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Sam Harris

rickyk95 June 17, 2017 at 06:11 11000 views 85 comments
I truly believe that Sam Harris is the smartest philosopher alive, the clarity and precision of his insights is impressive. Although this is certainly not the case, he appears to be almost infallible. I dont want to sound like a fan boy but, can you thnk of anyone whose books I could read, or videos I could watch who is more brilliant and insightful than him? He is just so logical and mathematical with his arguments, I always try to come with counterarguments to what he says but what he says simply makes a lot of sense! What other people like him could I follow?

Comments (85)

Noble Dust June 17, 2017 at 06:40 #78198
Reply to rickyk95

Out Of all the new atheists, he probably annoys me the least. I appreciate that he practices meditation, that he doesnt seem to have much of an ego, and I respect that he's been cogently and politely critical of Islamism (I'm not sure all of his arguments hold), but other than that, it's just more flash in the pan religio-atheism, as far as I can tell. Of course, his ideas might take hold and continue to influence western thought, for as long as it's around.

Quoting rickyk95
I dont want to sound like a fan boy but, can you thnk of anyone whose books I could read, or videos I could watch who is more brilliant and insightful than him?


Yes, many...
WISDOMfromPO-MO June 17, 2017 at 06:59 #78201
Quoting rickyk95
can you thnk of anyone whose books I could read, or videos I could watch who is more brilliant and insightful than him?




Ken Wilber.

Christopher Lasch.
Mongrel June 17, 2017 at 14:13 #78228
Quoting rickyk95
an you thnk of anyone whose books I could read, or videos I could watch who is more brilliant and insightful than him?


Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint, by Jay Williams
Arkady June 17, 2017 at 14:23 #78229
Quoting rickyk95
I truly believe that Sam Harris is the smartest philosopher alive, the clarity and precision of his insights is impressive. Although this is certainly not the case, he appears to be almost infallible. I dont want to sound like a fan boy but, can you thnk of anyone whose books I could read, or videos I could watch who is more brilliant and insightful than him? He is just so logical and mathematical with his arguments, I always try to come with counterarguments to what he says but what he says simply makes a lot of sense! What other people like him could I follow?

Christopher Hitchens had a nearly-unmatched erudition, combined with an acerbic and pointed style of argumentation. I would recommend not only his writings, but the copious amount of videos of his debates, lectures, and interviews, available on YouTube. This is not to say that the man was perfect, either in his arguments or his interpersonal style, but his was a unique mind, greatly missed and not easily replicated. Alas, weathering The Age of Trump is just a bit tougher without his biting social commentary.
Mikie August 23, 2020 at 00:41 #445745
Quoting rickyk95
What other people like him could I follow?


Noam Chomsky -- superior in almost every way. A true intellectual. I love Sam, but he only approaches Chomsky's level.
JerseyFlight August 23, 2020 at 03:57 #445775
Quoting Xtrix
Noam Chomsky -- superior in almost every way.


This is true.
JerseyFlight August 23, 2020 at 04:02 #445776
Reply to rickyk95

I seriously applaud you! A true seeker after wisdom and knowledge! This is rare.
_db August 23, 2020 at 05:16 #445789
mrw
Frank Apisa August 23, 2020 at 13:26 #445869
Quoting rickyk95
rickyk95
53
I truly believe that Sam Harris is the smartest philosopher alive, the clarity and precision of his insights is impressive. Although this is certainly not the case, he appears to be almost infallible. I dont want to sound like a fan boy but, can you thnk of anyone whose books I could read, or videos I could watch who is more brilliant and insightful than him? He is just so logical and mathematical with his arguments, I always try to come with counterarguments to what he says but what he says simply makes a lot of sense! What other people like him could I follow?


Sam Harris and all the other proselytizing atheists...are simply pitching a different compound of the snake oil theists sell.

Nothing wrong with doing so. I mean that sincerely.

And I suppose there is nothing wrong with folk like you thinking that some people are more adept at selling the oil than others.

But when you take off the packaging...all you have is snake oil.

JerseyFlight August 23, 2020 at 22:18 #445943
You might also watch the Chomsky Foucault exchange on youtube. I am so damn impressed with Foucault's foresight in that exchange. He seemed to exactly target the problem of tyranny in modern society: the supremacy of institutions.
fishfry August 24, 2020 at 00:37 #445970
Quoting rickyk95
I truly believe that Sam Harris is the smartest philosopher alive,


I didn't read the rest, but I have a definite opinion that I wanted to toss out. Of all the so-called "public intellectuals" out there, Sam Harris is in my opinion the absolute dumbest of the lot. He's just a stupid man that is (1) educated; and (a) articulate to the max. And he has such a calm, soothing delivery. His ideas are just dumb. But he's stylish, I enjoy watching him talk
DingoJones August 24, 2020 at 00:44 #445973
Reply to fishfry

Whats an example of one of his dumb ideas?
fishfry September 02, 2020 at 04:20 #448565
Quoting DingoJones
Whats an example of one of his dumb ideas?


Just an impression I have. Nothing in particular that I remember, although I usually find something when I watch one of his videos.
Deleted User September 02, 2020 at 08:44 #448603
Quoting DingoJones
Whats an example of one of his dumb ideas?
In one of his works he argued in favor of torture and separately in favor of treating beliefs like actions. IOW if Muslims have certainly beliefs that might lead to violence or classify people a certain dangerous way, these should be treated (the thoughts) as actions. I have problems with both positions, and their combination is incredibly bad. He denied the implications of his positions in the book, without acknowledging that horrific positions could be deduced from his arguments. Pre-emptive torture based on beliefs can be deduced from his arguments. Again. He later, when this was all pointed out, said he was against such things. But he created the premises that lead to some really horrible conclusions. He says the conclusions are not his, but he never denied that his assertions and conclusions that are these premises are false.

