliefs to the myths of the ], which were once accepted as fact but which are obsolete today. In a January 2007 interview with ], Harris said, "We don't have a word for not believing in Zeus, which is to say we are all atheists in respect to Zeus. And we don't have a word for not being an ]". He goes on to say that the term will be retired only when "we all just achieve a level of intellectual honesty where we are no longer going to pretend to be certain about things we are not certain about".<ref name=PBS>{{cite web |first=Sam |last=Harris |year=2005 |url=http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week1019/interview2.html |title=Interview: Sam Harris |publisher=PBS.org}}</ref> | |||
In September 2013, Harris began releasing the ''Waking Up'' podcast (since re-titled ''Making Sense''). Episodes vary in length but often last over two hours.<ref name="guardian-podcasts">{{cite news |last1=Davies |first1=Hannah J |last2=Verdier |first2=Hannah |last3=Sanderson |first3=Max |title=The con woman who scammed New York's elite – podcasts of the week |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jan/03/fake-heiress-anna-delvey-david-baddiel-podcasts-of-the-week |access-date=22 June 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=3 January 2020}}</ref> Releases do not follow a regular schedule.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
The podcast focuses on a wide array of topics related to science and spirituality, including philosophy, religion, morality, free will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics and artificial intelligence. Harris has interviewed a wide range of guests, including scientists, philosophers, spiritual teachers, and authors. Guests have included ], Dan Dennett, ], ], and ].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=September 13, 2022 |title=Waking Up with Sam Harris |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/296-repairing-our-country/id733163012?i=1000579369510 |access-date=September 13, 2022 |website=iTunes – Podcasts |quote=I have been, traditionally, a liberal. I have never voted republican{{nbsp}}... certainly not for president.}}</ref><ref name="Weiss">{{cite news |last=Weiss |first=Bari |author-link=Bari Weiss |date=May 8, 2018 |title=Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web |newspaper=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/opinion/intellectual-dark-web.html |access-date=May 8, 2018}}</ref><ref name="guardian-spiritual">{{cite news |last1=Anthony |first1=Andrew |author-link1=Andrew Anthony |title=Sam Harris, the new atheist with a spiritual side |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/feb/16/sam-harris-interview-new-atheism-four-horsemen-faith-science-religion-rationalism |access-date=22 June 2020|language=en-GB |work=The Observer |date=16 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="vox-thn">{{cite magazine |last1=Turkheimer |first1=Eric |author-link1=Eric Turkheimer |last2=Harden |first2=Kathryn Paige |last3=Nisbett |first3=Richard E. |author-link3=Richard E. Nisbett |date=18 May 2017 |title=Charles Murray is once again peddling junk science about race and IQ |magazine=] |url=https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/5/18/15655638/charles-murray-race-iq-sam-harris-science-free-speech |access-date=16 October 2018}}</ref> | |||
Harris states that he advocates a benign, noncoercive, corrective form of intolerance, distinguishing it from historic ]. He promotes a conversational intolerance, in which personal convictions are scaled against evidence, and where intellectual honesty is demanded equally in religious views and non-religious views.<ref>{{cite video | people = Sam Harris | date = | time = 1:00:00 | title = Does God Exist? A debate between bestselling authors Rabbi David Wolpe and Sam Harris | url = http://www.jewishtvnetwork.com/?bcpid=533363107&bctid=1329234778 | publisher = Jewish Television Network | accessdate = May 20, 2011 }}{{dead link|date=October 2014}}</ref> He also believes there is a need to counter inhibitions that prevent the open critique of religious ideas, beliefs, and practices under the auspices of "tolerance".<ref name=TGWWT>] & Sam Harris, 2005. ''The God Who Wasn't There'', extended interviews. Beyond Belief Media.</ref> | |||
===Meditation app=== | |||
Unlike some of the New Atheists who are less outspoken when challenged, Harris prefers to engage his critics rather than "let sleeping dogs lie".<ref name="Indi1"/> He has invited his most vocal critics to debate him on his blog; offered monetary rewards for the best rebuttals to his arguments; challenged critics to put their assertions to the test. For example, when he proposed a cartoon contest with ] where he could use his Guardian blog to solicit cartoons about Islam, while Harris would use his website to solicit entries for any other faith on earth. In response to some of the most frequent criticisms of his work—many of which he says are unfair and which misunderstand or distort his true positions—Harris maintains a long and frequently updated post on his personal website where he addresses and rebuts each claim.<ref name="HarrisBlogRC"/> | |||
In September 2018, Harris released a meditation course app, ''Waking Up with Sam Harris''. The app provides daily meditations; long guided meditations; daily "Moments" (brief meditations and reminders); conversations with thought leaders in psychology, meditation, philosophy, psychedelics, and other disciplines; a selection of lessons on various topics, such as ''Mind & Emotion'', ''Free Will'', and ''Doing Good''; and more. Users of the app are introduced to several types of meditation, such as ] meditation, ]-style meditation, ], and ].<ref name="app-review">{{cite magazine |last1=Freeland |first1=Ben |title=Sam Harris' Waking Up App, Reviewed |url=https://medium.com/@benfreeland/sam-harris-waking-up-app-reviewed-1d50e259e93d |magazine=Medium |access-date=30 May 2019 |date=29 March 2019}}</ref> | |||
In September 2020, Harris announced his commitment to donate at least 10% of Waking Up's profits to highly ] charities,<ref name="wakingup-2">{{cite web | url=https://dynamic.wakingup.com/course/658 | title=Waking Up Turns 2 | access-date=September 28, 2020 | archive-date=January 18, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118033319/https://dynamic.wakingup.com/course/658 }}</ref> thus becoming the first company to sign the ] pledge for companies.<ref name="gwwc-members">{{Cite web|title=Members|url=https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/about-us/members/|access-date=2020-09-25|website=www.givingwhatwecan.org}}</ref> The pledge was retroactive, taking into account the profits since the day the app launched two years previously.<ref name="wakingup-2" /> | |||
For example, columnist ] quotes Harris in saying "some propositions are so dangerous that it may even be ethical to kill people for believing them", and states this "sounds like exactly the kind of argument put forward by those who ran the Inquisition".<ref>] (2007). '']'' (May 7).</ref> Quoting the same passage, theologian ] asks, "ould there be a more dangerous proposition than ''that''?" and argues that the "anti-tolerance" it represents would "dismantle" the ] wall between ].<ref>] (2008). ''On the Mystery: Discerning Divinity in Process''. New York: Fortress Press, p. 5. ISBN 978-0-8006-6276-9. Italics in the original.</ref> Writer ] described the passage as "quite possibly the most disgraceful that I have read in a book by a man posing as a rationalist".<ref name="Dalrymple_City Journal">{{cite news | |||
| url = http://www.city-journal.org/html/17_4_oh_to_be.html | |||
| date = October 7, 2007 | |||
| title = What the New Atheists Don't See | |||
| author = ] | |||
| work = ] | |||
| accessdate = October 23, 2010 | |||
}}</ref> Harris repudiated his critics' characterization, showing that this sentence has been taken wildly out of its original context. "Some critics have interpreted (this sentence) to mean that I advocate simply killing religious people for their beliefs," he writes, "but such a reading remains a frank distortion of my views.".<ref name=HarrisBlogRC>Harris, Sam (2008). Version 1.7 (July 27, 2008), (accessed January 25, 2009)</ref> In a later article, he described the same quote as "the most easily misunderstood sentence in ''The End of Faith''", pointing out that it takes place within the "absolutely essential" larger context of "a philosophical and psychological analysis of belief as an engine of behavior", and that "nowhere in my work do I suggest that we kill harmless people for thought crimes."<ref>{{citation|last=Harris|first=Sam|title=On the Mechanics of Defamation?|url=http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/on-the-mechanics-of-defamation|accessdate=December 26, 2014|location=London}}</ref> | |||
== Socio-religious Views== | |||
In positive book reviews of ''The End of Faith'', ] agrees with Harris' premise that religious "faith" is leading humanity into ruin, and the world would be better off without the three major religions,<ref>Nina Burleigh, 2005. ''The Huffington Post''. (Dec. 8). Retrieved January 12, 2011.</ref> and ] cheers the fact that while the book won't "change the minds of idiots", it will encourage other intelligent people to come out and raise their voices.<ref>Dawkins, Richard (2005) , ''The Huffington Post'' (Aug. 4). Retrieved January 12, 2011.</ref> Fellow contributor at '']'', R. J. Eskow, has cautioned Harris, "in your zeal to end the harms caused by religion, don't be driven by blind faith down a course of intolerance."<ref>Eskow, R.J. (2005). ''The Huffington Post''. (Oct. 11). Retrieved January 12, 2011.</ref><ref>Eskow, R. J. (2006). ''The Huffington Post''. Retrieved January 12, 2011.</ref> | |||
=== Religion === | |||
{{Atheism sidebar}} | |||
Harris is generally a critic of religion, and is considered a leading figure in the ] movement. Harris is particularly opposed to what he refers to as ]tic belief, and says that "Pretending to know things one doesn't know is a betrayal of science – and yet it is the lifeblood of religion."<ref group=SH>{{Cite web|title=Meme #8|url=https://samharris.org/meme-8/|date=2017-05-03|website=Sam Harris|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-01}}</ref> While purportedly opposed to religion in general and the belief systems of them, Harris believes that all religions are not created equal.<ref name="guardian-spiritual"/> Often invoking the non-violent nature of ]<ref name ="Jains-Today">{{cite web |date=September 6, 2019 |title=Sam Harris Compares Islam with Jainism and Tells Which one of Them is the Religion of Peace |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRZrXM8J3wc |work=Jains Today| access-date=July 2, 2024|quote=Jainism is a religion of peace}}</ref> to contrast with ],<ref name="Salon don">{{Cite magazine |last=Don |first=Katherine |date=2010-10-17 |title='The Moral Landscape': Why science should shape morality |url=https://www.salon.com/2010/10/17/sam_harris_interview/ |access-date=2024-07-28 |magazine=Salon |language=en}}</ref> Harris argues that the differences in religious doctrines and scriptures are the main indicators of a religion's value.<ref name="response-controversy">{{cite web |url=https://www.samharris.org/blog/item/response-to-controversy |title=Response to Controversy |last=Harris |first=Sam |date=June 21, 2014 |access-date=October 23, 2016 |archive-date=October 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024151823/https://www.samharris.org/blog/item/response-to-controversy }}</ref><ref name="Sun-Sam">{{cite magazine |date=September 1, 2006 |title=The Temple of Reason Sam Harris On How Religion Puts The World At Risk| quote=Jainism is the best example that I know of .{{nbsp}}... Nonviolence is its core doctrine |magazine=Sun Magazine| access-date=July 2, 2024 | |||
|url=https://www.thesunmagazine.org/articles/22970-the-temple-of-reason}}</ref> | |||
In September 2006 Harris debated ] on the rationality of religious belief.<ref>September 22, 2006 (a 90-minute debate).</ref> In 2007, he engaged in a lengthy debate with conservative commentator ] on the Internet forum '']''.<ref name="harris-sullivan">Harris, Sam; Sullivan, Andrew (January 16, 2007). ].</ref> In April 2007, Harris debated with evangelical pastor ] for '']'' magazine.<ref name="harris-warren">Harris, Sam; Warren, Rick (April 8, 2007). . '']''.</ref> Harris debated with Rabbi ] in 2007.<ref name="harris-wolpe-debate">{{cite news |last1=Padilla |first1=Steve |date=29 December 2007 |title=Rabbi, atheist debate with passion, humor |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-dec-29-me-beliefs29-story.html |access-date=20 June 2020 |agency=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> In 2010, Harris joined ] to debate with ] and ] on the future of God in a debate hosted by '']''.<ref name="nightline-debate">{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Dan |last2=Brown |first2=Ely |date=22 March 2010 |title='Nightline' 'Face-Off': Does God Have a Future? |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/FaceOff/nightline-face-off-god-future/story?id=10170505 |access-date=20 June 2020 |agency=ABC News}}</ref> Harris debated with Christian philosopher ] in April 2011 on whether there can be an ] ] without God.<ref name="craig-new-theist">{{cite news |author=Schneider, Nathan |date=July 1, 2013 |title=The New Theist |url=http://chronicle.com/article/The-New-Theist/140019/ |work=]}}</ref> In June and July 2018, he met with Canadian psychologist ] for a series of debates on religion, particularly the relationship between religious values and scientific fact in defining truth.<ref name="observer-harris-peterson">{{Cite web |last=Ruffolo |first=Michael |date=June 26, 2018 |title=Sam Harris and Jordan Peterson waste a lot of time, then talk about God for 20 minutes |url=https://www.nationalobserver.com/2018/06/26/analysis/sam-harris-and-jordan-peterson-waste-lot-time-then-talk-about-god-20-minutes |access-date=April 23, 2019 |work=]}}</ref><ref name="spectator-harris-peterson">{{Cite web |last=Murray |first=Douglas |date=September 16, 2018 |title=Arena talks in Dublin and London with Jordan Peterson, Sam Harris and Douglas Murray |url=https://spectator.us/jordan-peterson-sam-harris-douglas-murray/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423002900/https://spectator.us/jordan-peterson-sam-harris-douglas-murray/ |archive-date=April 23, 2019 |access-date=April 23, 2019 |work=] USA}}</ref> Harris has debated with the scholar ].<ref name="jennek-thesis">{{cite thesis |last1=Jennek |first1=Rafal |date=2017 |title=Sam Harris on Religion in Peace and Conflict |url=https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1110381/FULLTEXT01.pdf |access-date=20 June 2020 |publisher=Department of Theology, Uppsala Universitet}}</ref> | |||
Regarding the level of treatment or criticism Harris applies to various religions, he has stated, "My criticism of faith-based religion focuses on what I consider to be bad ideas, held for bad reasons, leading to bad behavior. Because I am concerned about the logical and behavioral consequences of specific beliefs, I do not treat all religions the same. Not all religious doctrines are mistaken to the same degree, intellectually or ethically, and it is dishonest and ultimately dangerous to pretend otherwise. People in every tradition can be seen making the same errors, of course—e.g. relying on faith instead of evidence in matters of great personal and public concern—but the doctrines and authorities in which they place their faith run the gamut from the quaint to the psychopathic."<ref name="HarrisBlogRC"/> | |||
In 2006, Harris described ] as "all fringe and no center",<ref group=SH>{{Cite web|title=The Reality of Islam|url=https://samharris.org/the-reality-of-islam/|date=2006-02-08|website=Sam Harris|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-30}}</ref> and wrote in '']'' that "the doctrine of Islam{{nbsp}}... represents a unique danger to all of us", arguing that the ] is really a war against Islam.<ref name="Adams-2016">{{Cite book|last=Adams|first=Alex|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XR9qDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA29|page=29|title=Political Torture in Popular Culture: The Role of Representations in the Post-9/11 Torture Debate |year=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-28939-5|language=en}}</ref> In 2007, Harris in the famous “Four Horsemen” debate asked fellow atheists, Hitchens, Dawkins, and Dennett, “Do you feel there's any burden we have, as critics of religion, to be evenhanded in our criticism of religion, or is it fair to notice that there's a spectrum of religious ideas and commitments and Islam is on one end of it and the Amish and the Jains and others are on another end, and there are real differences here that we have to take seriously.”<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Four Horsemen by Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett: 9780525511953 {{!}} PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/586726/the-four-horsemen-by-christopher-hitchens-richard-dawkins-sam-harris-and-daniel-dennett/ |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=PenguinRandomhouse.com |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2014, Harris said he considers Islam to be "especially belligerent and inimical to the norms of civil discourse", as it involves what Harris considers to be "bad ideas, held for bad reasons, leading to bad behavior."<ref name="response-controversy"/> In 2015 Harris and secular Islamic activist ] cowrote'' ]''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QgGnCgAAQBAJ |year=2015 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-08870-2 |first1=Sam |last1=Harris |first2=Nawaz |last2=Maajid |access-date=14 December 2020 |archive-date=7 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507174420/https://books.google.com/books/about/Islam_and_the_Future_of_Tolerance.html?id=QgGnCgAAQBAJ |url-status=live}}</ref> In this book, Harris argues that the word ] is a "pernicious meme", a label which prevents discussion about the threat of Islam.<ref name="Adams-2016"/> Harris has been described in 2020 by Jonathan Matusitz, Associate Professor at the ], as "a champion of the ] left".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Matusitz|first=Jonathan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nx__DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1988|page=1988|title=Communication in Global Jihad|year=2020|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-000-22435-1|language=en}}</ref> | |||
