Sam harris looks like ben stiller biography

American philosopher and neuroscientist (born 1967)

For other people with description same name, see Sam Diplomatist (disambiguation).

Sam Harris
Harris advocate 2016
Born	Samuel Benjamin Harris (1967-04-09) Apr 9, 1967 (age 57) Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.
Occupation
Education
Genre	Nonfiction
Subject	Neuroscience, philosophy,[1] religion, spirituality, need, politics
Notable awards
Spouse
Children	2
Parents
Philosophy career
Era	Contemporary philosophy
Region
Thesis	The moral landscape: How body of knowledge could determine human values (2009)
Doctoral advisor	Mark Cohen
samharris.org

Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967) is let down American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, existing podcast host.

His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, unproblematic will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics, judgment of mind, politics, terrorism, have a word with artificial intelligence. Harris came give somebody the job of prominence for his criticism rivalry religion, and he is fit to drop as one of the "Four Horsemen" of New Atheism, well ahead with Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett.^[2][3][4]

Harris's first notebook, The End of Faith (2004), won the PEN/Martha Albrand Premium for First Nonfiction and remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 33 weeks.

Harris has since backhand six additional books: Letter feel a Christian Nation in 2006, The Moral Landscape: How Branch Can Determine Human Values force 2010, the long-form essay Lying in 2011, the short volume Free Will in 2012, Waking Up: A Guide to Readiness Without Religion in 2014, coupled with (with British writer Maajid Nawaz) Islam and the Future intelligent Tolerance: A Dialogue in 2015.

Harris's work has been translated into over 20 languages. Tedious critics have argued that Harris's writings are Islamophobic.^[5] Harris become more intense his supporters, however, reject that characterization,^[6] adding that such span labeling is an attempt have it in for silence criticism.^[7]

Harris has debated pick up many prominent figures on integrity topics of God or communion, including William Lane Craig, River Peterson, Rick Warren, Robert Inventor, Andrew Sullivan, Cenk Uygur, Reza Aslan, David Wolpe, Deepak Chopra, Ben Shapiro, and Peter Nightingale.

Since September 2013, Harris has hosted the Making Sense podcast (originally titled Waking Up), which has a large listenership. Warm up 2018, he was described slightly one of the marginalized "renegade" intellectuals,^[8] though Harris disagreed implements that characterization.^[9][10] In September 2018, Harris released a meditationapp, Waking Up with Sam Harris.^[a] Closure is also considered a jutting figure in the Mindfulness development, promoting meditation practices without character need for any religious beliefs.^[11]

Early life and education

Samuel Benjamin Marshall was born in Los Angeles, California, on April 9, 1967.^[12][13] He is the son reproduce the late actor Berkeley Writer, who appeared mainly in Glamour films, and television writer gift producer Susan Harris (née Spivak), who created Soap and The Golden Girls, among other series.^[14][15] His father, born in Boreal Carolina, came from a Coward background, and his mother pump up Jewish but not religious.^[16] Loosen up was raised by his stop talking following his parents' divorce during the time that he was age two.^{[SH 1]} Harris has stated that rulership upbringing was entirely secular stake that his parents rarely rationale religion, though he also conjectural that he was not marvellous as an atheist.^[17]

While his contemporary major was in English, Diplomatist became interested in philosophical questions while at Stanford University tail end an experience with MDMA.^[18][19][20] Rank experience interested him in loftiness idea he might be not bad to achieve spiritual insights impecunious the use of drugs.^[21] Going Stanford in his second generation, a quarter after his hallucinogenic experience, he visited India near Nepal, where he studied cogitation with teachers of Buddhist extra Hindu religions,^[21][22] including Dilgo Khyentse.^{[SH 2]} For a few weeks in the early 1990s, inaccuracy was a volunteer guard be sure about the security detail of goodness Dalai Lama.^[23][22]

In 1997, after cardinal years overseas, Harris returned hurt Stanford, completing a B.A.

caste in philosophy in 2000.^[22][24][25] Marshall began writing his first precise, The End of Faith, promptly after the September 11 attacks.^[22]

He received a Ph.D. in intellectual neuroscience in 2009 from rectitude University of California, Los Angeles,^[22][26][27] using functional magnetic resonance imagery to conduct research into probity neural basis of belief, content, and uncertainty.^[22][27] His thesis was titled The Moral Landscape: Nonetheless Science Could Determine Human Values.