JerseyFlight September 02, 2020 at 08:59 #448609
Quoting Coben
In one of his works he argued in favor of torture and separately in favor of treating beliefs like actions.


What I have learned about Atheists and intellectuals in general is that they don't actually have an education until they understanding sociology and political theory, specifically the rich variety of humanist thought contained in the Liberal tradition. And this does not mean Libertarians or Ayn Rand. Many Atheists make the mistake of thinking that these are powerful liberal philosophies simply because they make so much reference to reason. This is how Atheists and so many others who are seeking to flee from superstition get sucked in. If an Atheist thinker really wants to begin in the direction of a good Liberal education he would do well to begin with something like Herbert Marcuse's One Dimensional Man.
DingoJones September 02, 2020 at 13:39 #448654
Reply to Coben

Which one of his works was that in?
Deleted User September 02, 2020 at 13:56 #448657
This user has been deleted and all their posts removed.
ssu September 02, 2020 at 17:32 #448699
Quoting rickyk95
I truly believe that Sam Harris is the smartest philosopher alive, the clarity and precision of his insights is impressive.

I don't think Harris is really a genuine philosopher, but what this neuroscientist is, is one of the best intelligent academic commentators and interviewers who is thoughtful, respectful in an era where others hurl accusations and vitriol.

Of course that Harris belongs to what is loosely called "the intellectual dark web" may raise hostility in PF, as other member of the group are widely hated here... at least by some. Usually this is just a knee-jerk reaction.
DingoJones September 02, 2020 at 17:40 #448701
Reply to ssu

What makes a philosopher “genuine”?
ssu September 02, 2020 at 18:05 #448706
Before answering your question, I would remind that not to be a "genuine philosopher" isn't negative or condescending (perhaps in our times it would be the opposite). Being a "philosopher" is as loose or even looser than being a historian.

Reply to DingoJones
a) that the person says/admits/confesses that he or she is a philosopher / puts it as the first thing in his or her CV
b) That enough of those in academic philosophy departments regard the person as a philosopher, a peer
c) that he has published well received literature in philosophy
d) and that people generally describe the person as a philosopher.

DingoJones September 02, 2020 at 18:12 #448708
Quoting ssu
Before answering your question, I would remind that not to be a "genuine philosopher" isn't negative or condescending (perhaps in our times it would be the opposite). Being a "philosopher" is as loose or even looser than being a historian.


I understand, I was just curious what your criteria was.
From what you posted, it seems like you just mean a professional or working philosopher?
EnPassant September 02, 2020 at 19:09 #448715
Quoting rickyk95
He is just so logical and mathematical with his arguments, I always try to come with counterarguments to what he says but what he says simply makes a lot of sense


There are many consistent, logical tautologies that make sense but are not truth. Truth and nifty models of the world are not always the same thing. Personally I find his world view monstrous. He even tried to justify torture.
ssu September 02, 2020 at 19:40 #448725
Quoting DingoJones
From what you posted, it seems like you just mean a professional or working philosopher?

Something like that, yes.

Harris talks to larger public and typically explains the more advanced terms etc. and tries to keep his talk as understandable as possible. A very good communicator in my view.
DingoJones September 02, 2020 at 19:46 #448727
Reply to ssu

I agree with you, I think Harris is a very good communicator. Id say his job is a public intellectual, if that term means anything.
People hate him though, so the clarity of his points gets lost in the emotional reactions he provokes in people. There are a few of these public figures that are like that, the mere mention of their names taps into a ready waiting mob that feel like they need to tear him down.
ssu September 02, 2020 at 21:51 #448758
Quoting DingoJones
People hate him though, so the clarity of his points gets lost in the emotional reactions he provokes in people. There are a few of these public figures that are like that, the mere mention of their names taps into a ready waiting mob that feel like they need to tear him down.

Well, any non-woke commentator will get at least irritation from the woke identity politics crowd from the left. I guess Sam Harris got his baptism of fire and the full wrath of that crowd after presenting his views on islam. And have to say, Harris does take it under his skin (which is understandable) and for example his conversation with mainstream journalist Ezra Klein some time ago was simply painful to listen, even if both tried to be cordial.

DingoJones September 02, 2020 at 22:10 #448769
Reply to ssu

Thats true, there is always resistance from that crowd. I guess I more mean people who are against certain intellectuals who aren’t necessarily the fringe left. Harris is often attacked with strawmen, accusations of racism and bigotry with no basis, misrepresentations of his political views etc. People will straight up lie in attempts to smear him...they so despise him that they can justify dishonesty. I see it with others too, like if you disagree with the person you have to hate them and do whatever you can to discredit them regardless of its legitimacy. Ezra Klein is a good example of this with Harris, even though Harris let it get to him it was clear to me Ezra wasnt arguing In good faith and I know from other exchanges that Ezra knew he was misrepresenting Harris.
Deleted User September 06, 2020 at 15:10 #449899
Reply to DingoJones I would guess it was The End of Faith. That's my best guess. It's my guess because it was a while ago, so not one of his more recent and then when I googled around the issues I mentioned I found quotes that fit with the arguments I remembered being made. Perhaps they were made in other books as well and I am remembering one of those.

“Given the link between belief and action, it is clear that we can no more tolerate a diversity of religious beliefs than a diversity of beliefs about epidemiology and basic hygiene.”