====On Islam==== | |||
Compared to some other major world religions, Harris considers Islam to be "especially belligerent and inimical to the norms of civil discourse". He asserts that the "dogmatic commitment to using violence to defend one’s faith, both from within and without" to varying degrees, is a central part of the doctrine of Islam not found in many other religions, "and this difference has consequences in the real world." Harris has cautioned his critics, "If you will not concede this point, you will not understand anything I say about Islam. Unfortunately, many of my most voluble critics cannot clear this bar—and no amount of quotation from the Koran, the hadith, the ravings of modern Islamists, or from the plaints of their victims, makes a bit of difference."<ref name="HarrisBlogRC"/> In addition to his criticisms applicable to all religions, Harris has made assertions about Islam which have sparked critical response and resulted in death threats.<ref name="Tablet1"/> In 2006, after thousands gathered throughout the Muslim world and burned European embassies, issued threats, and took hostages in protest over cartoons depicting Muhammad, Harris wrote, "The idea that Islam is a 'peaceful religion hijacked by extremists' is a dangerous fantasy—and it is now a particularly dangerous fantasy for Muslims to indulge. It is not at all clear how we should proceed in our dialogue with the Muslim world, but deluding ourselves with euphemisms is not the answer. It now appears to be a truism in foreign policy circles that real reform in the Muslim world cannot be imposed from the outside. But it is important to recognize why this is so—it is so because the Muslim world is utterly deranged by its religious tribalism. In confronting the religious literalism and ignorance of the Muslim world, we must appreciate how terrifyingly isolated Muslims have become in intellectual terms."<ref name="Indi1"/><ref> Sam Harris on the Reality of Islam, Sam Harris, Truthdig, Feb 7, 2006</ref><ref>; Rawstory; January 22, 2015</ref><ref name="ChapelHill">; Washington Post; February 11, 2015</ref> In February 2015, the Washington Post asked Sam Harris for a statement on his position on Islam, which he provided only on the condition that it be printed in full: | |||
Harris is also critical of the ] in politics in the United States, blaming them for the political focus on "pseudo-problems like gay marriage".<ref name="albert-mohler">{{cite news |last1=Mohler |first1=R. Albert Jr. |title=The End of Faith – Secularism with the Gloves Off |url=http://www.christianpost.com/article/20040819/6130.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629202825/http://www.christianpost.com/article/20040819/6130.htm |archive-date=29 June 2012 |access-date=19 February 2019 |work=The Christian Post |date=19 August 2004}}</ref> He is also critical of ]{{snd}}as represented, for instance, by the theology of ]{{snd}}which he argues claims to base its beliefs on the Bible despite actually being influenced by secular modernity. He further states that in so doing liberal Christianity provides rhetorical cover to fundamentalists.<ref name="albert-mohler"/> | |||
{{cquote|There is a huge difference between legitimate criticism of bad ideas and bigotry against specific groups of people (which, in the worst case, can result in hate crimes). It is one thing to believe that specific doctrines within Islam (or any system of thought) are unfounded, harmful, and in need of public criticism; it is another thing entirely to hate Muslims (or Arabs, immigrants, etc.) as people. For instance, I am currently writing a book with a Muslim friend, Maajid Nawaz, who I consider a true hero (Islam and the Future of Tolerance). In this book, I tell Maajid why I think many of the doctrines of Islam are dangerous and irredeemable, while he argues that the tradition has found ways to circumvent the very issues I raise. The result isn’t bigotry; it isn’t even socially awkward. We are simply two friends having a civil conversation on a very important topic. If a person considers his atheism (a lack of belief in God) or secularism (a commitment to keeping religion out of public policy) a basis for hating whole groups of people, he is either deeply confused about what it means to think critically or suffering from some psychological disorder.<ref name="ChapelHill"/>}} | |||
Harris emphasizes that all religions are not the same and that if any religion can be considered a "religion of peace", it is not Islam, but rather ],<ref name="Salon don"/><ref name ="Jains-Today"/><ref name="Sun-Sam"/> which emerged in India around the same time as Buddhism, and has non-violence as its core doctrine.<ref name="Sun-Sam"/> He underscores that to be a practicing Jain, one has to be a vegetarian and a pacifist, while the Jain monks even wear masks in order to avoid breathing in any living thing.<ref name="Sun-Sam"/><ref name ="Jains-Today"/> But, he points out that even the Jain religion has its problems, as Jains believe certain things based on insufficient evidence, which leads to some religious dogmas.<ref name="Sun-Sam"/> | |||
Anthropologist ] has criticized Harris for what he believes unscientifically highlights the role of belief in the psychology of suicide bombers. Atran later followed up his comments in an online discussion for '']'', in which he criticized Harris and others for combating religious dogmatism and faith in a way that Atran believes is "scientifically baseless, psychologically uninformed, politically naïve, and counterproductive for goals we share".<ref>Atran, Scott (2006). "." <www.edge.org>. Retrieved January 12, 2011.</ref> | |||
Harris has often noted some positive aspects of ] thought, especially in relation to meditation, such as ]'s emphasis that one's behavior and intentions impact the mind, and in order to achieve happiness, one needs to strive towards "overcoming fear and hatred" while "maximizing love and compassion".<ref name="Sun-Sam"/> In 2019, while discussing his book ''Waking Up: Searching for Spirituality Without Religion,'' Harris noted that the West could learn a lot from the East about the traditions of meditation found in ] and ],<ref name="guardian-spiritual"/> though he considers that meditation can be practiced without any traditional religious beliefs.<ref name="Salon-Sam">{{cite magazine |date=December 6, 2014 |title=Mindfulness' 'truthiness' problem: Sam Harris, science and the truth about Buddhist tradition |last1=Purser |first1=Ronald |last2=Cooper |first2=Andrew | url=https://www.salon.com/2014/12/06/mindfulness_truthiness_problem_sam_harris_science_and_the_truth_about_buddhist_tradition/|magazine=Salon| access-date=July 2, 2024 }}</ref> | |||
===Spirituality=== | |||
After two columns, one in ] and one in ], accused Harris and the ] of expressing irrational anti-Muslim animus under the guise of rational atheism, Glenn Greenwald wrote a column saying he agreed: "The key point is that Harris does far, far more than voice criticisms of Islam as part of a general critique of religion. He has repeatedly made clear that he thinks Islam is uniquely threatening ... Yes, he criticizes Christianity, but he reserves the most intense attacks and superlative condemnations for Islam, as well as unique policy proscriptions of aggression, violence and rights abridgments aimed only at Muslims." Greenwald criticizes Harris for what he sees as a double standard in Harris' writings on Islam; he claims Harris holds the religion and all or most of its adherents responsible for fundamentalism and violence committed in its name, while either ignoring or supporting violent actions committed by countries of Judeo-Christian heritage. Greenwald points out that Harris relies on this view of Islam to justify torture, anti-Muslim profiling, and the Israeli occupation. Harris, while depicting the Iraq war as a humanitarian endeavor, has proclaimed that "we are not at war with terrorism. We are at war with Islam." He has also decreed that "this is not to say that we are at war with all Muslims, but we are absolutely at war with millions more than have any direct affiliation with Al Qaeda." "We" – the civilized peoples of the west – are at war with ''"millions" of Muslims, ''he says. Indeed, he repeatedly posits a dichotomy between "civilized" people and Muslims: "All civilized nations must unite in condemnation of a theology that now threatens to destabilize much of the earth." <ref name="guardian.co.uk">; Glenn Greenwald, ''The Guardian'', April 3, 2013</ref> | |||
Harris holds that there is "nothing irrational about seeking the states of mind that lie at the core of many religions. Compassion, awe, devotion, and feelings of oneness are surely among the most valuable experiences a person can have", <ref name="newsweek.com" /> saying:<ref group=SH>{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Sam |title=God's Dupes |url=https://samharris.org/gods-dupes/ |website=SamHarris.org |access-date=10 April 2021 |date=15 March 2007}}</ref> | |||
Harris has written extensively in response to these criticisms, and also been the subject of an aired debate hosted by '']'' on whether critics of Islam are unfairly labeled as bigots.<ref name="huffislam">; Huffington Post; April 11, 2013</ref> Harris writes that Greenwald has "worked very hard to make himself my enemy."<ref>{{citation|last=Harris|first=Sam|title=The Pleasure of Changing My Mind?|url=http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-pleasure-of-changing-my-mind |accessdate=December 26, 2014|location=London|date=December 26, 2014}}</ref> Harris rejects the term "Islamophobia", with which his criticism of Islam is sometimes equated. He emphasizes that his criticism of Islam is aimed not at Muslims as people, but at the doctrine of Islam as an ideology, acknowledging that not all Muslims subscribe to the ideas he is criticizing. "My criticism of Islam is a criticism of beliefs and their consequences," he wrote following a controversial clash with ] in October 2014 on the show '']'', "but my fellow liberals reflexively view it as an expression of intolerance toward people."<ref>{{citation|last=Harris|first=Sam|title=Can Liberalism Be Saved From Itself?|url=http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/can-liberalism-be-saved-from-itself|accessdate=December 26, 2014|location=London}}</ref> " is a term of propaganda designed to protect Islam from the forces of secularism by conflating all criticism of it with racism and xenophobia. And it is doing its job, because people like you have been taken in by it."<ref name="Indi1"/><ref name="ChapelHill"/> | |||
{{Blockquote | |||
| text =Everything of value that people get from religion can be had more honestly, without presuming anything on insufficient evidence. The rest is self-deception, set to music. | |||
| author = Sam Harris (15 March 2007) | |||
| source = ''SamHarris.org''}} | |||
Harris rejects the dichotomy between ] and ], favoring a middle path that preserves spirituality and science but does not involve religion.<ref name="clothier">{{cite web|last1=Clothier|first1=Peter|title=''Waking Up'', by Sam Harris: A Book Review|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/waking-up-by-sam-harris-a_b_8079028.html|work=Huffington Post|access-date=October 1, 2017|date=September 2, 2016}}</ref> He writes that spirituality should be understood in light of scientific disciplines like ] and ].<ref name="clothier"/> Science, he contends, can show how to maximize human well-being, but may fail to answer certain questions about the nature of being, answers to some of which he says are discoverable directly through our experience.<ref name="clothier"/> His conception of spirituality does not involve a belief in any god.<ref name="h-smith">{{cite magazine|last1=Smith|first1=Holly|title=''Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion''|url=http://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/executive-director-at-the-common-good|magazine=]|access-date=October 2, 2017|date=September 17, 2014}}</ref> | |||
Harris' comments have received support from ], who wrote in '']'' that "Sam Harris and countless other true liberals are at the forefront of that discussion. This hardly makes them hateful bigots. Rather, they are courageous defenders of Western liberal values."<ref>{{citation|last=Saad|first=Gad|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/homo-consumericus/201410/ben-affleck-sam-harris-gross-racist|title=Ben Affleck to Sam Harris: Gross Racist!|work=Psychology Today|accessdate=February 15, 2015|date=October 4, 2014}}</ref> Amongst those who have endorsed Harris' theory that the term "Islamophobia" has been used to silence critics of Islam are: ],<ref>{{citation|last=Burleigh|first=Nina|url=http://www.newsweek.com/france-charlie-hebdo-islam-imam-paris-iraq-muslims-europe-racism-islamophobia-297480|title=After Charlie Hebdo, Moderate Muslims Must Speak Out|work=Newsweek|accessdate=February 15, 2015|date=January 7, 2015}}</ref> ],<ref name="huffislam"/> ],<ref name="lmk">; Huffington Post; February 13, 2015</ref> ],<ref name="huffislam"/> ] and Andrew Zak Williams of the '']''.<ref>{{citation|last=Williams|first=Andrew Zak|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2013/04/new-atheism-should-be-able-criticise-islam-without-being-accused-islamophobia|title= New Atheism should be able to criticise Islam without being accused of Islamophobia|publisher=New Statesman|accessdate=February 15, 2015|date=April 19, 2013}}</ref> Writing in the '']'', ] defended Harris and Maher by arguing that their liberals critics are unable to "talk frankly about the illiberalism of much of the Muslim world" as "t entails resisting the reflex to consider any criticism of the ] as presumptive racism."<ref>{{citation|last=Lowry|first=Rich|url=http://nypost.com/2014/10/07/afflecks-affliction-liberals-mute-on-islams-woes/|title=Liberals can‘t handle the truth about Islam’s woes|work=New York Post|accessdate=February 15, 2015|date=October 7, 2014}}</ref> | |||
In '']'' (2014), Harris describes his experience with ], a ] meditation practice, and recommends it to his readers.<ref name="clothier"/> He writes that the purpose of spirituality (as he defines it – he concedes that the term's uses are diverse and sometimes indefensible) is to become aware that our sense of self is illusory, and says this realization brings both happiness and insight into the nature of ], mirroring core Buddhist beliefs.<ref name="clothier"/><ref name="kirkus">{{cite journal |title=''Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion'' |journal=] |date=August 29, 2014 |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sam-harris/waking-up-guide-to-spirituality/ |access-date=August 12, 2016}}</ref> This process of realization, he argues, is based on experience and is not contingent on ].<ref name="clothier"/><ref name="guardian-spiritual"/> | |||
====On Christianity==== | |||
{{Blockquote | |||
Harris has roundly criticized Christianity, and has reserved additional and particular derision for specific branches. He has described Mormonism as less credible than most Christianity, "because Mormons are committed to believing nearly all the implausible things that Christians believe plus many additional implausible things", such as Jesus returning to earth in Jackson County, Missouri. Harris has referred to Catholicism as "ghoulish machinery set to whirling through the ages by the opposing winds of shame and sadism", and criticized the Catholic Church for spending "two millennia demonizing human sexuality to a degree unmatched by any other institution, declaring the most basic, healthy, mature, and consensual behaviors taboo." Harris has also criticized the Catholic Church's structure and forced celibacy within its ranks for attracting pedophiles, and blames its opposition to the use of contraception for poverty, shorter lifespans, and proliferation of ].<ref>; SanHarris.org; May 10, 2010</ref> | |||
| text = When you learn how to meditate, you recognize that there is another possibility, which is to be vividly aware of your experience in each moment in a way that frees you from routine misery. | |||
| author = Sam Harris (February 2019) | |||