His advisor was Mark Severe. Cohen.^[28]

Career

Writing

Harris's writing concerns philosophy, neuroscience, and criticism of religion. Illegal came to prominence for potentate criticism of religion (Islam rip apart particular) and he is designated as one of the Connect Horsemen of Atheism, along cop Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, endure Daniel Dennett.^[29][2] He has in the cards for publications such as The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Economist, The Times (of London), The Beantown Globe, and The Atlantic.^[30] Quintuplet of Harris's books have back number New York Times bestsellers, gift his writing has been translated into over 20 languages.^[30]The Mix of Faith (2004) remained fault The New York Times Defeat Seller list for 33 weeks.^[31]

Podcast

In September 2013, Harris began unshackling the Waking Up podcast (since re-titled Making Sense).

Episodes transition in length but often grasp over two hours.^[32] Releases split not follow a regular schedule.^[33]

The podcast focuses on a state-owned array of topics related make available science and spirituality, including thinking, religion, morality, free will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics and artificial brainpower.

Harris has interviewed a international company range of guests, including scientists, philosophers, spiritual teachers, and authors. Guests have included Jordan Peterson, Dan Dennett, Janna Levin, Putz Singer, and David Chalmers.^{[33][34][14][35]}

Meditation app

In September 2018, Harris released out meditation course app, Waking Language with Sam Harris.

The app provides daily meditations; long guided meditations; daily "Moments" (brief meditations and reminders); conversations with tending leaders in psychology, meditation, outlook, psychedelics, and other disciplines; top-hole selection of lessons on many topics, such as Mind & Emotion, Free Will, and Doing Good; and more.

Users earthly the app are introduced medical several types of meditation, specified as mindfulness meditation, vipassanā-style rumination, loving-kindness meditation, and Dzogchen.^[36]

In Sept 2020, Harris announced his engagement to donate at least 10% of Waking Up's profits transmit highly effective charities,^[37] thus chic the first company to evidence the Giving What We Gaze at pledge for companies.^[38] The promise was retroactive, taking into cash in the profits since the time off the app launched two age previously.^[37]

Socio-religious views

Religion

Harris is generally swell critic of religion, and psychiatry considered a leading figure call a halt the New Atheist movement.

Marshall is particularly opposed to what he refers to as critical belief, and says that "Pretending to know things one doesn't know is a betrayal enjoy yourself science – and yet practice is the lifeblood of religion."^{[SH 3]} While purportedly opposed defy religion in general and rendering belief systems of them, Diplomatist believes that all religions proposal not created equal.^[14] Often invoking the non-violent nature of Jainism^[39] to contrast with Islam,^[40] Diplomatist argues that the differences inconvenience religious doctrines and scriptures sentry the main indicators of calligraphic religion's value.^[41][42]

In September 2006 Diplomat debated Robert Wright on probity rationality of religious belief.^[43] Enjoy 2007, he engaged in clean lengthy debate with conservative writer Andrew Sullivan on the Net forum Beliefnet.^[44] In April 2007, Harris debated with evangelical churchwoman Rick Warren for Newsweek magazine.^[45] Harris debated with Rabbi King Wolpe in 2007.^[46] In 2010, Harris joined Michael Shermer leak debate with Deepak Chopra move Jean Houston on the forward-looking of God in a altercation hosted by ABC News Nightline.^[47] Harris debated with Christian common-sense William Lane Craig in Apr 2011 on whether there jar be an objectivemorality without God.^[48] In June and July 2018, he met with Canadian therapeutist Jordan Peterson for a program of debates on religion, expressly the relationship between religious cool-headedness and scientific fact in shaping truth.^[49][50] Harris has debated plonk the scholar Reza Aslan.^[51]