? Sam Harris, The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason
(and he extends this to the idea of treating beliefs AS actions. We can't tolerate certain beliefs and we must treat them as fait accompli actions. Interesting what happens if you apply this to his beliefs about torture,say)


I believe that I have successfully argued for the use of torture in any circumstance in which we would be willing to cause collateral damage (p198)

Given what many of us believe about the exigencies of our war on terrorism, the practice of torture, in certain circumstances, would seem to be not only permissible, but necessary. (p199)



RogueAI September 08, 2020 at 01:18 #450244
Reply to ssu Do you think certain lines of research should be off-limits for the good of society? For example, there is already a ban in the U.S. on human cloning. I'm not so sure that's a bad thing.
DingoJones September 08, 2020 at 01:47 #450246
Quoting Coben
(and he extends this to the idea of treating beliefs AS actions. We can't tolerate certain beliefs and we must treat them as fait accompli actions. Interesting what happens if you apply this to his beliefs about torture,say)


Thats the first sentence of a paragraph, which explains what exactly he meant by that. Perhaps you disagree with it, but thats not the same as “dumb”.

I believe that I have successfully argued for the use of torture in any circumstance in which we would be willing to cause collateral damage (p198)

Given what many of us believe about the exigencies of our war on terrorism, the practice of torture, in certain circumstances, would seem to be not only permissible, but necessary. (p199)


What is it about that you think is dumb?
ssu September 08, 2020 at 08:01 #450286
Quoting RogueAI
Do you think certain lines of research should be off-limits for the good of society?

I think there's a wide agreement in the scientific community that there indeed have to rules and limitations to research. Starting from the oath of Hippocrates, it is obvious that there is both a moral and a societal issue here. I do remember, just to give an example, the researchers that cloned Dolly the sheep were first asking for a serious public discussion and regulation on human cloning.


RogueAI September 08, 2020 at 15:13 #450335
Reply to ssu Yeah, I was thinking along those lines. So, in a societal sense, is research into, say, racial IQ differences worth it?
ssu September 08, 2020 at 21:20 #450442
Quoting RogueAI
Yeah, I was thinking along those lines. So, in a societal sense, is research into, say, racial IQ differences worth it?

Go back hundred years or more and you would find firm believers in eugenics etc. in the academic scene in many universities with really bad societal ideas. Now there aren't anymore those kind of "scientific racists" as in the 19th Century and early 20th Century, so I think is more of a topic of PC scaremongering and something dear to the few real racists among us.

And coming to the topic of the thread, I remember Sam Harris saying that the racial IQ discourse is simply dumb.


RogueAI September 08, 2020 at 22:36 #450479
Reply to ssu My (anecdotal) experience with racists is they'll seize on anything to justify their racism because even they know, deep down, it's really stupid to be racist.
DingoJones September 08, 2020 at 22:41 #450481
Reply to RogueAI

That sounds like most people, not just racists. Anything other than admitting they are wrong or that they dont know, ad hoc rationalisations etc etc, all very human.
RogueAI September 08, 2020 at 22:51 #450490
fishfry September 12, 2020 at 02:29 #451479
It's weird. Since posting my opinion of Harris a week ago, my Youtube feed is suddenly full of Sam Harris clips. Maybe it's a coincidence. A Harris clip showed up by chance and since this thread was on my mind, I clicked on it. And whatever you click on in Youtube, you get a lot more like it right afterward. That's how their algorithm is coded. Or maybe deep in the bowels of Google's servers, my comments here are linked to other aspects of my online identity, and they factor that into my Youtube suggestions. In theory that shouldn't be possible but Google does a lot of business with the government and I'm sure they have access to data they shouldn't have. Or they could use AI to cross-reference my writing style, that would be doable with only publicly-obtained data. Writing style analysis is pretty advanced these days.

https://www.storyfit.com/blog/new-ai-emma-identity-detects-distinct-writing-styles

In any event, I have for the past couple of days been watching a lot of Sam Harris clips; and I think I can give a better answer to what it is that I don't like about him. Some things I like. He has a calming delivery and he gets off some good lines and has a way of verbally. clarifying the obvious. I just don't consider him particularly smart. Or at the very least, not particularly deep or interesting.

I originally said that I don't consider him very bright. And what I mean is, he's witty, but it's the wit of a precocious 16 year old who just discovered that the world doesn't work the way they were told. So he makes a joke about praying over your breakfast pancakes to turn them into God, in order to mock the Catholic belief that the wafers are literally the body of Christ.

Well ok, he's right about the analogy. The pancake image is funny. He has a great deadpan delivery.

But it's essentially a puerile observation. Many volumes have been written across the ages about the meaning of the Eucharist. Harris offers no scholarly insight into the practice. And say what you will, there are 1.2 billion Catholics in the world. You can't dismiss their earnest and heartfelt beliefs with pancake jokes. A philosopher has to account for the undeniable power of religious faith in the hearts of so many of the world's people.

My recent Sam Harris binge has confirmed my original opinion. Puerile is the word. Childish, silly, trivial. He is entertaining and satisfies our pseudo-intellectual urges. But a deeper question would be why 1.2 billion people derive personal value in their lives from the wafers. I'm not a Catholic and I'm not religious. But I recognize the awesome power, for good and for evil, of religion in the world. Dismissing religion as superstitious claptrap makes some people feel good about themselves. But if we are to claim to be philosophers or "public intellectuals," we must give a thoughtful, intellectually satisfying account of those 1.2 billion. This, Harris does not do.

Harris is superficially clever but lacking in depth; and ultimately intellectually unsatisfying.