| source = ''The Guardian''}} | |||
=== |
===Science and morality=== | ||
{{See also|Science of morality}} | |||
Harris was raised by a ] mother and a Quaker father, and has stated that his upbringing was entirely ]. Fellow religion critic ] once referred to Harris as a "Jewish warrior against theocracy and bigotry of all stripes".<ref>{{cite web|author=Tweet |url=http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/martin-amis-is-no-racist/ |title=‘Martin Amis is no racist’ |publisher=Sam Harris |date= |accessdate=2012-08-05}}</ref> | |||
Harris considers that the ] of conscious creatures forms the basis of morality. In '']'', he argues that science can in principle answer moral questions and help maximize well-being.<ref name="Salon don"/> | |||
In ''The End of Faith'', Harris is critical of the Jewish faith and its followers: {{Cquote|The gravity of Jewish suffering over the ages, culminating in the Holocaust, makes it almost impossible to entertain any suggestion that Jews might have brought their troubles upon themselves. This is, however, in a rather narrow sense, the truth. the ideology of Judaism remains a lightning rod for intolerance to this day. Jews, insofar as they are religious, believe that they are bearers of a unique covenant with God. As a consequence, they have spent the last two thousand years collaborating with those who see them as different by seeing themselves as irretrievably so. Judaism is as intrinsically divisive, as ridiculous in its literalism, and as at odds with the civilizing insights of modernity as any other religion. Jewish settlers, by exercising their "freedom of belief" on contested land, are now one of the principal obstacles to peace in the Middle East.}} | |||
Harris rejects the moral authority of religion, and points to what he sees as failures or misplaced priorities, for example saying that "The Catholic Church is more concerned about preventing contraception than preventing child rape".<ref name="Salon don" /> | |||
Harris has said he holds somewhat paradoxical views about Israel and Judaism, and is still genuinely undecided on some things. "I don’t think Israel should exist as a Jewish state. I think it is obscene, irrational and unjustifiable to have a state organized around a religion. So I don’t celebrate the idea that there’s a Jewish homeland in the Middle East. I certainly don’t support any Jewish claims to real estate based on the Bible. Though I just said that I don’t think Israel should exist as a Jewish state, the justification for such a state is rather easy to find. We need look no further than the fact that the rest of the world has shown itself eager to murder the Jews at almost every opportunity. So, if there were going to be a state organized around protecting members of a single religion, it certainly should be a Jewish state. Now, friends of Israel might consider this a rather tepid defense, but it’s the strongest one I’ve got. I think the idea of a religious state is ultimately untenable."<ref>http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/why-dont-i-criticize-israel</ref> | |||
Harris also criticizes ] and ], arguing that it prevents people from making objective moral judgments about practices that clearly harm human well-being, such as ]. Harris contends that we can make scientifically based claims about the negative impacts of such practices on human welfare, and that withholding judgment in these cases is tantamount to claiming complete ignorance about what contributes to human well-being.<ref name="Salon don" /> | |||
===On spirituality, mysticism, and the paranormal=== | |||
Despite his anti-religion sentiments, Sam Harris also claims that there is "nothing irrational about seeking the states of mind that lie at the core of many religions. Compassion, awe, devotion and feelings of oneness are surely among the most valuable experiences a person can have."<ref name="newsweek.com"/> Similarly, ], who claims to be an atheist, contends that Harris's account of religious faith as the source of many social evils should be viewed "with considerable skepticism". "I would like to stand up for religion and the value of faith", she said, and concluded after her mother told her it was Catholicism which motivated her extensive charitable works, "that the left hand of God is also one of the greatest powers for social change on this planet."<ref>Wertheim, Margaret (2006). " ''The Huffington Post''. Retrieved January 12, 2011.</ref> | |||
===Free will=== | |||
In January 2007, Harris received criticism from John Gorenfeld, writing for '']''.<ref>Gorenfeld, John (2007). <www.alternet.org>. Retrieved January 12, 2011.</ref> Gorenfeld took Harris to task for defending some of the findings of ] investigations into areas such as ] and ]. He also strongly criticized Harris for his defense of judicial ]. (Harris has stated that he believes torture should be illegal, but that it in certain extreme circumstances it may be ethical to break the law.)<ref name=HarrisBlogRC/> Gorenfeld's critique was subsequently reflected by ], writing in the '']''.<ref>Carroll, Robert Todd (2007). ''Skeptic's Dictionary''. Newsletter 74. Retrieved January 12, 2011.</ref> On his website Harris disputed that he had defended these views to the extent that Gorenfeld suggested.<ref name=HarrisBlogRC/> | |||
{{See also|Neuroscience of free will}} | |||
Harris says that the idea of ] "cannot be mapped on to any conceivable reality" and is incoherent.<ref name=pardi>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.philosophynews.com/post/2012/05/15/An-Analysis-of-Sam-Harris-Free-Will.aspx|title=An Analysis of Sam Harris' ''Free Will''|author=Paul Pardi|magazine=Philosophy News|date=May 15, 2012|access-date=April 17, 2016}}</ref> Harris writes in '']'' that neuroscience "reveals you to be a biochemical puppet."<ref>Nahmias, Eddy (August 13, 2012). Big Questions Online.</ref> | |||
Philosopher ] argued that Harris's book ''Free Will'' successfully refuted the common understanding of free will, but that he failed to respond adequately to the ] understanding of free will. Dennett said the book was valuable because it expressed the views of many eminent scientists, but that it nonetheless contained a "veritable museum of mistakes" and that "Harris and others need to do their homework if they want to engage with the best thought on the topic."<ref name="dennett-review">{{cite journal |last1=Dennett |first1=Daniel |date=2017 |title=Reflections on Sam Harris' ''Free Will'' |journal=Rivista internazionale di Filosofia e Psicologia |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=214–230 |doi=10.4453/rifp.2017.0018 |issn=2039-4667}}</ref> | |||
===Science of morality=== | |||
] ]] | |||
In his third book, '']'', Harris argues that "Human well-being is not a random phenomenon. It depends on many factors—ranging from genetics and neurobiology to sociology and economics." He contends that humanity has reached a point in time when, thanks to scientific flourishing and inquiry, many sciences can "have an impact on the well-being of others".<ref>{{cite web|author=Tweet |url=http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/the-moral-landscape-q-a-with-sam-harris/ |title=The Moral Landscape |publisher=Sam Harris |date= |accessdate=2012-08-05}}</ref> Harris argues that it is time to promote a ], rejecting the idea that religion determines what is good.<ref name="newscientist.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827822.100-morality-we-can-send-religion-to-the-scrapheap.html |title=Morality: 'We can send religion to the scrap heap' – opinion – 20 October 2010 |work=] |date= |accessdate=2012-08-05}}</ref> He believes that once scientists begin proposing moral norms in papers, supernatural moral systems will join "], ] and ] on the scrapheap".<ref name="newscientist.com"/> | |||
===Artificial intelligence=== | |||
Some reviewers of ''The Moral Landscape'' criticized various arguments advanced by Harris.<ref>, October 22, 2010.</ref><ref name= Times>, ''The New York Times'', October 1, 2010</ref><ref>, ''The Wall Street Journal'', October 2, 2010</ref><ref name= Horgan>, '']'' blog, October 11, 2010. {{dead link|date=October 2014}}</ref><ref>, SFGate.com, October 18, 2010</ref><ref name= FP>, '']'', October 9, 2010</ref> Soon after the book's release, Harris responded to some of the criticisms in an article for '']''.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-harris/a-response-to-critics_b_815742.html | work=Huffington Post | first=Sam | last=Harris | title=A Response to Critics | date=May 25, 2011}}</ref> In '']'', Scott Atran argued against Harris's thesis in ''The Moral Landscape'' that ]. Atran adds that abolishing religion will do nothing to rid mankind of its ills.<ref>Atran, Scott (2011). (March/April). Retrieved January 12, 2011.</ref> | |||
Harris is particularly concerned with ], a topic he has discussed in depth.<ref name="edge-ai">{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Sam |date=2015 |title=Can We Avoid a Digital Apocalypse? |url=https://www.edge.org/response-detail/26177 |access-date=14 June 2019 |website=Edge.org}}</ref><ref group=SH>{{Cite web |date=March 7, 2023 |title=#312 – The Trouble with AI |url=https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/312-the-trouble-with-ai |access-date=2023-08-12 |website=Sam Harris}}</ref><ref group=SH>{{Cite web |date=February 6, 2018 |title=#116 – AI: Racing Toward the Brink |url=https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/116-ai-racing-toward-brink |access-date=2023-08-12 |website=Sam Harris}}</ref> In a 2016 ], he argued that it will be a major threat in the future, and criticized the lack of human interest on the subject.<ref name="aitedtalk-davey">{{cite web |last1=Davey |first1=Tucker |date=October 7, 2016 |title=Sam Harris TED Talk: Can We Build AI Without Losing Control Over It? |url=https://futureoflife.org/2016/10/07/sam-harris-ted-talk/?cn-reloaded=1 |access-date=14 June 2019 |website=Future of Life Institute}}</ref> He said that ] will inevitably be developed if three assumptions hold true: intelligence is a product of information processing in physical systems, humans will continue to improve intelligent machines, and human intelligence is far from the peak of possible intelligence.<ref name="aitedtalk-davey" /> He described making ] as "one of the greatest challenges our species will ever face", indicating that it would warrant immediate consideration.<ref name="aitedtalk-davey" /> | |||
== Political views == | |||
In August 2013, three years after the book's original publication, Harris announced "The Moral Landscape Challenge'". On his blog, he invited readers to submit essays arguing against the positions he had put forth in ''The Moral Landscape'', offering a $2,000 prize to the author of the (independently judged) best entry. He also stipulated that, if the winning essay ultimately persuaded him that the arguments he'd put forth in ''The Moral Landscape'' were, in fact, wrong, he would award an extra $20,000 of prize money. Explaining his rationale for the contest, he expressed his frustration with the criticism the book had received up until that point, saying: "I haven’t encountered a single significant criticism of The Moral Landscape that has made any sense to me. ... And yet I’m continually confronted by people who believe that there is a knock down argument against my thesis that is well known to everyone. This has been frustrating, to say the least. ... My goal with this contest is to elicit the hardest challenge I can find and to deal with it, or fail to, once and for all."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-moral-landscape-challenge1 | first=Sam | last=Harris | title=The Moral Landscape Challenge | date=August 31, 2013}}</ref> In May 2014 it was announced that the $2,000 prize had been won by Ryan Born, a philosophy teacher at ].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-moral-landscape-challenge | first=Sam | last=Harris | title=The Moral Landscape Challenge - The Winning Essay | date=May 31, 2014}}</ref> | |||
Harris describes himself as a liberal, even though he criticizes some aspects of both right and left. He is a registered ]<ref>{{cite episode |series=]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCKKCglmQAw| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/PCKKCglmQAw| archive-date=2021-10-30|title=Sam Harris: Trump, Reparations, Manifestos, Fox News|date=September 9, 2019|access-date=November 21, 2019 |time=03:50 |quote=I'm a registered Democrat}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and has never voted ] in presidential elections.<ref name=":0" /> He supports ] and ].<ref name="laharris" /> | |||
=== Criticism of the Bush Administration === | |||
===Free will=== | |||
Harris frequently criticized ] over his support for ] and his coziness with ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=comerj |date=2007-01-05 |title=January 5, 2007 ~ Sam Harris Extended Interview {{!}} January 5, 2007 {{!}} Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly {{!}} PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2007/01/05/january-5-2007-sam-harris-extended-interview/3736/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sam Harris {{!}} Home of the Making Sense Podcast |url=https://www.samharris.org/blog/the-politics-of-ignorance |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Sam Harris}}</ref> | |||
{{expand section|date=February 2015}} | |||
Commenting on Harris's book ''Free Will'', ] disagrees with Harris' position on ], and asks if Harris is directing his arguments against an unreasonably absolute or "perfect freedom" version of compatibilism, which Dennett would describe as an incoherent, straw man version.<ref>{{cite web|last=Dennett|first=Daniel|title=Reflections on Free Will| url=http://www.naturalism.org/Dennett_reflections_on_Harris's_Free_Will.pdf|accessdate=March 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>; SamHarris.org; February 12, 2014</ref> | |||
In an op-ed for the '']'' in 2006, Harris said that he supported most of the criticism against the ]'s ], and all criticism of fiscal policy and the administration's treatment of science. Harris also said that liberalism has grown "dangerously out of touch with the realities of our world" regarding threats posed by ].<ref name="laharris">Harris, Sam (September 18, 2006). '']''. Archived at the ].</ref> Harris criticized the Bush administration for its use of torture at ] and ], but also argued that there can be a rational case for torture in rare circumstances.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-10-17 |title=In Defense of Torture |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/in-defense-of-torture_b_8993 |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sam Harris {{!}} Home of the Making Sense Podcast |url=https://www.samharris.org/blog/in-defense-of-torture |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Sam Harris}}</ref> | |||
===Social and economic politics=== | |||
Harris describes himself as a liberal, and states that he supports raising taxes on the wealthy, decriminalizing drugs, and the rights of homosexuals to marry. He has been critical of the ]'s war in Iraq, fiscal irresponsibility and treatment of science.<ref>; Los Angeles Times; September 16, 2006</ref> | |||
=== Israel === | |||
==Organizational affiliations== | |||
Harris opposes religious claims to Israel's right to exist as a ]. Nonetheless, Harris has said that due to the hostility towards Jews, if there is one religious group which needs protections in the form of a state, it is Jews and the state of Israel.<ref group="SH" name="#2 — Why Don't I Criticize Israel">{{Cite web |date=July 27, 2014 |title=#2 — Why Don't I Criticize Israel? |url=https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/why-dont-i-criticize-israel |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=Sam Harris}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |author=Salon Staff |date=2014-07-28 |title=Sam Harris: Why don't I criticize Israel? |url=https://www.salon.com/2014/07/28/sam_harris_why_dont_i_criticize_israel/ |access-date=2023-04-13 |magazine=Salon |language=en}}</ref> | |||
In 2007 Sam and Annaka Harris founded ], a charitable foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge and secular values in society.<ref>.</ref> He is also a member of the advisory board of the ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.secular.org/bios/Sam_Harris.html |title=Secular Coalition for America Advisory Board Biography |publisher=Secular.org |date= |accessdate=2012-09-09}}</ref> a national lobbying organization representing the interests of nontheistic Americans. | |||
Harris has criticized both Israel and Palestine for committing war crimes in the ]. He said in 2014 that he believes Israel genuinely wants peace and that its neighbors are more devoted to the destruction of Israel. Harris has also said that Palestine is more guilty, citing ]' use of human shields and genocidal rhetoric towards the Jews.<ref group="SH" name="#2 — Why Don't I Criticize Israel"/> He names these as reasons that Israel has a right to defend itself against Palestine.<ref group=SH>{{Cite web |date=August 12, 2014 |title=Making Sense of Gaza {{!}} A Conversation Between Sam Harris and Andrew Sullivan |url=https://www.samharris.org/blog/making-sense-of-gaza |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=Sam Harris}}</ref> | |||