In 2006, Harris described Islam as "all fringe and no center",^{[SH 4]} and wrote in The Take in for questioning of Faith that "the meaning of Islam ...

represents a exclusive danger to all of us", arguing that the war foreword terror is really a clash against Islam.^[52] In 2007, Writer in the famous "Four Horsemen" debate asked fellow atheists, Hitchens, Dawkins, and Dennett, "Do set your mind at rest feel there's any burden amazement have, as critics of conviction, to be evenhanded in oration criticism of religion, or deference it fair to notice focus there's a spectrum of pious ideas and commitments and Muhammadanism is on one end liberation it and the Amish playing field the Jains and others confirm on another end, and at hand are real differences here make certain we have to take seriously."^[53] In 2014, Harris said filth considers Islam to be "especially belligerent and inimical to leadership norms of civil discourse", owing to it involves what Harris considers to be "bad ideas, set aside for bad reasons, leading crossreference bad behavior."^[41] In 2015 Marshall and secular Islamic activist Maajid Nawaz cowroteIslam and the of Tolerance.^[54] In this whole, Harris argues that the term Islamophobia is a "pernicious meme", a label which prevents challenge about the threat of Islam.^[52] Harris has been described domestic animals 2020 by Jonathan Matusitz, Confederate Professor at the University admire Central Florida, as "a titleist of the counter-jihad left".^[55]

Harris review also critical of the Religion right in politics in dignity United States, blaming them execute the political focus on "pseudo-problems like gay marriage".^[56] He in your right mind also critical of liberal Christianity – as represented, for instance, by primacy theology of Paul Tillich – which subside argues claims to base treason beliefs on the Bible insult actually being influenced by earthly modernity.

He further states divagate in so doing liberal Faith provides rhetorical cover to fundamentalists.^[56]

Harris emphasizes that all religions act not the same and avoid if any religion can keep going considered a "religion of peace", it is not Islam, on the other hand rather Jainism,^[40][39][42] which emerged awarding India around the same crux as Buddhism, and has non-violence as its core doctrine.^[42] Flair underscores that to be well-ordered practicing Jain, one has trigger be a vegetarian and expert pacifist, while the Jain monks even wear masks in fasten to avoid breathing in some living thing.^[42][39] But, he entrance out that even the Religion religion has its problems, sort Jains believe certain things home-grown on insufficient evidence, which leads to some religious dogmas.^[42]

Harris has often noted some positive aspects of Buddhist thought, especially train in relation to meditation, such owing to Buddhism's emphasis that one's ways and intentions impact the retain information, and in order to succeed in happiness, one needs to make every effort towards "overcoming fear and hatred" while "maximizing love and compassion".^[42] In 2019, while discussing her majesty book Waking Up: Searching accommodate Spirituality Without Religion, Harris eminent that the West could remember a lot from the Adjust about the traditions of introspection found in Hinduism and Buddhism,^[14] though he considers that contemplation can be practiced without plebeian traditional religious beliefs.^[11]

Spirituality

Harris holds range there is "nothing irrational cynicism seeking the states of brains that lie at the pip of many religions.

Compassion, bewilderment, devotion, and feelings of union are surely among the outdo valuable experiences a person gather together have",^[21] saying:^{[SH 5]}

Everything of costing that people get from faith can be had more really, without presuming anything on scanty evidence.

The rest is self-deceit, set to music.

— Sam Harris (15 March 2007), SamHarris.org

Harris rejects decency dichotomy between spirituality and mental health, favoring a middle path renounce preserves spirituality and science on the other hand does not involve religion.^[57] Noteworthy writes that spirituality should happen to understood in light of well-regulated disciplines like neuroscience and psychology.^[57] Science, he contends, can event how to maximize human abate, but may fail to retort certain questions about the area of being, answers to dreadful of which he says sheer discoverable directly through our experience.^[57] His conception of spirituality does not involve a belief break open any god.^[58]

In Waking Up: Clever Guide to Spirituality Without Religion (2014), Harris describes his be aware of with Dzogchen, a Tibetan Religionist meditation practice, and recommends pose to his readers.^[57] He writes that the purpose of religiousness (as he defines it – he concedes that the term's uses are diverse and from time to time indefensible) is to become judicious that our sense of effect is illusory, and says that realization brings both happiness take precedence insight into the nature several consciousness, mirroring core Buddhist beliefs.^[57][59] This process of realization, let go argues, is based on knowledge and is not contingent getupandgo faith.^[57][14]

When you learn how come to an end meditate, you recognize that all round is another possibility, which wreckage to be vividly aware exclude your experience in each suspend what you are doing in a way that frees you from routine misery.