Kevin September 12, 2020 at 02:43 #451486
Reply to fishfry I think I basically agree with this. I don't know why but I always find Harris irritating - and not because I disagree with him. I think I agree with most of what I've heard him say - but everytime I attempt to listen/read - I just get irritated. Trivial is probably it. And his endorsement of David Pearce/Transhumanism struck me as dumb. But I've been meaning to give The Moral Landscape at least a chance the whole way through just because he seems to be fairly popular.
Bert Newton September 12, 2020 at 09:53 #451547
No one is quite like Sam but you might also like:

New, new atheists:

Steven Woodford (Rationality Rules)
Alex O'Connor (CosmicSkeptic)

Political/Social commentary:

Douglas Murray
Jonathon Haidt
Claire Lehmann

Science and Society

Bret & Eric Weinstein
Steven Pinker

SophistiCat September 12, 2020 at 12:00 #451553
Quoting fishfry
Or maybe deep in the bowels of Google's servers, my comments here are linked to other aspects of my online identity, and they factor that into my Youtube suggestions.


This site uses Google Analytics, which places a tracking code on every page, so that every time you visit a page, Google knows about it. Google also indexes page content, and of course Google owns Youtube. I don't know much about this technology, but theoretically, putting all this together, it is possible that the pages that you browse affect the choice of suggested videos. (I block google-analytics.com, and I keep Google login confined to those instances where I actually need it - although Google also keeps track of IP addresses.)

Quoting fishfry
Harris is superficially clever but lacking in depth; and ultimately intellectually unsatisfying.


This.
Deleted User September 17, 2020 at 05:24 #453097
Quoting DingoJones
Thats the first sentence of a paragraph, which explains what exactly he meant by that.

Yes, he certainly goes on to explain what he means.

Perhaps you disagree with it, but thats not the same as “dumb”.


Nor are they mutually exclusive. IOW you just told me that the reason I gave it as an example of one of his ideas that I consider dumb is because I disagree with it. (and yes, you said, 'perhaps' but since it is obvious I disagree with it, so your reminding me of something I do not need to be reminded of/told, is assuming I conflate my disagreement with an idea with that ideas dumness.) This is mindreading. He's obviously a very smart person and he does make a case. However very smart people can make well thought out cases for ideas that are dumb. I think there are a lot of problems with treating thoughts/beliefs as the equivalent of actions.

Quoting DingoJones
What is it about that you think is dumb?
The combination of considering beliefs to be the moral and practical equivalent of actions AND a justification for torture is dumb. As in such a pernicious idea that goes against the core values of Western liberalism (not in the sense of conservative against liberal) that it is actually more aligned with the worst of Islamic fundamentalism than the culture it is supposed to be defending. We are not just attacking freedom of speech, with the combination of these ideas, we are attacking freedom of thought and belief. Something radical Islam, the supposed justification for this radical shift in values is supposedly against. I think that is dumb. I think it is dumb that he doesn't notice this, though, yes, he makes an intelligent, though flawed defense of his position. I also think it is dumb that he did not take responsibility for the problems created by his ideas, which were pointed out by many readers, and simply denied the conclusion. Saying one does not believe the conclusions that can logically be deduced from one's positions without explaining how the deduction is incorrect is dumb. Because he should know how people can use texts for their own ends, including violence. He should know that factions within the government like torture and would love to have an apologist for the justification of extending the use of torture to people based on beliefs.

Further he should know, as a modern intellectual, how people's beliefs can often extremely accurately be determined by the various social media companies. In fact they sell this information. And the intelligence services monitor this information. IOW once we have decided that beliefs are the same as actions AND we have a system in place to determine even unsaid (publically at least) beliefs, we have a machine of totalitarianism in place that rivals, say, Stasi and the current Iranian Islamic regime. I think it is dumb that he doesn't realize he is going against Western ideas and that his position, on this, share more with belief systems he does not like and wants to fight.

I think howeverly cleverly it is argued that we treat belefs as actions, it is dumb because of what an actual implementation of such a concept would lead to. And if someone wants to argue that terrorism is so bad that it's OK to treat Islam this way, governments tend not to contain/limit precedents, they extend them. Why only with some POTENTIAL crimes and criminals? the government or intelligence official can ask. I think it shows ignorance (that is, is dumb) of history and even of Enlightenment values.

IOW I think it is dumb how he doesn't seem to notice that he is going radically against Western values. Ones that for example removed us from the reign of conceiving heresy and blasphemy and atheism as crimes. What he considers punishable sins are different but it is dumb to not notice that the problem is not content by form. He is setting an anti-Western precendent and one heartily accepted by his enemies, the Islamic terrorists. Yes, we can treat your beliefs as actions. Or you lack of beliefs. You are not innocent.



Kenosha Kid September 17, 2020 at 08:11 #453127
Quoting fishfry
But it's essentially a puerile observation. Many volumes have been written across the ages about the meaning of the Eucharist. Harris offers no scholarly insight into the practice. And say what you will, there are 1.2 billion Catholics in the world. You can't dismiss their earnest and heartfelt beliefs with pancake jokes.


Yes you can. Especially given the means of Catholic ubiquity (violence, war, incarceration, totalitarianism, etc.), that ubiquity is not a defence of any Catholic idea. And the worse the idea, the more theology is required to rationalise it, so the vast literature on the Eucharist is an indictment, not a defence. The Eucharist is an absurd practice, the absurdity held at bay only by normalisation through endless repetition and by unquestioned indoctrination. Like almost every aspect of religion, this does not demand a sophisticated rebuttal on the believers' own terms.

That said, Sam Harris has never impressed me either. I don't really get what the OP sees in him. He strikes me as a lefty Jordan Peterson type: a sufficiently eloquent orator to inspire and elevate an unpopular and underground movement, largely on the internet, but by no means an honest or insightful thinker. Maybe I've missed his finest hour on YouTube. If anyone has a link, I'm willing to learn.
Pfhorrest September 18, 2020 at 05:34 #453353
The little exposure to Harris that I have is his fanboys on Wikipedia trying to act like the idea of a "moral science" is a Harris original, and not just yet another statement of ethical naturalism plus the insistence that we not actually philosophically examine that statement but just take it as a given and move on with doing "moral science" on his terms.