==Neuroscience== | |||
Building on his interests in belief and religion, Harris completed a PhD in ] at ].<ref name=Segal/><ref name="HealyLATimes"/> He used ] to explore whether the brain responses differ between sentences that subjects judged as true, false, or undecidable, across a wide range of categories including autobiographical, mathematical, geographical, religious, ethical, semantic, and factual statements.<ref name="HarrisAnnNeurol2008">{{cite doi|10.1002/ana.21301}}</ref> | |||
During the ] that began in October 2023, Harris expressed support for Israel and rejected arguments that Israel provoked Hamas by building ]s in the West Bank, arguing that Gaza had not been occupied since 2005. He also condemned the ], which led to the war.<ref group=SH>{{Cite web |title=The Sin of Moral Equivalence |url=https://www.samharris.org/blog/the-sin-of-moral-equivalence |access-date=2023-11-04 |website=Sam Harris}}</ref> | |||
In another study, Harris and colleagues examined the neural basis of religious and ] belief using ].<ref name="HarrisPLOSOne2009">{{cite doi|10.1371/journal.pone.0007272}}</ref> Fifteen committed Christians and fifteen nonbelievers were scanned as they evaluated the truth and falsity of religious and nonreligious propositions. For both groups, statements of belief (sentences judged as either true or false) were associated with increased activation of ], a region of the brain involved in emotional judgment, processing uncertainty, assessing rewards and thinking about oneself.<ref name="HealyLATimes"/> A "comparison of all religious trials to all nonreligious trials produced a wide range of signal differences throughout the brain," and the processing of religious belief and empirical belief differed in significant ways.<ref name="HarrisPLOSOne2009"/> The regions associated with increased activation in response to religious stimuli included the anterior insula, the ventral striatum, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the posterior medial cortex. | |||
=== Presidential elections === | |||
==Writings and media appearances== | |||
In the ], he supported the candidacy of ] and opposed Republican ]'s candidacy.<ref group=SH>{{Cite web |title=What Barack Obama Could Not (and Should Not) Say |url=https://www.samharris.org/blog/what-barack-obama-could-not-and-should-not-say |access-date=2023-04-12 |website=Sam Harris}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-03-21 |title=What Barack Obama Could Not (and Should Not) Say |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-barack-obama-could-n_b_92771 |access-date=2023-04-12 |work=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref> During the ], Harris supported ] in the Democratic Party presidential primaries against ],<ref>{{cite web |date=18 February 2016 |title=Sam Harris Q&A: 'Why I'm Voting For Hillary Clinton' |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZG0IRzmF7M |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/WZG0IRzmF7M |archive-date=2021-10-30 |website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and despite calling her "a terribly flawed candidate for the presidency", he favored her in the general election and came out strongly in opposition to ]'s candidacy.<ref group="SH">Harris, Sam. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212091113/https://www.samharris.org/blog/item/trump-in-exile2|date=February 12, 2017}}. samharris.org, October 13, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2017</ref><ref name="Weiss" /> Harris has criticized Trump for lying, stating in 2018 that Trump "has assaulted truth more than anyone in human history."<ref name="Weiss" /> | |||
Harris's writing focuses on ] and ], for which he is best known. He blogs for the '']'', the '']'', and formerly for '']'', and his articles have appeared in such publications as '']'', '']'', the '']'', the '']'', and the British national newspaper '']''.<ref name=bio>, ''samharris.org''.</ref> | |||
In the ], Harris supported ] in the Democratic primaries.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Sam |date=2020-11-06 |title=I sure hope Andrew Yang has a significant job in D.C. next year... |url=https://twitter.com/samharrisorg/status/1324540436329885698 |access-date=2021-05-21 |website=Twitter |language=en}}</ref> Harris also introduced Yang to podcaster ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weiss |first=Bari |date=2020-01-31 |title=Opinion {{!}} Did I Just Get Yanged? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/opinion/sunday/andrew-yang-2020.html |access-date=2021-01-05 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> After the 2020 election, he said that he did not care what was on ]'s ], telling the ] podcast that "Hunter Biden literally could have had the corpses of children in his basement{{snd}}I would not have cared",<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chung |first=Frank |date=19 August 2022 |title=Author Sam Harris says he wouldn't care if Hunter Biden had 'corpses of children in his basement' |work=News.com.au |url=https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/media/author-sam-harris-says-he-wouldnt-care-if-hunter-biden-had-corpses-of-children-in-his-basement/news-story/99e322c554106a777740b211bbe1e3a2}}</ref> arguing more broadly that both Trump and Biden had been in the public eye for decades, and that Biden would have had to have engaged in an extraordinarily large scale of mendacity to come even close to the level of scandal Trump is known to have engaged in. | |||
Harris has made numerous TV and radio appearances, including on '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', ], '']'', '']'', and '']''. In 2005, Harris appeared in the documentary film '']''. Harris was a featured speaker at the 2006 conference '']''. He made two presentations and participated in the ensuing panel discussions. Harris has also appeared a number of times on the '']'' radio podcast. Harris engaged in a lengthy debate with ] on the internet forum '']''.<ref>Harris, Sam and Andrew Sullivan (2007). <www.beliefnet.com>. Retrieved January 12, 2011.</ref> In April 2007, Harris debated with the evangelical pastor ] for '']'' magazine.<ref>Harris, Sam and Rick Warren (2007). . ''Newsweek'' (April 9).</ref> In April 2011, he debated ] on the nature of morality.<ref>{{cite news|author=Schneider, Nathan|title=The New Theist|url=http://chronicle.com/article/The-New-Theist/140019/|date=July 1, 2013|work=The Chronicle of Higher Education}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The God Debate|url=http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-god-debate|work=Sam Harris – The Blog|publisher=SamHarris.org|date=August 15, 2011}}</ref> | |||
In the ], Harris endorsed ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-29 |title=Trump or Kamala? Ben Shapiro and Sam Harris Debate. |url=https://www.thefp.com/p/trump-or-kamala-ben-shapiro-and-sam-850 |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=The Free Press |language=en}}</ref> Just a few days before the elections, he joined in a debate on the ''Honestly'' podcast where he argued in favor of supporting Kamala Harris, while ] presented the case for ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-29 |title=Trump or Kamala? Ben Shapiro and Sam Harris Debate. |url=https://www.thefp.com/p/trump-or-kamala-ben-shapiro-and-sam-850 |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=www.thefp.com/ |language=en}}</ref> After the election Harris criticized the Democratic party over their embrace of ], their overemphasize on ], and the Biden administration's failure crack down on illegal immigration.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sam Harris {{!}} #391 - The Reckoning |url=https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/391-the-reckoning |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=Sam Harris}}</ref> | |||
In September 2011 Harris's essay ''Lying'' was published as a ] single.<ref name=lying>{{cite web|title=Coming in September|url=http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/coming-in-september/|work=Sam Harris – The Blog|publisher=SamHarris.org|accessdate=August 16, 2011|date=April 14, 2011}}</ref> | |||
=== Economics === | |||
Harris has appeared as a guest on '']'' podcast three times, most recently in September 2014. The conversations have each lasted around three hours and have covered a variety of topics related to Harris's research, books, and interests. | |||
Harris supports raising taxes on the wealthy and reducing government spending, and has criticized billionaires like ] and ] for paying relatively little in tax. He has proposed taxing 10% for estates worth above 10 million, taxing 50% for estates worth over a billion dollars, and then using the money to fund an infrastructure bank.<ref group="SH" name="too-rich"/> | |||
He has accused conservatives of perceiving raising taxes as a form of theft or punishment, and of believing that by being rich they create value for others.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2006-11-01 |title=Head-in-the-Sand Liberals |work=] |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-harris18sep18,0,1897169.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail |access-date=2023-03-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061101084519/http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-harris18sep18,0,1897169.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail |archive-date=November 1, 2006 }}</ref><ref group="SH" name="too-rich"/> He has described this view as ludicrous, saying that "] aren't perfectly reflective of the value of goods and services, and many wealthy people don't create much in the way of value for others. In fact, as our recent financial crisis has shown, it is possible for a few people to become extraordinarily rich by wrecking the global economy".<ref group="SH" name="too-rich">{{Cite web |title= How Rich is Too Rich? |url=https://www.samharris.org/blog/how-rich-is-too-rich |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=Sam Harris |date=August 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125163738/https://www.samharris.org/blog/how-rich-is-too-rich |archive-date=November 25, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
On September 28, 2012, Harris spoke at the ] in Sydney, Australia.<ref name=Sydney>{{cite web|title=Sam Harris at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas|url=http://ideas.sydneyoperahouse.com/2012/sam-harris-at-the-festival-of-dangerous-ideas/|date=July 26, 2013|publisher=Sydney Opera House|accessdate=February 21, 2013}}</ref> His speech was on the delusion of ''Free Will'',<ref name=Sydney/> which is also the topic of his book of 2012.<ref>{{cite news|author=Menaker, Daniel|title=Have It Your Way|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/books/review/free-will-by-sam-harris.html|date=July 12, 2013|work=The New York Times|accessdate=February 21, 2013}}</ref> | |||
=== Gun rights === | |||
On April 7, 2013, Harris announced his book, ''Waking Up: Science, Skepticism, Spirituality'', which describes his views on ].<ref name=waking>, "samharris.org"</ref> | |||
Harris owns guns and wrote in 2015 that he understood people's hostility towards ] and the political influence of the ]. However, he argued that there is a rational case for gun ownership due to the fact that the police cannot always be relied on and that guns are a good alternative.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Why I own guns |url=https://theweek.com/articles/468420/why-guns |access-date=2022-05-31 |work=The Week |language=en-US |date=January 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514023734/https://theweek.com/articles/468420/why-guns |archive-date=May 14, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref group="SH" name="riddle">{{Cite web |title=The Riddle of the Gun |url=https://www.samharris.org/blog/the-riddle-of-the-gun |access-date=2023-03-14 |website=Sam Harris |date=2013-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126024809/https://www.samharris.org/blog/the-riddle-of-the-gun |archive-date=2021-11-26 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
Harris has stated that he disagrees with proposals by liberals and gun control advocates for restricting guns, such as the ], since more gun crimes are committed with handguns than the semi-automatic weapons which the ban would target. Harris has also said that the left-wing media gets many things wrong about guns. He has, however, offered support for certain regulations on gun ownership, such as mandatory training, licensure, and background checks before a gun can be legally purchased.<ref group="SH" name="riddle"/> | |||
==Books== | |||
* '']'' (2004). ISBN 0-393-03515-8 | |||
=== COVID-19 pandemic === | |||
* '']'' (2006). ISBN 0-307-26577-3 | |||
During the ], he criticized commentators for pushing views on COVID-19 that he considered to be "patently insane". Harris accused these commentators of believing that COVID-19 policies were a way of implementing social control and to crackdown on people's freedom politically.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2021-12-15 |title=Sam Harris Blasts Podcasters Pushing Covid Conspiracies |url=https://www.mediaite.com/podcasts/patently-insane-sam-harris-blasts-fellow-podcasters-pushing-covid-conspiracy-theories/ |access-date=2023-03-14 |magazine=Mediaite |language=en}}</ref> Harris has feuded with ] over his views on COVID-19.<ref>{{Cite news |title=I tried to talk about the hard issues America faces. Then the social media storm erupted. |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2023/02/02/podcast-debut-launched-social-media-storm-covid-elon-musk/11118952002/ |access-date=2023-07-22 |work=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2023, he said that if COVID-19 had killed more children, there would be no patience for vaccine skepticism.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Silverstein |first=Joe |date=2023-01-16 |title=Podcaster Sam Harris: If COVID killed more children there'd be 'no f---ing patience' for vaccine skeptics |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/podcaster-sam-harris-covid-killed-children-f-ing-patience-vaccine-skeptics |access-date=2023-03-14 |work=Fox News |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
* '']'' (2010). ISBN 978-1-4391-7121-9 | |||
* ''Lying'' (2011) ISBN 978-1940051000 | |||
In March 2023, he hosted ] and ] on his podcast to discuss the ] and the potential that the ].<ref group="SH">{{Cite web |url=https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/311-did-sars-co-v-2-escape-from-a-lab |access-date=2023-03-23 |website=www.samharris.org|title=Sam Harris | #311 – Did SARS-CoV-2 Escape from a Lab? }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Salzberg |first=Steven |title=The Scientific Error That Might Have Caused The Covid-19 Pandemic |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2023/02/27/the-scientific-error-that-might-have-caused-the-covid-19-pandemic/ |access-date=2023-03-23 |work=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> | |||
* ''Free Will'' (2012). ISBN 978-1451683400 | |||
* '']'' (2014) ISBN 978-1451636017 | |||
=== Intellectual dark web === | |||
* '']'' (2015)<ref name="ChapelHill"/> | |||
Harris has been described, alongside others such as ], ], and ], as a member of the ], a group that opposes political correctness and identity politics.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-01-31 |title=Opinion {{!}} Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/opinion/intellectual-dark-web.html |access-date=2022-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131000213/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/opinion/intellectual-dark-web.html |archive-date=January 31, 2020 |last1=Weiss |first1=Bari |last2=Winter |first2=Damon}}</ref> ''New York Times'' book reviewer ] described the group as "a collection of iconoclastic thinkers, academic renegades and media personalities who are having a rolling conversation – on podcasts, YouTube and Twitter, and in sold-out auditoriums – that sound unlike anything else happening, at least publicly, in the culture right now."<ref name="Weiss" /> | |||
In November 2020, Harris stated that he does not identify as a part of that group.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="republic" /> In 2021 Harris stated that he had "turn in imaginary membership card to this imaginary organization".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wakeling |first=Adam |date=2021-07-01 |title=What Happened to the Intellectual Dark Web?|url=https://www.realclearpolicy.com/2021/07/01/what_happened_to_the_intellectual_dark_web_783679.html |access-date=2022-05-08 |website=RealClearPolicy |language=en}}</ref> In 2023 during an interview with '']'', Harris explained that he had broken away from the intellectual dark web due to disagreements with Bret Weinstein, and ]'s "obsession" with COVID-19 conspiracy theories and criticism of COVID-19 policies. He also described becoming disenchanted with ] for having been captured by his audience and said "Rubin became far more cynical than I would have thought possible. And it's very depressing. He was a friend, he's not a friend anymore".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fisher |first=Anthony L. |date=2023-01-19 |title=The Intellectual Dark Web's Descent Into Paranoia and Trumpism |language=en |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/intellectual-dark-webs-descent-into-paranoia-and-trumpism |access-date=2023-10-31}}</ref> | |||