And I say this as someone who is generally very much behind the idea of something like a "moral science", but I think Harris has its foundations completely wrong, and those should be questioned; but questioning it doesn't mean we can't get on with doing actual good in the meanwhile.

Harris comes off to me (by proxy) as akin to a physicist saying "stop doing philosophy of science / epistemology / ontology, just accept [my preferred philosophy of science / epistemology / ontology] and get on with doing the science!" And even though I am a hard-core physicalist who thinks we definitely should continue being on with doing the science, that doesn't mean we don't need to defend and shore up its philosophical underpinnings against those who would sabotage the project from beneath.
fdrake September 18, 2020 at 09:27 #453374
Quoting fishfry
but Google does a lot of business with the government and I'm sure they have access to data they shouldn't have. Or they could use AI to cross-reference my writing style, that would be doable with only publicly-obtained data. Writing style analysis is pretty advanced these days.


Google Analytics, a product used to log visitors to websites that integrates with the company’s ad-targeting systems, was found on almost 70 percent of sites. DoubleClick, a dedicated ad-serving system from Google, was found on close to 50 percent of sites. The top five most common tracking tools were all Google-owned.


Google is practically Yog Sothoth at this point:

Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread
DingoJones September 18, 2020 at 12:36 #453396
Quoting Pfhorrest
And I say this as someone who is generally very much behind the idea of something like a "moral science", but I think Harris has its foundations completely wrong, and those should be questioned; but questioning it doesn't mean we can't get on with doing actual good in the meanwhile.


What is the foundations that Harris gets wrong?
Pfhorrest September 18, 2020 at 19:06 #453468
Quoting DingoJones
What is the foundations that Harris gets wrong?


Ethical naturalism, basically. Which wouldn’t be such a problem is all he meant was “not supernaturalism” or “not divine command theory”, because those are even more wrong. But there’s a lot more nuances in metaethics he’s insisting that we should just ignore; there’s a lot of problems that naturalism and the alternatives he‘s probably thinking of have in common.
DingoJones September 18, 2020 at 19:15 #453469
Reply to Pfhorrest

Thats not the argument he makes about morality. Also, Where does he make this insistence to ignore?
I assume you are referring to The Moral Landscape? You said you had “little exposure” to Harris, yet you seem pretty confident he is wrong so Im wondering where youre getting this from.
Pfhorrest September 18, 2020 at 20:15 #453490
Reply to DingoJones Like I said, this is the impression I've gotten from other people defending him, so I'm not surprised if some of his actual views have gotten lost or distorted along the way. I welcome corrections on what his actual views are.
DingoJones September 18, 2020 at 21:25 #453505
Reply to Pfhorrest

Its hard to say without a specific reference, but it seems to me you’ve been misinformed, Harris fans or not.
His moral views start with the concept of “well being”, and whats good or bad is dependent on what relationship that thing has to well being. He makes his whole argument based on that, and he puts in the work to argue why its a valid axiom. I understand why someone would think he means ethical naturalism, but its not really where its grounded.
Thats the gist of his premiss fir The Moral Landscape, which I would say is the primary expression of his ethical views.
Mikie September 18, 2020 at 22:10 #453511
Quoting fishfry
Sam Harris is in my opinion the absolute dumbest of the lot. He's just a stupid man that is


Yeah, any person who says something as simplistic as this either hasn't truly engaged with the person they're condemning, or doesn't have the emotional intelligence to avoid equating someone they disagree with with "stupidity." Or, as is usually the case, they're simply envious of said person's success.

Sam Harris is by no means a stupid man, although I happen to disagree with him a lot.

Act less like an internet troll. Otherwise: try Twitter.


Pfhorrest September 19, 2020 at 01:43 #453559
Reply to DingoJones Thanks for trying to clarify, but that does sound pretty much like what his fans have said to me before.

What they’ve told me is that Harris wants to just give an operational definition of “good” as “conducive to human flourishing” or something along those lines, and then get on with figuring out what is conducive to human flourishing, putting aside any further arguments about whether “conducive to human flourishing” really works as a definition of “good”.

That kind of definition pretty much is the archetype of ethical naturalism, held by e.g. utilitarians. As it happens I think that “conducive to human flourishing” and “good” are more or less coextensive so it would be good to get on with figuring out what is conducive to human flourishing, but that doesn’t serve well enough as a DEFINITION, and bypasses a bunch of nuanced ethical and metaethical questions besides that.

Those questions are still worth looking into, and can be looked into simultaneously with doing a “science of morality” that is just investigating what causes human flourishing, just like we can still do science simultaneously with doing philosophy of science and don’t have to either wait for the latter to be finished before we do the former, or give up on the latter entirely since we can start doing the former without it.
DingoJones September 19, 2020 at 03:48 #453582
Quoting Pfhorrest
What they’ve told me is that Harris wants to just give an operational definition of “good” as “conducive to human flourishing” or something along those lines, and then get on with figuring out what is conducive to human flourishing, putting aside any further arguments about whether “conducive to human flourishing” really works as a definition of “good”.


Well I dont think he is setting anything aside, but yes he posits the human flourishing as an axiom. He does make his case for that, its not just something he presumed.
When Harris refers to “science”, he is talking about reason and rationality. I never really understood why he did that, but he specifically spends time on it. To me it just confuses things needlessly.

Quoting Pfhorrest
Those questions are still worth looking into, and can be looked into simultaneously with doing a “science of morality” that is just investigating what causes human flourishing, just like we can still do science simultaneously with doing philosophy of science and don’t have to either wait for the latter to be finished before we do the former, or give up on the latter entirely since we can start doing the former without it.


See I dont recognise this restriction from anything ive read/heard. Im hardly an authority though so maybe these people had different info.


RogueAI September 19, 2020 at 14:13 #453717
Reply to DingoJones The devil is always in the details. What Harris thinks of as "human flourishing" is probably not the same thing I think of, although there's going to be a lot of overlap on the more obvious trivial stuff, like "more clean drinking water for everyone!". But even there, I can see Sam and I starting to diverge: should countries abandon, say, their space programs and put all those resources into providing clean drinking water for everyone and save 500,000 lives a year? Science can't answer that.
DingoJones September 19, 2020 at 16:21 #453757
Reply to RogueAI

There can be those sorts of disagreements or divergence without effecting Harris’s arguments. Thats what the moral landscape means, the peeks and valleys of various moral questions and answers. He allows for multiple peeks (different but equally valid moral conclusions) and valleys (human suffering) that can all function from the same standard.

Reply to RogueAI Reply to Pfhorrest

I think it would be worthwhile to do some reading or look into some of the debates/talks Harris did on The Moral Landscape. His arguments are pretty thorough and address most criticisms. Id be interested in discussing how I (or anyone else) disagree with Harris but I'm not keen on (probably poorly) trying to articulate his entire arguments piece-mail.
Kenosha Kid September 20, 2020 at 09:58 #454038
I don't think whether Harris' views on morality or free will bear on the question of the OP. One would expect the "smartest philosopher in the world right now" to maybe have a view that is immediately and apparently intelligent, but there's no basis to say he isn't that smart because of the way he views these issues and whether or not we agree with them.

The question as I see it is how he argues for it, and this is where Harris seems weak to me. I mostly know him from his speeches against religion, and he doesn't come across as particularly honest. For instance, he substitutes religion in general for specific religions and vice versa at will, casting the war between science and religion as a general religious problem because that's what suits that argument on the one hand but then demoting religion to an almost meaningless umbrella term when it becomes necessary to show how the violence and intolerance of a religion is driven by specific dogma (e.g. there are no Amish suicide bombers). I think honesty is a pre-requisite of intelligence.

I've never felt he argued eruditely (articulately, yes; wittily, yes), and this seems to be the main criticism those who would otherwise be sympathetic have. He describes the state of the art of fields and the consistent feedback, even from the likes of fellow horseman Dennett , is that he just doesn't understand those fields.

Maybe his books are better, but this does seem similar to the Lost fanboy argument: whenever I decided not to watch any more of it was coincidentally when friends who were fans insisted it "got good".
Hippyhead September 21, 2020 at 08:16 #454338
Quoting fishfry
Dismissing religion as superstitious claptrap makes some people feel good about themselves. But if we are to claim to be philosophers or "public intellectuals," we must give a thoughtful, intellectually satisfying account of those 1.2 billion. This, Harris does not do.


Good points fishfry. I can't say too much about Harris in particular, but your description seems a pretty good summary of atheist intellectual culture in general. Energetic and superficially clever, but not very deep or sophisticated.

As just one example, so much of the atheist discussion on philosophy forums and elsewhere seems to assume without questioning that religion is all about ideological beliefs, as if that was all there was to it. Culture, tradition, community, art, history, ceremony etc, all typically ignored.

To me, the most rational response to religion is not to accept or reject it, but to try to understand the human need that religion is attempting to address, and then find ways to meet that need that work for that person. Internet atheists rarely get this far, or even make the attempt. As you said, they are typically way too distracted by the "make people feel good about themselves" agenda.



batsushi7 September 21, 2020 at 09:56 #454347
He smart as Daniel Dennet, and Rickhard Dawkins.
Kenosha Kid September 21, 2020 at 10:19 #454353
Quoting Hippyhead
To me, the most rational response to religion is not to accept or reject it, but to try to understand the human need that religion is attempting to address, and then find ways to meet that need that work for that person.


That, in a nutshell, is the project of modernism. I disagree that the debate has been awaiting this sort of supply and demand. For instance, the religious appear to require creation narratives. That is common to most religions and describes an understandable desire for context.

Secularism has given us evolution and cosmology and this has gone down extremely badly with many religious, especially Christians, especially in America. The issue is not that secular science failed to address needs: it was deemed to fail because it was inconsistent with particular beliefs.
Hippyhead September 21, 2020 at 13:12 #454379
Evolution and cosmology are certainly interesting, but they don't really serve the need that fuels religions because they are intellectual, not emotional, experiences.

Science concerns itself with facts about reality. Intellectual.

Religion concerns itself with our relationship with reality. Emotional.

Two very different agendas.

What confuses the issue is that religions often make claims about reality in the effort to manage the relationship. Such claims are just the tip of the relationship management iceberg. Other techniques such as community, service, tradition, ceremony etc help illustrate that there is a larger agenda than just making factual claims.

If I understand correctly, Harris has an interest in meditation, which is good, as that's an attempt to address the underlying fundamental human needs which arise out of the nature of thought itself.


ssu September 21, 2020 at 21:50 #454617
Quoting Kenosha Kid
Secularism has given us evolution and cosmology and this has gone down extremely badly with many religious, especially Christians, especially in America.

Depends how you define secularism. I would argue that using the scientific method doesn't mean that you are a firm proponent of metaphysical naturalism. But of course for those Christians that have problems with evolution or science in general are one type of Christian believers who think they are the true believers and others are perhaps only CINOs, "Christians in name only".
Kenosha Kid September 22, 2020 at 08:39 #454760
Quoting ssu
Depends how you define secularism. I would argue that using the scientific method doesn't mean that you are a firm proponent of metaphysical naturalism.