==Controversies== | |||
{{Criticism section|date=November 2023}} | |||
=== Race and IQ controversy === | |||
In April 2017, Harris hosted the social scientist ] on his podcast, discussing topics including the ] and ].<ref group="SH" name="harris-ekeal">{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Sam |date=27 March 2018 |title=Ezra Klein: Editor-at-Large |url=https://samharris.org/ezra-klein-editor-chief/ |access-date=16 October 2018 |website=SamHarris.org}}</ref> Harris stated the invitation was out of indignation at a violent protest against Murray at ] the month before and not out of particular interest in the material at hand.<ref group="SH" name="harris-ekeal"/> The podcast episode garnered significant criticism, most notably from '']''<ref name="vox-thn" /><ref name="vox-klein">{{cite news |last1=Klein |first1=Ezra |author-link=Ezra Klein |date=27 March 2018 |title=Sam Harris, Charles Murray, and the allure of race science |work=] |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/27/15695060/sam-harris-charles-murray-race-iq-forbidden-knowledge-podcast-bell-curve |access-date=16 October 2018}}</ref> and '']''.<ref name="slate-iq">{{cite news |last1=Saletan |first1=William |author-link=William Saletan |date=27 April 2018 |title=Stop Talking About Race and IQ |agency=Slate |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/04/stop-talking-about-race-and-iq-take-it-from-someone-who-did.html |access-date=17 October 2018}}</ref> In the ''Vox'' article, scientists, including ], ], and ], accused Harris of participating in "pseudoscientific racialist speculation" and peddling "junk science". Harris and Murray were defended by commentators ]<ref name="sullivan-genetics">{{cite magazine |last1=Sullivan |first1=Andrew |author-link1=Andrew Sullivan |date=30 March 2018 |title=Denying Genetics Isn't Shutting Down Racism, It's Fueling It |magazine=] – ] |url=http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/03/denying-genetics-isnt-shutting-down-racism-its-fueling-it.html |access-date=17 October 2018}}</ref> and ].<ref name="smith-nr">{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Kyle |date=20 April 2018 |title=Ezra Klein's Intellectual Demagoguery |work=National Review |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/04/ezra-klein-vox-accuses-sam-harris-of-racism/ |access-date=11 August 2020}}</ref> Harris and ''Vox'' editor-at-large ] later discussed the affair in a podcast interview in which Klein accused Harris of "thinking tribally" and Harris accused the ''Vox'' article of leading people to think he was racist.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Klein |first1=Ezra |date=9 April 2018 |title=The Sam Harris debate |url=https://www.vox.com/2018/4/9/17210248/sam-harris-ezra-klein-charles-murray-transcript-podcast |access-date=30 August 2019 |magazine=Vox}}</ref><ref name="wright-wired">{{cite magazine |last1=Wright |first1=Robert |date=17 May 2018 |title=Sam Harris and the Myth of Perfectly Rational Thought |url=https://www.wired.com/story/sam-harris-and-the-myth-of-perfectly-rational-thought/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=30 August 2019}}</ref> | |||
=== Accusations of Islamophobia === | |||
Harris has been accused of ] by linguist and political commentator ].<ref name="aj-chomsky">{{cite news|date=25 January 2016|title=Noam Chomsky tells 'UpFront' he would "absolutely" vote for Hillary Clinton|work=Al Jazeera|url=https://network.aljazeera.net/pressroom/noam-chomsky-tells-%E2%80%98upfront%E2%80%99-he-would-%E2%80%9Cabsolutely%E2%80%9D-vote-hillary-clinton|access-date=30 July 2020}}</ref> After Harris and Chomsky exchanged a series of emails on terrorism and U.S. foreign policy in 2015, Chomsky said Harris had not prepared adequately for the exchange and that this revealed his work as unserious.<ref name="salon-chomsky">{{Cite magazine|date=2015-05-08|title=Scoring the Noam Chomsky/Sam Harris debate: How the professor knocked out the atheist |url=https://www.salon.com/2015/05/07/scoring_the_noam_chomskysam_harris_debate_how_the_professor_knocked_out_the_atheist/|access-date=2020-07-24|magazine=Salon|language=en}}</ref> In a 2016 interview with '']''{{'s}} '']'', Chomsky further criticized Harris, saying he "specializes in hysterical, slanderous charges against people he doesn't like."<ref name="aj-chomsky" /> | |||
Harris has countered that his views on this and other topics are frequently misrepresented by "unethical critics" who "deliberately" take his words out of context.<ref name="response-controversy"/> He has also criticized the validity of the term "Islamophobia".<ref name="Indi12">Taylor, Jerome (April 12, 2013). . '']''.</ref> "My criticism of Islam is a criticism of beliefs and their consequences, but my fellow liberals reflexively view it as an expression of intolerance toward people,"<ref group="SH">{{citation|last=Harris|first=Sam|title=Can Liberalism Be Saved From Itself?|date=2014-10-07|url=http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/can-liberalism-be-saved-from-itself|year=2014b |website=Sam Harris |access-date=December 26, 2014|archive-date=December 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226050007/http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/can-liberalism-be-saved-from-itself}}</ref> he wrote following a disagreement with actor ] in October 2014 on the show '']''. Affleck had described Harris's and host ]'s views on Muslims as "gross" and "racist", and Harris's statement that "Islam is the ] of bad ideas" as an "ugly thing to say". Affleck also compared Harris's and Maher's rhetoric to that of people who use ]s or define African Americans in terms of intraracial crime.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Child|first1=Ben|date=7 October 2014|title=Ben Affleck: Sam Harris and Bill Maher 'racist' and 'gross' in views of Islam|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/06/ben-affleck-bill-maher-sam-harris-islam-racist|access-date=30 August 2019}}</ref> Several ] media pundits in turn criticized Affleck and praised Harris and Maher for broaching the topic, saying that discussing it had become taboo.<ref name="hollywood-affleck">{{cite magazine|last1=Bond|first1=Paul|date=8 October 2014|title=Ben Affleck Targeted by Conservatives After Islamism Spat With Bill Maher|url=https://hollywoodreporter.com/news/ben-affleck-targeted-by-conservatives-739408|access-date=3 April 2021|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref> | |||
Harris's dialogue on Islam with ] received a combination of positive reviews<ref name="National Review">{{cite news|author=Brian Stewart|date=October 7, 2015|title=A Liberal Atheist and a Liberal Muslim Discuss the Problems of Contemporary Islam|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/425169/sam-harris-maajid-nawaz-islam-book?target=author&tid=5037|work=]}}</ref><ref name="pw-harris-nawaz">{{cite news|title=Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-674-08870-2|access-date=24 October 2020|work=Publishers Weekly|date=October 2015}}</ref><ref name="sonenshine-harris-nawaz">{{cite web|last1=Sonenshine|first1=Tara|title=Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue|url=https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/islam-and|access-date=24 October 2020|work=New York Journal of Books}}</ref> and mixed reviews.<ref name="kirkus-harris-nawaz">{{cite web|title=Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sam-harris/islam-and-the-future-of-tolerance/|access-date=24 October 2020|work=Kirkus Reviews}}</ref><ref name="manji-harris-nawaz">{{cite web|last=Manji|first=Irshad|author-link=Irshad Manji|date=3 November 2015|title='Islam and the Future of Tolerance' and 'Not in God's Name'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/books/review/islam-and-the-future-of-tolerance-and-not-in-gods-name.html|access-date=13 August 2016|work=]}}</ref> ] wrote: "Their back-and-forth clarifies multiple confusions that plague the public conversation about Islam." Of Harris specifically, she said " is right that liberals must end their silence about the religious motives behind much Islamist terror. At the same time, he ought to call out another double standard that feeds the liberal reflex to excuse Islamists: Atheists do not make nearly enough noise about hatred toward Muslims."<ref name="manji-harris-nawaz" /> | |||
Harris opposed ], which limited the entry of refugees from Muslim-majority countries to the United States, stating that it was “unethical with regard to the plight of refugees…and bound to be ineffective in stopping the spread of ].”<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Sam |date=January 29, 2017 |title=A Few Thoughts On The Muslim Ban |url=https://www.samharris.org/blog/a-few-thoughts-on-the-muslim-ban |access-date=August 15, 2024 |website=Sam Harris.org}}</ref> | |||
''Hatewatch'' staff at the ] (SPLC) wrote that members of the "skeptics" movement, of which Harris is "one of the most public faces", help to "channel people into the ]."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hatewatch Staff |date=19 April 2018 |title=McInnes, Molyneux, and 4chan: Investigating pathways to the alt-right |url=https://www.splcenter.org/20180419/mcinnes-molyneux-and-4chan-investigating-pathways-alt-right |access-date=1 September 2019 |website=Southern Poverty Law Center}}</ref> ] wrote that the SPLC had misrepresented Harris's views.<ref name="Weiss" /> | |||
] and ] criticized Harris for discussing in an excerpt from '']'' the possibility of a nuclear first strike against an Islamist regime that acquired long-range nuclear weapons and that would be undeterred by the threat of mutual destruction due to beliefs in jihad and martyrdom.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Massey |first1=Eli |last2=Robinson |first2=Nathan J. |date=2018-10-12 |title=Being Mr. Reasonable |language=en |work=Current Affairs |url=https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2018/10/being-mr-reasonable |access-date=2023-04-24 |issn=2471-2647}}</ref><ref group="SH">{{Cite web |title=Sam Harris {{!}} Home of the ''Making Sense'' Podcast |url=https://www.samharris.org/blog/response-to-chris-hedges |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=Sam Harris}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Wilder |first=Charly |date=2008-03-13 |title=I don't believe in atheists |url=https://www.salon.com/2008/03/13/chris_hedges/ |access-date=2024-08-05 |magazine=Salon |language=en}}</ref> | |||
== Reception and recognition == | |||
Harris's first two books, in which he lays out his criticisms of religion, received negative reviews from Christian scholars.<ref name="albert-mohler" /><ref name="Simpson-ct">Matthew Simpson, 2005. "." ''Christianity Today''.</ref><ref name="novak-nr">{{cite magazine|first=Michael |last=Novak |date= March 19, 2007 |url= http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/national-review-lonely-atheists-of-the-global-village/ |magazine=] |title=Lonely Atheists of the Global Village |via= Sam Harris |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516021022/http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/national-review-lonely-atheists-of-the-global-village/ |archive-date=May 16, 2013 |id= }} {{webarchive|date=February 27, 2020 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227120645/https://www.aei.org/articles/lonely-atheists-of-the-global-village/}}</ref> From secular sources, the books received a mixture of negative reviews<ref name="a-saxton">{{Cite journal |last=Saxton |first=Alexander |date=October 2006 |title=The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason |journal=Science & Society |volume=70 |issue=4 |pages=572–574 |doi=10.1521/siso.2006.70.4.572 |issn=0036-8237}}</ref><ref>], 2005. "Glimpses of Nirvana." ''Free Inquiry'', vol. 25 no. 2.</ref><ref>David Boulton, 2005. "." ''New Humanist'', volume 120 number 2.</ref> and positive reviews.<ref name="merritt-observer">] (February 6, 2005). . ''The Observer''.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Hari |first=Johann |author-link=Johann Hari |date=February 11, 2005 |title=BOOKS: The sea of faith and violence |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books-the-sea-of-faith-and-violence-1530032.html |access-date=February 3, 2022 |work=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Dawkins |date=August 4, 2005 |title=Coming Out Against Religious Mania |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-dawkins/coming-out-against-religi_b_5137.html |access-date=February 3, 2022 |work=The Huffington Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pinker |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Pinker |date=June 1, 2008 |title=Survey: Truth to Power |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/books/review/Survey-t.html |access-date=March 10, 2014}}</ref> In his review of '']'', American historian ] criticized what he called Harris's "vitriolic and ''selective'' polemic against Islam", (emphasis in original) which he said "obscure the obvious reality that the invasion of Iraq and the War against Terror are driven by religious irrationalities, cultivated and conceded to, at high policy levels in the U.S., and which are at least comparable to the irrationality of Islamic crusaders and Jihadists."<ref name="a-saxton" /> By contrast, ] wrote of the same book that Harris's "central argument in ''The End of Faith'' is sound: religion is the only area of human knowledge in which it is still acceptable to hold beliefs dating from antiquity and a modern society should subject those beliefs to the same principles that govern scientific, medical or geographical inquiry – particularly if they are inherently hostile to those with different ideas."<ref name="merritt-observer" /> Harris's first book, ''The End of Faith'' (2004), won the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction.<ref name="pen.org">PEN American Center, 2005. " {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060521025523/http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/836 |date=May 21, 2006}}."</ref> | |||
Harris's next two books, which discuss philosophical issues relating to ethics and free will, received several negative academic reviews.<ref>, Oct. 22, 2010.</ref><ref name="appiah-nyt">{{cite web |last=Appiah |first=Kwame Anthony |author-link=Kwame Anthony Appiah |date=October 1, 2010 |title=Science Knows Best |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/books/review/Appiah-t.html |access-date=February 3, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="atran">{{cite web |last=Atran |first=Atran |author-link=Scott Atran |date=23 February 2011 |title=Sam Harris's Guide to Nearly Everything |url=http://nationalinterest.org/bookreview/sam-harriss-guide-nearly-everything-4893?page=show |access-date=24 September 2011 |work=The National Interest |archive-date=October 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020132226/http://nationalinterest.org/bookreview/sam-harriss-guide-nearly-everything-4893?page=show }}</ref><ref name="kmalik">{{Cite web |last=Malik |first=Kenan |author-link=Kenan Malik |title=Test-tube truths |url=https://newhumanist.org.uk/2538/test-tube-truths |access-date=2020-07-24 |website=newhumanist.org.uk |date=April 14, 2011 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |date=2014-05-26 |title=Is Sam Harris Right About Free Will?: A Book Review |url=https://cct.biola.edu/sam-harris-free-will-book-review/ |access-date=2020-08-06 |publisher=Biola University Center for Christian Thought |magazine=The Table}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Dennett |first=Daniel |title=Reflections on Sam Harris' ''Free Will'' |url=https://philpapers.org/rec/DENROS-7 |journal=Rivista Internazionale di Filosofia e Psicologia |volume=8 |issue=3 |date=2017 |pages=214–230 |doi=10.4453/rifp.2017.0018 |doi-access=free |access-date=2020-08-06}}</ref> In his review of ''The Moral Landscape'', neuroscientist ] criticized Harris for not engaging adequately with philosophical literature: "Imagine a sociologist who wrote about evolutionary theory without discussing the work of Darwin, Fisher, Mayr, Hamilton, Trivers or Dawkins on the grounds that he did not come to his conclusions by reading about biology and because discussing concepts such as 'adaptation', 'speciation', 'homology', 'phylogenetics' or 'kin selection' would 'increase the amount of boredom in the universe'. How seriously would we, and should we, take his argument?"<ref name="kmalik" /> On the other hand, ''The Moral Landscape'' received a largely positive review from psychologists James Diller and Andrew Nuzzolilli.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Diller |first1=J. W. |last2=Nuzzolilli |first2=A. E. |year=2012 |title=The Science of Values: ''The Moral Landscape'' by Sam Harris |journal=The Behavior Analyst |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=265–273 |doi=10.1007/BF03392286 |pmc=3501430}}</ref> Additionally, ''Free Will'' received a mixed academic review from philosopher Paul Pardi, who said that while it suffers from some conceptual confusions and that the core argument is a bit too "breezy", it serves as a "good primer on key ideas in physicalist theories of freedom and the will".<ref name="Pardi">{{cite magazine |last=Pardi |first=Paul |date=2012-05-15 |title=An Analysis of Sam Harris's ''Free Will'' |url=http://www.philosophynews.com/post/2012/05/15/An-Analysis-of-Sam-Harris-Free-Will.aspx |access-date=2020-08-06 |magazine=Philosophy News}}</ref> | |||