Irrespective of the views of the individuals, science is a secular discipline. It does not depend on the teachings of any church, is not constrained to study and report on that consistent with any church dogma, and does not consider historical texts absolute truth.
Kenosha Kid September 22, 2020 at 08:42 #454761
Quoting Hippyhead
Evolution and cosmology are certainly interesting, but they don't really serve the need that fuels religions because they are intellectual, not emotional, experiences.

Science concerns itself with facts about reality. Intellectual.

Religion concerns itself with our relationship with reality. Emotional.


Then I put it to you that a significant step forward would be for religions to give up pretending they have facts about creation and history, admit that it's all just emotive storytelling, and cease filling children's heads with false facts and interfering with teachers' job at teaching them scientific facts.
Hippyhead September 22, 2020 at 14:02 #454810
Religion is not science. Like most forum atheists you want to compare religion to science as if they were the same thing with the same goals. That is, you appear not to have enough of an understanding of religion to be a credible critic.
Kenosha Kid September 22, 2020 at 18:24 #454863
Quoting Hippyhead
Like most forum atheists you want to compare religion to science as if they were the same thing with the same goals.


Nope, not me. I'm happy to agree that that religion should make no claims to fact.
ssu September 22, 2020 at 19:09 #454874
Quoting Kenosha Kid
Irrespective of the views of the individuals, science is a secular discipline. It does not depend on the teachings of any church, is not constrained to study and report on that consistent with any church dogma, and does not consider historical texts absolute truth.

And it actually doesn't promote atheism either, even if many draw that conclusion.

It's just a method.
Outlander September 22, 2020 at 19:20 #454877
Quoting Kenosha Kid
cease filling children's heads with false facts and interfering with teachers' job at teaching them scientific facts.


I'm not saying you're wrong- in any way. It's just this is probably the EXACT same quote geocentrists said to real scientists not that long ago, usually before imprisoning them or worse. You can blame religion, or you can blame the true common element, which is dogma. Rather, ignoring an often spoken about but seldom applied bit of wisdom: "the only thing I know is that I know nothing".

Scientific doctrine essentially demands extraterrestrial life exists. Aliens, man. Call them what you will. Say one shows up and says "Yeah, it all happened. We're your gods. Check that out". Then that would be that.
Kenosha Kid September 22, 2020 at 20:41 #454906
Quoting Outlander
I'm not saying you're wrong- in any way. It's just this is probably the EXACT same quote geocentrists said to real scientists not that long ago, usually before imprisoning them or worse. You can blame religion, or you can blame the true common element, which is dogma.


Rigid belief systems of any kind can and will thwart progress for the believer. That includes outdated scientific theory, if one makes a belief system out of it. However, to thwart the progress for generations to come, you need a religion. Me not accepting the big bang is unlikely to affect my great granddaughter. Me converting to Christianity and believing in Genesis and that non-believers will burn in eternity for hell is likely to affect my great granddaughter a lot.

Everyone should be free to believe whatever makes sense to them, no matter how out of date or stupid. But no one should have the power to stop someone else, including their children, from being capable of taking on new information.

It's also worth remembering that the geocentrists who imprisoned heliocentrists were the Inquisition. That's not a coincidence.
Hippyhead September 22, 2020 at 22:59 #454944
Quoting Kenosha Kid
I'm happy to agree that that religion should make no claims to fact.


Right. Like I said, you're comparing religion to science as if they were both fact finding enterprises, and then declaring science the best method of finding facts. This is the classic forum atheist misunderstanding, endlessly repeated on every philosophy forum. It's mostly a fantasy superiority pose built upon ignorance.

If you want to review and critique religion we should do so by measuring religion against it's own goals. How well is religion in general or a particular religion helping people manage their relationship with reality?

Let's imagine we have a young child dying of cancer. They're afraid about what's coming next. Whatever explanation we choose to share, how well does that explanation ease the child's fears and help them come to terms with what they face? How well does the story we tell help them manage their relationship with reality?

Would it be good religion to tell the child that they were born for no known reason in to short life full of pain and next they will be a rotting slab of meat in the ground? Such an explanation might be a reasonable scientific theory, but it would probably suck as a religion, right?




invizzy October 15, 2022 at 09:30 #748506
Reply to rickyk95

Funnily enough I agree that Harris is the smartest philosopher alive. I urge people to try and read ‘The Moral Landscape’ and not be impressed.

I also agree that ‘public intellectual’ describes him pretty well, but that shouldn’t mean that we dismiss him. I find so much of analytic philosophy barking up the wrong tree so Harris I find refreshing just on pure hit rate of what he gets correct.

In a similar vein I like Sean Carrol a lot. A physicist by training he doesn’t (in my opinion) have the same hit rate of correctness as Harris in philosophy but often has interesting things to say. I like his Ask Me Anything podcasts which you can find on YouTube.

But generally, Harris is a one off - there’s not many that really approach him for mine.
I like sushi October 15, 2022 at 11:18 #748519
Reply to DingoJones A particular moment of stupidity was when he recited a cooking recipe adding religious overtones to it as an example of how you can imbue any mass of words with profane meaning and using this as an example of how such ‘meaningless’ interpretations are somehow evidence for religion being bogus.

That we can actually produce such narratives from any text shows that we have a narrative function for interpreting in the world … such a function is far from meaningless and is actually something that humans excel at and live in every single day of our lives.

It kind of baffled me how he could not see that the thing he pointed out is the most meaningful item there possibly is in human history … that is why we have history.