Harris's book on spirituality and meditation received mainly positive reviews<ref name="bruni">{{cite web |last=Bruni |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Bruni |date=August 30, 2014 |title=Between Godliness and Godlessness |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/opinion/sunday/frank-bruni-between-godliness-and-godlessness.html |access-date=October 18, 2015 |work=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Cave |first=Stephen |date=October 31, 2014 |title=''Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion'', by Sam Harris |url=https://www.ft.com/content/1d3edaaa-5df4-11e4-b7a2-00144feabdc0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211231204/https://www.ft.com/content/1d3edaaa-5df4-11e4-b7a2-00144feabdc0 |archive-date=December 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=August 12, 2016 |work=] }}</ref><ref name="clothier" /><ref name="kirkus" /> as well as some mixed reviews.<ref name="tquirk">{{cite magazine |last=Quirk |first=Trevor |date=September 10, 2014 |title=I Thought I Hated the New Atheists. Then I Read Sam Harris's New Book. |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/119397/sam-harriss-waking-review |magazine=] |access-date=August 12, 2016}}</ref><ref name="h-smith" /> It was praised by ], for example, who described it as "so entirely of this moment, so keenly in touch with the growing number of Americans who are willing to say that they do not find the succor they crave, or a truth that makes sense to them, in organized religion."<ref name="bruni" /> | |||
In 2018, ], a visiting professor of science and religion at ], published an article in '']'' criticizing Harris, whom he described as "annoying" and "deluded". Wright wrote that Harris, despite claiming to be a champion of rationality, ignored his own ]es and engaged in faulty and inconsistent arguments in his book ''The End of Faith''. He wrote that "the famous proponent of New Atheism is on a crusade against tribalism but seems oblivious to his own version of it." Wright wrote that these biases are rooted in ] and impact everyone, but that they can be mitigated when acknowledged.<ref name="wright-wired" /> | |||
The UK '']'' included Harris's podcast in their list of "8 podcasts that will change how you think about human behavior" in 2017,<ref>{{cite web |title=8 podcasts that will change how you think about human behavior |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/podcasts-change-how-you-understand-human-behavior-2017-1 |access-date=April 23, 2017 |work=]}}</ref> and '']'' included it in their list of "The Best Podcasts of 2018".<ref name="pc-mag-podcasts">{{cite news |last1=Moore |first1=Ben |date=27 September 2018 |title=The Best Podcasts of 2018 |agency=PC Magazine |url=https://me.pcmag.com/cast/11729/the-best-podcasts-of-2018 |access-date=11 August 2020}}</ref> In January 2020, Max Sanderson included Harris's podcast as a "Producer pick" in a "podcasts of the week" section for '']''.<ref name="guardian-podcasts" /> The ''Waking Up'' podcast won the 2017 ] for "People's Voice" in the category "Science & Education" under "Podcasts & Digital Audio".<ref>{{cite web|title=The 2017 Webby Awards for the best science and education podcasts|url=http://webbyawards.com/winners/2017/podcasts-digital-audio/general-podcasts/science-education/|website=The Webby Awards|access-date=April 26, 2017}}</ref> | |||
Harris was included on a list of the "100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People 2019" in the ''Watkins Review'', a publication of ], a London esoterica bookshop.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.watkinsmagazine.com/watkins-spiritual-100-list-for-2019|title=Watkins' Spiritual 100 List for 2019|date=April 2019|magazine=Watkins Magazine|access-date=7 May 2019}}</ref> | |||
==Personal life== | |||
In 2004, Harris married ] (née Gorton), an author and editor of nonfiction and scientific books, after engaging in a common interest about the nature of consciousness.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Project Reason Trustees / Advisory Board |url=https://www.project-reason.org/about/individual_member/2819/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20140112053144/http://www.project-reason.org/about/individual_member/2819/ |archive-date=2014-01-12 |website=www.project-reason.org}}</ref> They have two daughters{{sfn|Harris|2014a|loc=: "Dedication: For Annaka, Emma, and Violet"}}<ref group="SH">{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Sam |title=Drugs and the Meaning of Life |website=Sam Harris |date=July 4, 2011 |url=http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/drugs-and-the-meaning-of-life |access-date=November 5, 2014 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924093857/http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/drugs-and-the-meaning-of-life/ }}</ref> and live in ].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2019-02-16|title=Sam Harris, the new atheist with a spiritual side|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/feb/16/sam-harris-interview-new-atheism-four-horsemen-faith-science-religion-rationalism|access-date=2021-02-12|work=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> | |||
In September 2020, Harris became a member of ], an ] organization whose members pledge to give at least 10% of their income to effective charities, both as an individual and as a company with Waking Up.<ref name="gwwc-members"/><ref name="wakingup-2" /> | |||
Harris practices ].{{sfn|Harris|2012}}<ref name="BJJ">{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/05/the-atheist-who-strangled-me/309292/ |title=The Atheist Who Strangled Me |work=] |date=April 24, 2013 |access-date=August 11, 2014 |author=Wood, Graeme}}</ref> | |||
==Works== | |||
===Books=== | |||
{{Refbegin|55em|indent=yes}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Harris|first=Sam|title=The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|isbn=0-393-03515-8|oclc=62265386|year=2004|title-link=The End of Faith}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Harris|first=Sam|title=Letter to a Christian Nation|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.|oclc=70158553|isbn=0-307-26577-3|year= 2006|title-link=Letter to a Christian Nation}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Harris|first=Sam|title=The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values|publisher=Free Press|isbn=978-1-4391-7121-9|oclc=535493357|year=2010|title-link=The Moral Landscape}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Harris|first=Sam|title=Lying|publisher=Four Elephants Press|year=2011|isbn=978-1-940051-00-0|title-link=Lying (Harris book)}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Harris|first=Sam|title=Free Will|publisher=Free Press|isbn=978-1-4516-8340-0|year=2012|title-link=Free Will (book)}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Harris|first=Sam|title=Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion|year=2014a|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-1-4516-3601-7|title-link=Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion}} | |||
* {{cite book|last1=Harris|first1=Sam|last2=Nawaz|first2=Maajid|author-link2=Maajid Nawaz|title=Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue|year=2015|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-08870-2|title-link=Islam and the Future of Tolerance}} | |||
* {{cite book|last1=Harris|first1=Sam|last2=Dawkins|first2=Richard|author-link2=Richard Dawkins|last3=Dennett|first3=Daniel|author-link3=Daniel Dennett|last4=Hitchens|first4=Christopher|author-link4=Christopher Hitchens|title=The Four Horsemen: The Discussion that Sparked an Atheist Revolution|publisher=Bantam Press|isbn=978-0-593-08039-9|year=2019}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Harris|first=Sam|title=Making Sense: Conversations on Consciousness, Morality, and the Future of Humanity|publisher=Ecco|isbn=978-0-06-285778-1|year=2020}} | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
===Documentary=== | |||
{{Refbegin|55em|indent=yes}} | |||
* Amila, D. & Shapiro, J. (2018). ''Islam and the Future of Tolerance''. United States: The Orchard.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.islamandthefutureoftolerance.com/|title=Islam and the Future of Tolerance|website=Islam and the Future of Tolerance|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-26}}</ref> | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
===Peer-reviewed articles=== | |||
{{Refbegin|55em|indent=yes}} | |||
* {{Cite journal | last1 = Harris | first1 = S. | last2 = Sheth | first2 = S. A. | last3 = Cohen | first3 = M. S. |author-link3=Mark S. Cohen| doi = 10.1002/ana.21301 | title = Functional neuroimaging of belief, disbelief, and uncertainty | journal = ] | volume = 63 | issue = 2 | pages = 141–147 | date = 27 February 2008| pmid = 18072236| s2cid = 17335600}} | |||
* {{Cite journal | last1 = Harris | first1 = S. | last2 = Kaplan | first2 = J. T. | last3 = Curiel | first3 = A. | last4 = Bookheimer | first4 = S. Y. | last5 = Iacoboni | first5 = M. | last6 = Cohen | first6 = M. S. | editor1-last = Sporns | editor1-first = Olaf | title = The Neural Correlates of Religious and Nonreligious Belief | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0007272 | journal = ] | volume = 4 | issue = 10 | pages = e7272 | date = 1 October 2009 | pmid =19794914| pmc = 2748718| bibcode = 2009PLoSO...4.7272H | doi-access = free}} | |||
* {{Cite journal | last1=Douglas | first1=P. K. | last2 = Harris | first2 = S. | last3 = Yuille | first3 = A. | last4 = Cohen | first4 = M. S. | title = Performance comparison of machine learning algorithms and number of independent components used in fMRI decoding of belief vs. disbelief. | doi = 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.11.002 | journal = ] | volume = 56 | issue = 2 | pages = 544–553 | date = 15 May 2011 | pmid = 21073969 | pmc = 3099263}} | |||
* {{Cite journal|title=Neural correlates of maintaining one's political beliefs in the face of counterevidence|date=23 December 2016|journal=]|volume=6|page=39589|doi=10.1038/srep39589|pmid=28008965|pmc=5180221|last1=Kaplan|first1=Jonas T.|last2=Gimbel|first2=Sarah I.|last3=Harris|first3=Sam|bibcode=2016NatSR...639589K}} | |||
* {{cite journal | last1=Seitz | first1=Benjamin M. | last2=Aktipis | first2=Athena | last3=Buss | first3=David M. | last4=Alcock | first4=Joe | last5=Bloom | first5=Paul | last6=Gelfand | first6=Michele | last7=Harris | first7=Sam | last8=Lieberman | first8=Debra | last9=Horowitz | first9=Barbara N. | last10=Pinker | first10=Steven | last11=Wilson | first11=David Sloan | last12=Haselton | first12=Martie G. | title=The pandemic exposes human nature: 10 evolutionary insights | journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume=117 | issue=45 | date=2020-11-10 | issn=0027-8424 | pmid=33093198 | pmc=7668083 | doi=10.1073/pnas.2009787117 | pages=27767–27776| doi-access=free | bibcode=2020PNAS..11727767S }} | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
==Notes== | |||
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
===Harris blog citations=== | |||
{{Reflist|30em}} | |||
{{reflist|group=SH}} | |||
===General citations=== | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
{{Commons|Sam Harris}} | {{Commons category|Sam Harris}} | ||
{{Wikiquote|Sam Harris}} | {{Wikiquote|Sam Harris}} | ||
* {{Official website|http://www.samharris.org}} | * {{Official website|http://www.samharris.org}} | ||
* {{TED speaker}} | |||
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* {{IMDb name|1890405}} | |||
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* {{Library resources by |viaf=97888651 |label=Sam Harris}} | |||
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* {{IMDb name|1890405|Sam Harris}} | |||
{{Sam Harris|state=expanded}} | |||
{{Criticism of religion}} | |||
{{Existential risk from artificial intelligence}} | |||
{{New Atheism}} | |||
{{Authority control}} | |||
{{Authority control|VIAF=97888651|LCCN=n/2004/95973|GND=132479095}} | |||
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{{Persondata | |||
| NAME = Harris, Sam | |||
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Harris, Samuel B. | |||
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American neuroscientist, author | |||
| DATE OF BIRTH = April 9, 1967 | |||
| PLACE OF BIRTH = United States | |||
| DATE OF DEATH = | |||
| PLACE OF DEATH = | |||
}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Sam}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Sam}} | ||
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Latest revision as of 16:20, 16 December 2024
American philosopher and neuroscientist (born 1967) For other people with the same name, see Sam Harris (disambiguation).
Sam Harris | |
---|---|
Harris in 2016 | |
Born | Samuel Benjamin Harris (1967-04-09) April 9, 1967 (age 57) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Occupation |
|
Education | |
Genre | Nonfiction |
Subject | Neuroscience, philosophy, religion, spirituality, ethics, politics |
Notable awards | |
Spouse |
Annaka Gorton (m. 2004) |
Children | 2 |
Parents |
|
Signature | |
Philosophy career | |
Era | Contemporary philosophy |
Region | |
Thesis | The moral landscape: How science could determine human values (2009) |
Doctoral advisor | Mark Cohen |
Website | |
samharris |
Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967) is an American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics, philosophy of mind, politics, terrorism, and artificial intelligence. Harris came to prominence for his criticism of religion, and he is known as one of the "Four Horsemen" of New Atheism, along with Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett.
Harris's first book, The End of Faith (2004), won the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction and remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 33 weeks. Harris has since written six additional books: Letter to a Christian Nation in 2006, The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values in 2010, the long-form essay Lying in 2011, the short book Free Will in 2012, Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion in 2014, and (with British writer Maajid Nawaz) Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue in 2015. Harris's work has been translated into over 20 languages. Some critics have argued that Harris's writings are Islamophobic. Harris and his supporters, however, reject this characterization, adding that such a labeling is an attempt to silence criticism.
Harris has debated with many prominent figures on the topics of God or religion, including William Lane Craig, Jordan Peterson, Rick Warren, Robert Wright, Andrew Sullivan, Cenk Uygur, Reza Aslan, David Wolpe, Deepak Chopra, Ben Shapiro, and Peter Singer. Since September 2013, Harris has hosted the Making Sense podcast (originally titled Waking Up), which has a large listenership. Around 2018, he was described as one of the marginalized "renegade" intellectuals, though Harris disagreed with that characterization. In September 2018, Harris released a meditation app, Waking Up with Sam Harris. He is also considered a prominent figure in the Mindfulness movement, promoting meditation practices without the need for any religious beliefs.
Early life and education
Samuel Benjamin Harris was born in Los Angeles, California, on April 9, 1967. He is the son of the late actor Berkeley Harris, who appeared mainly in Western films, and television writer and producer Susan Harris (née Spivak), who created Soap and The Golden Girls, among other series. His father, born in North Carolina, came from a Quaker background, and his mother is Jewish but not religious. He was raised by his mother following his parents' divorce when he was age two. Harris has stated that his upbringing was entirely secular and that his parents rarely discussed religion, though he also stated that he was not raised as an atheist.
While his original major was in English, Harris became interested in philosophical questions while at Stanford University after an experience with MDMA. The experience interested him in the idea he might be able to achieve spiritual insights without the use of drugs. Leaving Stanford in his second year, a quarter after his psychoactive experience, he visited India and Nepal, where he studied meditation with teachers of Buddhist and Hindu religions, including Dilgo Khyentse. For a few weeks in the early 1990s, he was a volunteer guard in the security detail of the Dalai Lama.
In 1997, after eleven years overseas, Harris returned to Stanford, completing a B.A. degree in philosophy in 2000. Harris began writing his first book, The End of Faith, immediately after the September 11 attacks.
He received a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience in 2009 from the University of California, Los Angeles, using functional magnetic resonance imaging to conduct research into the neural basis of belief, disbelief, and uncertainty. His thesis was titled The Moral Landscape: How Science Could Determine Human Values. His advisor was Mark S. Cohen.
Career
Writing
Harris's writing concerns philosophy, neuroscience, and criticism of religion. He came to prominence for his criticism of religion (Islam in particular) and he is described as one of the Four Horsemen of Atheism, along with Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett. He has written for publications such as The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Economist, The Times (of London), The Boston Globe, and The Atlantic. Five of Harris's books have been New York Times bestsellers, and his writing has been translated into over 20 languages. The End of Faith (2004) remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 33 weeks.
Podcast
In September 2013, Harris began releasing the Waking Up podcast (since re-titled Making Sense). Episodes vary in length but often last over two hours. Releases do not follow a regular schedule.
The podcast focuses on a wide array of topics related to science and spirituality, including philosophy, religion, morality, free will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics and artificial intelligence. Harris has interviewed a wide range of guests, including scientists, philosophers, spiritual teachers, and authors. Guests have included Jordan Peterson, Dan Dennett, Janna Levin, Peter Singer, and David Chalmers.
Meditation app
In September 2018, Harris released a meditation course app, Waking Up with Sam Harris. The app provides daily meditations; long guided meditations; daily "Moments" (brief meditations and reminders); conversations with thought leaders in psychology, meditation, philosophy, psychedelics, and other disciplines; a selection of lessons on various topics, such as Mind & Emotion, Free Will, and Doing Good; and more. Users of the app are introduced to several types of meditation, such as mindfulness meditation, vipassanā-style meditation, loving-kindness meditation, and Dzogchen.
In September 2020, Harris announced his commitment to donate at least 10% of Waking Up's profits to highly effective charities, thus becoming the first company to sign the Giving What We Can pledge for companies. The pledge was retroactive, taking into account the profits since the day the app launched two years previously.
Socio-religious Views
Religion
Harris is generally a critic of religion, and is considered a leading figure in the New Atheist movement. Harris is particularly opposed to what he refers to as dogmatic belief, and says that "Pretending to know things one doesn't know is a betrayal of science – and yet it is the lifeblood of religion." While purportedly opposed to religion in general and the belief systems of them, Harris believes that all religions are not created equal. Often invoking the non-violent nature of Jainism to contrast with Islam, Harris argues that the differences in religious doctrines and scriptures are the main indicators of a religion's value.
In September 2006 Harris debated Robert Wright on the rationality of religious belief. In 2007, he engaged in a lengthy debate with conservative commentator Andrew Sullivan on the Internet forum Beliefnet. In April 2007, Harris debated with evangelical pastor Rick Warren for Newsweek magazine. Harris debated with Rabbi David Wolpe in 2007. In 2010, Harris joined Michael Shermer to debate with Deepak Chopra and Jean Houston on the future of God in a debate hosted by ABC News Nightline. Harris debated with Christian philosopher William Lane Craig in April 2011 on whether there can be an objective morality without God. In June and July 2018, he met with Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson for a series of debates on religion, particularly the relationship between religious values and scientific fact in defining truth. Harris has debated with the scholar Reza Aslan.
In 2006, Harris described Islam as "all fringe and no center", and wrote in The End of Faith that "the doctrine of Islam ... represents a unique danger to all of us", arguing that the war on terror is really a war against Islam. In 2007, Harris in the famous “Four Horsemen” debate asked fellow atheists, Hitchens, Dawkins, and Dennett, “Do you feel there's any burden we have, as critics of religion, to be evenhanded in our criticism of religion, or is it fair to notice that there's a spectrum of religious ideas and commitments and Islam is on one end of it and the Amish and the Jains and others are on another end, and there are real differences here that we have to take seriously.” In 2014, Harris said he considers Islam to be "especially belligerent and inimical to the norms of civil discourse", as it involves what Harris considers to be "bad ideas, held for bad reasons, leading to bad behavior." In 2015 Harris and secular Islamic activist Maajid Nawaz cowrote Islam and the Future of Tolerance. In this book, Harris argues that the word Islamophobia is a "pernicious meme", a label which prevents discussion about the threat of Islam. Harris has been described in 2020 by Jonathan Matusitz, Associate Professor at the University of Central Florida, as "a champion of the counter-jihad left".
Harris is also critical of the Christian right in politics in the United States, blaming them for the political focus on "pseudo-problems like gay marriage". He is also critical of liberal Christianity – as represented, for instance, by the theology of Paul Tillich – which he argues claims to base its beliefs on the Bible despite actually being influenced by secular modernity. He further states that in so doing liberal Christianity provides rhetorical cover to fundamentalists.
Harris emphasizes that all religions are not the same and that if any religion can be considered a "religion of peace", it is not Islam, but rather Jainism, which emerged in India around the same time as Buddhism, and has non-violence as its core doctrine. He underscores that to be a practicing Jain, one has to be a vegetarian and a pacifist, while the Jain monks even wear masks in order to avoid breathing in any living thing. But, he points out that even the Jain religion has its problems, as Jains believe certain things based on insufficient evidence, which leads to some religious dogmas.
Harris has often noted some positive aspects of Buddhist thought, especially in relation to meditation, such as Buddhism's emphasis that one's behavior and intentions impact the mind, and in order to achieve happiness, one needs to strive towards "overcoming fear and hatred" while "maximizing love and compassion". In 2019, while discussing his book Waking Up: Searching for Spirituality Without Religion, Harris noted that the West could learn a lot from the East about the traditions of meditation found in Hinduism and Buddhism, though he considers that meditation can be practiced without any traditional religious beliefs.
Spirituality
Harris holds that there is "nothing irrational about seeking the states of mind that lie at the core of many religions. Compassion, awe, devotion, and feelings of oneness are surely among the most valuable experiences a person can have", saying:
Everything of value that people get from religion can be had more honestly, without presuming anything on insufficient evidence. The rest is self-deception, set to music.
— Sam Harris (15 March 2007), SamHarris.org
Harris rejects the dichotomy between spirituality and rationality, favoring a middle path that preserves spirituality and science but does not involve religion. He writes that spirituality should be understood in light of scientific disciplines like neuroscience and psychology. Science, he contends, can show how to maximize human well-being, but may fail to answer certain questions about the nature of being, answers to some of which he says are discoverable directly through our experience. His conception of spirituality does not involve a belief in any god.
In Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion (2014), Harris describes his experience with Dzogchen, a Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice, and recommends it to his readers. He writes that the purpose of spirituality (as he defines it – he concedes that the term's uses are diverse and sometimes indefensible) is to become aware that our sense of self is illusory, and says this realization brings both happiness and insight into the nature of consciousness, mirroring core Buddhist beliefs. This process of realization, he argues, is based on experience and is not contingent on faith.
When you learn how to meditate, you recognize that there is another possibility, which is to be vividly aware of your experience in each moment in a way that frees you from routine misery.
— Sam Harris (February 2019), The Guardian
Science and morality
See also: Science of moralityHarris considers that the well-being of conscious creatures forms the basis of morality. In The Moral Landscape, he argues that science can in principle answer moral questions and help maximize well-being.
Harris rejects the moral authority of religion, and points to what he sees as failures or misplaced priorities, for example saying that "The Catholic Church is more concerned about preventing contraception than preventing child rape".
Harris also criticizes cultural and moral relativism, arguing that it prevents people from making objective moral judgments about practices that clearly harm human well-being, such as female genital mutilation. Harris contends that we can make scientifically based claims about the negative impacts of such practices on human welfare, and that withholding judgment in these cases is tantamount to claiming complete ignorance about what contributes to human well-being.
Free will
See also: Neuroscience of free willHarris says that the idea of free will "cannot be mapped on to any conceivable reality" and is incoherent. Harris writes in Free Will that neuroscience "reveals you to be a biochemical puppet."
Philosopher Daniel Dennett argued that Harris's book Free Will successfully refuted the common understanding of free will, but that he failed to respond adequately to the compatibilist understanding of free will. Dennett said the book was valuable because it expressed the views of many eminent scientists, but that it nonetheless contained a "veritable museum of mistakes" and that "Harris and others need to do their homework if they want to engage with the best thought on the topic."
Artificial intelligence
Harris is particularly concerned with existential risks from artificial general intelligence, a topic he has discussed in depth. In a 2016 TED talk, he argued that it will be a major threat in the future, and criticized the lack of human interest on the subject. He said that artificial superintelligence will inevitably be developed if three assumptions hold true: intelligence is a product of information processing in physical systems, humans will continue to improve intelligent machines, and human intelligence is far from the peak of possible intelligence. He described making artificial superintelligence safe as "one of the greatest challenges our species will ever face", indicating that it would warrant immediate consideration.
Political views
Harris describes himself as a liberal, even though he criticizes some aspects of both right and left. He is a registered Democrat and has never voted Republican in presidential elections. He supports same-sex marriage and decriminalizing drugs.
Criticism of the Bush Administration
Harris frequently criticized George W. Bush over his support for intelligent design and his coziness with Christianity.
In an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times in 2006, Harris said that he supported most of the criticism against the Bush administration's war in Iraq, and all criticism of fiscal policy and the administration's treatment of science. Harris also said that liberalism has grown "dangerously out of touch with the realities of our world" regarding threats posed by Islamic fundamentalism. Harris criticized the Bush administration for its use of torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay, but also argued that there can be a rational case for torture in rare circumstances.
Israel
Harris opposes religious claims to Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. Nonetheless, Harris has said that due to the hostility towards Jews, if there is one religious group which needs protections in the form of a state, it is Jews and the state of Israel.
Harris has criticized both Israel and Palestine for committing war crimes in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He said in 2014 that he believes Israel genuinely wants peace and that its neighbors are more devoted to the destruction of Israel. Harris has also said that Palestine is more guilty, citing Hamas' use of human shields and genocidal rhetoric towards the Jews. He names these as reasons that Israel has a right to defend itself against Palestine.
During the Israel–Hamas war that began in October 2023, Harris expressed support for Israel and rejected arguments that Israel provoked Hamas by building Israeli settlements in the West Bank, arguing that Gaza had not been occupied since 2005. He also condemned the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which led to the war.
Presidential elections
In the 2008 United States presidential election, he supported the candidacy of Barack Obama and opposed Republican John McCain's candidacy. During the 2016 United States presidential election, Harris supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Party presidential primaries against Bernie Sanders, and despite calling her "a terribly flawed candidate for the presidency", he favored her in the general election and came out strongly in opposition to Donald Trump's candidacy. Harris has criticized Trump for lying, stating in 2018 that Trump "has assaulted truth more than anyone in human history."
In the 2020 United States presidential election, Harris supported Andrew Yang in the Democratic primaries. Harris also introduced Yang to podcaster Joe Rogan. After the 2020 election, he said that he did not care what was on Hunter Biden's laptop, telling the Triggernometry podcast that "Hunter Biden literally could have had the corpses of children in his basement – I would not have cared", arguing more broadly that both Trump and Biden had been in the public eye for decades, and that Biden would have had to have engaged in an extraordinarily large scale of mendacity to come even close to the level of scandal Trump is known to have engaged in.
In the 2024 United States presidential election, Harris endorsed Kamala Harris. Just a few days before the elections, he joined in a debate on the Honestly podcast where he argued in favor of supporting Kamala Harris, while Ben Shapiro presented the case for Donald Trump. After the election Harris criticized the Democratic party over their embrace of identity politics, their overemphasize on gender identity, and the Biden administration's failure crack down on illegal immigration.
Economics
Harris supports raising taxes on the wealthy and reducing government spending, and has criticized billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett for paying relatively little in tax. He has proposed taxing 10% for estates worth above 10 million, taxing 50% for estates worth over a billion dollars, and then using the money to fund an infrastructure bank.
He has accused conservatives of perceiving raising taxes as a form of theft or punishment, and of believing that by being rich they create value for others. He has described this view as ludicrous, saying that "markets aren't perfectly reflective of the value of goods and services, and many wealthy people don't create much in the way of value for others. In fact, as our recent financial crisis has shown, it is possible for a few people to become extraordinarily rich by wrecking the global economy".
Gun rights
Harris owns guns and wrote in 2015 that he understood people's hostility towards gun culture in the United States and the political influence of the National Rifle Association of America. However, he argued that there is a rational case for gun ownership due to the fact that the police cannot always be relied on and that guns are a good alternative.
Harris has stated that he disagrees with proposals by liberals and gun control advocates for restricting guns, such as the assault weapons ban, since more gun crimes are committed with handguns than the semi-automatic weapons which the ban would target. Harris has also said that the left-wing media gets many things wrong about guns. He has, however, offered support for certain regulations on gun ownership, such as mandatory training, licensure, and background checks before a gun can be legally purchased.
COVID-19 pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he criticized commentators for pushing views on COVID-19 that he considered to be "patently insane". Harris accused these commentators of believing that COVID-19 policies were a way of implementing social control and to crackdown on people's freedom politically. Harris has feuded with Bret Weinstein over his views on COVID-19. In 2023, he said that if COVID-19 had killed more children, there would be no patience for vaccine skepticism.
In March 2023, he hosted Matt Ridley and Alina Chan on his podcast to discuss the origins of COVID-19 and the potential that the COVID-19 virus was made in a lab.
Intellectual dark web
Harris has been described, alongside others such as Joe Rogan, Bret Weinstein, and Jordan Peterson, as a member of the intellectual dark web, a group that opposes political correctness and identity politics. New York Times book reviewer Bari Weiss described the group as "a collection of iconoclastic thinkers, academic renegades and media personalities who are having a rolling conversation – on podcasts, YouTube and Twitter, and in sold-out auditoriums – that sound unlike anything else happening, at least publicly, in the culture right now."
In November 2020, Harris stated that he does not identify as a part of that group. In 2021 Harris stated that he had "turn in imaginary membership card to this imaginary organization". In 2023 during an interview with The Daily Beast, Harris explained that he had broken away from the intellectual dark web due to disagreements with Bret Weinstein, and Maajid Nawaz's "obsession" with COVID-19 conspiracy theories and criticism of COVID-19 policies. He also described becoming disenchanted with Dave Rubin for having been captured by his audience and said "Rubin became far more cynical than I would have thought possible. And it's very depressing. He was a friend, he's not a friend anymore".
Controversies
This article's "criticism" or "controversy" section may compromise the article's neutrality. Please help rewrite or integrate negative information to other sections through discussion on the talk page. (November 2023) |
Race and IQ controversy
In April 2017, Harris hosted the social scientist Charles Murray on his podcast, discussing topics including the heritability of IQ and race and intelligence. Harris stated the invitation was out of indignation at a violent protest against Murray at Middlebury College the month before and not out of particular interest in the material at hand. The podcast episode garnered significant criticism, most notably from Vox and Slate. In the Vox article, scientists, including Eric Turkheimer, Kathryn Paige Harden, and Richard E. Nisbett, accused Harris of participating in "pseudoscientific racialist speculation" and peddling "junk science". Harris and Murray were defended by commentators Andrew Sullivan and Kyle Smith. Harris and Vox editor-at-large Ezra Klein later discussed the affair in a podcast interview in which Klein accused Harris of "thinking tribally" and Harris accused the Vox article of leading people to think he was racist.
Accusations of Islamophobia
Harris has been accused of Islamophobia by linguist and political commentator Noam Chomsky. After Harris and Chomsky exchanged a series of emails on terrorism and U.S. foreign policy in 2015, Chomsky said Harris had not prepared adequately for the exchange and that this revealed his work as unserious. In a 2016 interview with Al Jazeera English's UpFront, Chomsky further criticized Harris, saying he "specializes in hysterical, slanderous charges against people he doesn't like."