All said and done, I do not think he is a complete waste of time, just lacks humility sometimes and his attempts to rectify this generally fail - the exchange with Chomsky was cringeworthy.
invizzy October 15, 2022 at 13:23 #748555
Reply to I like sushi

I don’t think Harris would argue about the importance of narratives or stories. His bit about the recipe (from memory) was simply to illustrate that it is very easy to read significance into text even when it is not intended, or borderline absent.

Harris will readily admit that there is some good to be found in religion, but that religion is rarely necessary to find that goodness, such that we needn’t put up with the obvious harms that religion also brings.
I like sushi October 15, 2022 at 13:43 #748560
Reply to invizzy But he did argue this without even realising it. That was my point.

I think he does a reasonable job of being a spokesperson for ‘science’ in general. He sure as hell is not the best philosopher in the world … that had to be one of the most crazy labels I have heard attached to him, a bit like calling Jordan Peterson a philosopher. Both of them have a narrow field of expertise that they seem to believe to be much broader (or rather their ‘fans’ seem to believe that).
I like sushi October 15, 2022 at 13:47 #748562
Personally I think Sean Carroll does a better job of reaching out to other branches of knowledge than Harris (accepting he possesses little to no expertise openly).
I like sushi October 15, 2022 at 13:49 #748564
Quoting invizzy
Funnily enough I agree that Harris is the smartest philosopher alive


He is not a philosopher really. He is a neuroscientist with an interest in politics regarding the atheist movement (which was certainly called for in US).
Mikie October 15, 2022 at 16:14 #748595
Quoting I like sushi
the exchange with Chomsky was cringeworthy.


Glad I wasn’t the only one who cringed. As a general fan of Harris, I was really disappointed. I was hopeful for a meaningful exchange, but Sam simply could not hear the answers Chomsky gave about American “intention” regarding Al Shifa.

Too bad.

invizzy October 16, 2022 at 05:42 #748815
Reply to Xtrix

I see comments like this on the reg, yet it looked like Chomsky was the dill from my vantage point! I seem to be in the minority about this so perhaps a bias toward Harris on my behalf.
invizzy October 16, 2022 at 05:47 #748817
Reply to I like sushi

I am not really talking about Harris' breadth of knowledge when I praise him. One can be an extremely good philosopher with a narrow field of expertise!
Agent Smith October 16, 2022 at 06:09 #748825
Quoting fishfry
Since posting my opinion of Harris a week ago, my Youtube feed is suddenly full of Sam Harris clips.


The Youtube AI knows ... you inside out! Run (for your life)!

Quoting SophistiCat
This site uses Google Analytics, which places a tracking code on every page, so that every time you visit a page, Google knows about it. Google also indexes page content, and of course Google owns Youtube. I don't know much about this technology, but theoretically, putting all this together, it is possible that the pages that you browse affect the choice of suggested videos. (I block google-analytics.com, and I keep Google login confined to those instances where I actually need it - although Google also keeps track of IP addresses.)


:scream: and also very :cool:

As for Sam Harris, I'd say his rhetorical skills are over the top! He's also proficient in logic and that makes him a worthy opponent.
I like sushi October 16, 2022 at 07:33 #748839
Reply to invizzy And his area of expertise is NOT philosophy, ergo he is maybe a reasonable amateur philosopher (he would likely state this himself if pressed hard enough). I say this because his general take on anything is marred by the political arguments he got caught up in when he was not even arguing, just stating something blatantly true.

He is no more a ‘good philosopher’ than I was a ‘good tennis player’ in my youth. Meaning I could beat all of my friends but they were not exactly seasoned pros or semi-pros.
I like sushi October 16, 2022 at 07:35 #748840
Reply to invizzy Yes, and good to take note of it. Do not get me wrong, I admire Harris and his approach and stance in many areas but like everyone else he has shortcomings.

I still find him worth listening to from time to time and would never simply dismiss him because he has made some - what I consider - poor remarks.
Agent Smith October 16, 2022 at 16:43 #748950
Quoting I like sushi
He is not a philosopher really. He is a neuroscientist with an interest in politics regarding the atheist movement (which was certainly called for in US).


Socrates was charged with impiety which probably means he made some rather snarky comments about god(s) [re Euthyphro's dilemma] which was a polite way of saying god(s) is/are either unnecessary and/or undesirable i.e. atheism.
Mikie October 16, 2022 at 20:38 #749033
Quoting invizzy
yet it looked like Chomsky was the dill from my vantage point!


Then you either weren’t paying attention or you were clouded by prejudice towards Sam. I can’t see any way around it.

It’s as if you watched the Chomsky/William F Buckley conversation and came away believing Buckley looked good and Chomsky the “dill.” Come on.
Manuel October 16, 2022 at 20:43 #749036
Sam Harris is mediocre at very, very best. At worst he's just a useful idiot, probably believes what he says about torture and AI and the woke left.

He sometimes can string together some interesting observations, maybe once every 3 hours in his podcast. Not much more.

The worst of the so called "New Atheists". Hitchens used to be fantastic but went hard right the last decade of his life.

Dawkins and Dennett are quite good in many respects.
invizzy October 16, 2022 at 23:13 #749070
Reply to Mikie

Maybe you’re unaware of how aggressive this post looks in a cold reading. I was up front about my bias toward Harris and gave an opinion on who it appeared to me came out looking better. No need to get exasperated!
From your point of view: a man being wrong on the internet - well there’s plenty of those out there :)
Mikie October 16, 2022 at 23:18 #749072
Reply to invizzy

Fair enough. To each his own!
invizzy October 16, 2022 at 23:51 #749077
Reply to Mikie
Thanks! No hard feelings, I realise I’m in the minority with this opinion haha :)