Harris has countered that his views on this and other topics are frequently misrepresented by "unethical critics" who "deliberately" take his words out of context. He has also criticized the validity of the term "Islamophobia". "My criticism of Islam is a criticism of beliefs and their consequences, but my fellow liberals reflexively view it as an expression of intolerance toward people," he wrote following a disagreement with actor Ben Affleck in October 2014 on the show Real Time with Bill Maher. Affleck had described Harris's and host Bill Maher's views on Muslims as "gross" and "racist", and Harris's statement that "Islam is the mother lode of bad ideas" as an "ugly thing to say". Affleck also compared Harris's and Maher's rhetoric to that of people who use antisemitic canards or define African Americans in terms of intraracial crime. Several conservative American media pundits in turn criticized Affleck and praised Harris and Maher for broaching the topic, saying that discussing it had become taboo.
Harris's dialogue on Islam with Maajid Nawaz received a combination of positive reviews and mixed reviews. Irshad Manji wrote: "Their back-and-forth clarifies multiple confusions that plague the public conversation about Islam." Of Harris specifically, she said " is right that liberals must end their silence about the religious motives behind much Islamist terror. At the same time, he ought to call out another double standard that feeds the liberal reflex to excuse Islamists: Atheists do not make nearly enough noise about hatred toward Muslims."
Harris opposed Executive Order 13769, which limited the entry of refugees from Muslim-majority countries to the United States, stating that it was “unethical with regard to the plight of refugees…and bound to be ineffective in stopping the spread of Islamism.”
Hatewatch staff at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) wrote that members of the "skeptics" movement, of which Harris is "one of the most public faces", help to "channel people into the alt-right." Bari Weiss wrote that the SPLC had misrepresented Harris's views.
Nathan J. Robinson and Chris Hedges criticized Harris for discussing in an excerpt from The End of Faith the possibility of a nuclear first strike against an Islamist regime that acquired long-range nuclear weapons and that would be undeterred by the threat of mutual destruction due to beliefs in jihad and martyrdom.
Reception and recognition
Harris's first two books, in which he lays out his criticisms of religion, received negative reviews from Christian scholars. From secular sources, the books received a mixture of negative reviews and positive reviews. In his review of The End of Faith, American historian Alexander Saxton criticized what he called Harris's "vitriolic and selective polemic against Islam", (emphasis in original) which he said "obscure the obvious reality that the invasion of Iraq and the War against Terror are driven by religious irrationalities, cultivated and conceded to, at high policy levels in the U.S., and which are at least comparable to the irrationality of Islamic crusaders and Jihadists." By contrast, Stephanie Merritt wrote of the same book that Harris's "central argument in The End of Faith is sound: religion is the only area of human knowledge in which it is still acceptable to hold beliefs dating from antiquity and a modern society should subject those beliefs to the same principles that govern scientific, medical or geographical inquiry – particularly if they are inherently hostile to those with different ideas." Harris's first book, The End of Faith (2004), won the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction.
Harris's next two books, which discuss philosophical issues relating to ethics and free will, received several negative academic reviews. In his review of The Moral Landscape, neuroscientist Kenan Malik criticized Harris for not engaging adequately with philosophical literature: "Imagine a sociologist who wrote about evolutionary theory without discussing the work of Darwin, Fisher, Mayr, Hamilton, Trivers or Dawkins on the grounds that he did not come to his conclusions by reading about biology and because discussing concepts such as 'adaptation', 'speciation', 'homology', 'phylogenetics' or 'kin selection' would 'increase the amount of boredom in the universe'. How seriously would we, and should we, take his argument?" On the other hand, The Moral Landscape received a largely positive review from psychologists James Diller and Andrew Nuzzolilli. Additionally, Free Will received a mixed academic review from philosopher Paul Pardi, who said that while it suffers from some conceptual confusions and that the core argument is a bit too "breezy", it serves as a "good primer on key ideas in physicalist theories of freedom and the will".
Harris's book on spirituality and meditation received mainly positive reviews as well as some mixed reviews. It was praised by Frank Bruni, for example, who described it as "so entirely of this moment, so keenly in touch with the growing number of Americans who are willing to say that they do not find the succor they crave, or a truth that makes sense to them, in organized religion."
In 2018, Robert Wright, a visiting professor of science and religion at Union Theological Seminary, published an article in Wired criticizing Harris, whom he described as "annoying" and "deluded". Wright wrote that Harris, despite claiming to be a champion of rationality, ignored his own cognitive biases and engaged in faulty and inconsistent arguments in his book The End of Faith. He wrote that "the famous proponent of New Atheism is on a crusade against tribalism but seems oblivious to his own version of it." Wright wrote that these biases are rooted in natural selection and impact everyone, but that they can be mitigated when acknowledged.
The UK Business Insider included Harris's podcast in their list of "8 podcasts that will change how you think about human behavior" in 2017, and PC Magazine included it in their list of "The Best Podcasts of 2018". In January 2020, Max Sanderson included Harris's podcast as a "Producer pick" in a "podcasts of the week" section for The Guardian. The Waking Up podcast won the 2017 Webby Award for "People's Voice" in the category "Science & Education" under "Podcasts & Digital Audio".
Harris was included on a list of the "100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People 2019" in the Watkins Review, a publication of Watkins Books, a London esoterica bookshop.
Personal life
In 2004, Harris married Annaka Harris (née Gorton), an author and editor of nonfiction and scientific books, after engaging in a common interest about the nature of consciousness. They have two daughters and live in Los Angeles.
In September 2020, Harris became a member of Giving What We Can, an effective altruism organization whose members pledge to give at least 10% of their income to effective charities, both as an individual and as a company with Waking Up.
Harris practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Works
Books
- Harris, Sam (2004). The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-03515-8. OCLC 62265386.
- Harris, Sam (2006). Letter to a Christian Nation. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. ISBN 0-307-26577-3. OCLC 70158553.
- Harris, Sam (2010). The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values. Free Press. ISBN 978-1-4391-7121-9. OCLC 535493357.
- Harris, Sam (2011). Lying. Four Elephants Press. ISBN 978-1-940051-00-0.
- Harris, Sam (2012). Free Will. Free Press. ISBN 978-1-4516-8340-0.
- Harris, Sam (2014a). Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4516-3601-7.
- Harris, Sam; Nawaz, Maajid (2015). Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-08870-2.
- Harris, Sam; Dawkins, Richard; Dennett, Daniel; Hitchens, Christopher (2019). The Four Horsemen: The Discussion that Sparked an Atheist Revolution. Bantam Press. ISBN 978-0-593-08039-9.
- Harris, Sam (2020). Making Sense: Conversations on Consciousness, Morality, and the Future of Humanity. Ecco. ISBN 978-0-06-285778-1.
Documentary
- Amila, D. & Shapiro, J. (2018). Islam and the Future of Tolerance. United States: The Orchard.
Peer-reviewed articles
- Harris, S.; Sheth, S. A.; Cohen, M. S. (February 27, 2008). "Functional neuroimaging of belief, disbelief, and uncertainty". Annals of Neurology. 63 (2): 141–147. doi:10.1002/ana.21301. PMID 18072236. S2CID 17335600.
- Harris, S.; Kaplan, J. T.; Curiel, A.; Bookheimer, S. Y.; Iacoboni, M.; Cohen, M. S. (October 1, 2009). Sporns, Olaf (ed.). "The Neural Correlates of Religious and Nonreligious Belief". PLOS One. 4 (10): e7272. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.7272H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007272. PMC 2748718. PMID 19794914.
- Douglas, P. K.; Harris, S.; Yuille, A.; Cohen, M. S. (May 15, 2011). "Performance comparison of machine learning algorithms and number of independent components used in fMRI decoding of belief vs. disbelief". NeuroImage. 56 (2): 544–553. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.11.002. PMC 3099263. PMID 21073969.
- Kaplan, Jonas T.; Gimbel, Sarah I.; Harris, Sam (December 23, 2016). "Neural correlates of maintaining one's political beliefs in the face of counterevidence". Scientific Reports. 6: 39589. Bibcode:2016NatSR...639589K. doi:10.1038/srep39589. PMC 5180221. PMID 28008965.
- Seitz, Benjamin M.; Aktipis, Athena; Buss, David M.; Alcock, Joe; Bloom, Paul; Gelfand, Michele; Harris, Sam; Lieberman, Debra; Horowitz, Barbara N.; Pinker, Steven; Wilson, David Sloan; Haselton, Martie G. (November 10, 2020). "The pandemic exposes human nature: 10 evolutionary insights". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 117 (45): 27767–27776. Bibcode:2020PNAS..11727767S. doi:10.1073/pnas.2009787117. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 7668083. PMID 33093198.
Notes
- Now named Waking Up: Guided Meditation
References
Harris blog citations
- "I'm Not the Sexist Pig You're Looking For". www.samharris.org. September 15, 2014. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- Harris, Sam (November 11, 2012). "Science on the Brink of Death". Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
- "Meme #8". Sam Harris. May 3, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
- "The Reality of Islam". Sam Harris. February 8, 2006. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
- Harris, Sam (March 15, 2007). "God's Dupes". SamHarris.org. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
- "#312 – The Trouble with AI". Sam Harris. March 7, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
- "#116 – AI: Racing Toward the Brink". Sam Harris. February 6, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
- ^ "#2 — Why Don't I Criticize Israel?". Sam Harris. July 27, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- "Making Sense of Gaza | A Conversation Between Sam Harris and Andrew Sullivan". Sam Harris. August 12, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- "The Sin of Moral Equivalence". Sam Harris. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- "What Barack Obama Could Not (and Should Not) Say". Sam Harris. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- Harris, Sam. Trump in Exile Archived February 12, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. samharris.org, October 13, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2017
- ^ "How Rich is Too Rich?". Sam Harris. August 17, 2011. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
- ^ "The Riddle of the Gun". Sam Harris. January 2, 2013. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- "Sam Harris | #311 – Did SARS-CoV-2 Escape from a Lab?". www.samharris.org. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
- ^ Harris, Sam (March 27, 2018). "Ezra Klein: Editor-at-Large". SamHarris.org. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
- Harris, Sam (October 7, 2014), "Can Liberalism Be Saved From Itself?", Sam Harris, archived from the original on December 26, 2014, retrieved December 26, 2014
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General citations
- ^ Paul Pardi (May 15, 2012). "An Analysis of Sam Harris' Free Will". Philosophy News. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
- ^ Madigan, Tim (2010). "Meet the New Atheism / Same as the Old Atheism?". Philosophy Now. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
- Bullivant, Stephen; Ruse, Michael, eds. (2013). The Oxford Handbook of Atheism. Oxford University Press (OUP). p. 246. ISBN 978-0-19-964465-0. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Wood, Graeme (April 24, 2013). "The Atheist Who Strangled Me". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
- Greenwald, Glen (April 3, 2013). "Sam Harris, the New Atheists, and anti-Muslim animus", The Guardian.
- Religion, Politics, Free Speech | Sam Harris | ACADEMIA | Rubin Report from the YouTube channel The Rubin Report, September 11, 2015.
- "Atheists Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris face Islamophobia backlash", The Independent, April 13, 2013.
- Weiss, Bari (May 8, 2018). "Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
- ^ Nguyen, Tina; Goldenberg, Sally (March 15, 2021). "How Yang charmed the right on his road to political stardom". Politico.
- ^ "#225 – Republic of Lies". YouTube. November 18, 2020. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021.
- ^ Purser, Ronald; Cooper, Andrew (December 6, 2014). "Mindfulness' 'truthiness' problem: Sam Harris, science and the truth about Buddhist tradition". Salon. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- Current Biography, January 2012, Vol. 73, Issue 1, p. 37
- "Playboy Interview: Sam Harris". Playboy. Vol. 66, no. 1. Winter 2019. p. 44.
- ^ Anthony, Andrew (February 16, 2019). "Sam Harris, the new atheist with a spiritual side". The Observer. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- Anderson, Jon (October 20, 1985). "'Girls' Series is solid gold for Harris". Chicago Tribune TV Week. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
- Samuels, David (May 29, 2012). "Q&A: Sam Harris". Tablet. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
- Sam Harris – Extended Interview; PBS: Religion & Ethics Newsweekly; January 5, 2007
- "Sam Harris." (2008). The Science Studio. Science Network. October 3, 2008. Transcript.
- Harris, Sam (June 28, 2011). "MDMA Caution with Sam Harris". YouTube.
- "First Time Sam Harris Took E", Cogent Canine, December 6, 2017, archived from the original on June 2, 2020, retrieved December 8, 2017 – via Youtube
- ^ Miller, Lisa (2010). "Sam Harris Believes in God". Newsweek.
- ^ Segal, David (October 26, 2006). "Atheist Evangelist". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 4, 2023. Alternative link
- Morrison, Patt (September 24, 2014). "No God? No problem, says god-free thinker Sam Harris". . Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- Rice, Lewis I. (2005). "The Iconoclast: Sam Harris wants believers to stop believing". Stanford Magazine. Stanford Alumni Association. Archived from the original on October 16, 2009.
- "Sam Harris". The Information Philosopher. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- Greenberg, Brad A. (April 1, 2008). "Making Belief". UCLA Magazine. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ Healy, Melissa (September 30, 2009). "Religion: The heart believes what it will, but the brain behaves the same either way". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 24, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
- Harris, Sam (2009). The Moral Landscape: How Science Could Determine Human Values (PhD dissertation). UCLA. ISBN 978-1-124-01190-5. Retrieved June 5, 2014 – via ProQuest.
- Bowles, Nellie (December 14, 2018). "Patreon Bars Anti-Feminist for Racist Speech, Inciting Revolt". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
On Dec. 6, Patreon kicked the anti-feminist polemic Carl Benjamin, who works under the name Sargon of Akkad, off its site for using racist language on YouTube. That same week, it removed the right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos a day after he opened an account."The moves prompted a revolt. Mr. Harris, citing worries about censorship, announced that he would leave Patreon. ..."... Mr. Harris, who gathered his fan base as a pugnacious atheist and fierce critic of Islam ...
- ^ "Sam Harris". Edge.org. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
- Van Biema, David (December 14, 2007). "What Your Brain Looks Like on Faith". Time. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
- ^ Davies, Hannah J; Verdier, Hannah; Sanderson, Max (January 3, 2020). "The con woman who scammed New York's elite – podcasts of the week". The Guardian. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- ^ "Waking Up with Sam Harris". iTunes – Podcasts. September 13, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
I have been, traditionally, a liberal. I have never voted republican ... certainly not for president.
- ^ Weiss, Bari (May 8, 2018). "Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web". The New York Times. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
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Jainism is a religion of peace
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Jainism is the best example that I know of . ... Nonviolence is its core doctrine
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I'm a registered Democrat
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- "I tried to talk about the hard issues America faces. Then the social media storm erupted". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
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- Smith, Kyle (April 20, 2018). "Ezra Klein's Intellectual Demagoguery". National Review. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
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External links
- Official website
- Sam Harris at TED
- Sam Harris at IMDb
- Library resources in your library and in other libraries by Sam Harris
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