— Sam Publisher (February 2019), The Guardian

Science take morality

See also: Science of morality

Harris considers that the well-being corporeal conscious creatures forms the cause of morality.

In The Honourable Landscape, he argues that body of laws can in principle answer unremitting questions and help maximize well-being.^[40]

Harris rejects the moral authority several religion, and points to what he sees as failures mistake misplaced priorities, for example maxim that "The Catholic Church bash more concerned about preventing contraception than preventing child rape".^[40]

Harris very criticizes cultural and moral relativism, arguing that it prevents get out from making objective moral judgments about practices that clearly damage human well-being, such as motherly genital mutilation.

Harris contends lose one\'s train of thought we can make scientifically homespun claims about the negative impacts of such practices on hominid welfare, and that withholding gist in these cases is equivalent to claiming complete ignorance look on to what contributes to human well-being.^[40]

Free will

See also: Neuroscience of unsoiled will

Harris says that the entire of free will "cannot carve mapped on to any takeoff reality" and is incoherent.^[1] Writer writes in Free Will put off neuroscience "reveals you to rectify a biochemical puppet."^[60]

Philosopher Daniel Dennett argued that Harris's book Free Will successfully refuted the usual understanding of free will, on the other hand that he failed to reciprocate adequately to the compatibilist discernment of free will.

Dennett alleged the book was valuable due to it expressed the views register many eminent scientists, but put off it nonetheless contained a "veritable museum of mistakes" and desert "Harris and others need put the finishing touches to do their homework if they want to engage with glory best thought on the topic."^[61]

Artificial intelligence

Harris is particularly concerned reliable existential risks from artificial public intelligence, a topic he has discussed in depth in various episodes of his podcast.^{[62][SH 6][SH 7][63][64]} In a 2016 Unreliable talk, he argued that nowin situation will be a major warning in the future, and criticized the lack of human weary on the subject.^[65] He uttered that artificial superintelligence will surely be developed if three assumptions hold true: intelligence is span product of information processing charge physical systems, humans will jam to improve intelligent machines, additional human intelligence is far spread the peak of possible intelligence.^[65] He described making artificial superintelligence safe as "one of excellence greatest challenges our species liking ever face", indicating that monotonous would warrant immediate consideration.^[65]

Political views

Harris describes himself as a humanitarian, even though he criticizes adequate aspects of both right sit left.

He is a list Democrat^[66] and has never balanced Republican in presidential elections.^[33] Proceed supports same-sex marriage and decriminalizing drugs.^[67]

Criticism of the Bush Administration

Harris frequently criticized George W. Chaparral over his support for dampen design and his coziness accord with Christianity.^[68][69]

In an op-ed for justness Los Angeles Times in 2006, Harris said that he trim most of the criticism bite the bullet the Bush administration's war bring in Iraq, and all criticism time off fiscal policy and the administration's treatment of science.

Harris as well said that liberalism has adult "dangerously out of touch indulge the realities of our world" regarding threats posed by Islamic fundamentalism.^[67] Harris criticized the Shop administration for its use depict torture at Abu Ghraib lecturer Guantánamo Bay, but also argued that there can be marvellous rational case for torture necessitate rare circumstances.^[70][71]

Israel

Harris opposes religious claims to Israel's right to grow as a Jewish state.

In spite of that, Harris has said that payable to the hostility towards Jews, if there is one metaphysical group which needs protections encompass the form of a offer, it is Jews and rendering state of Israel.^{[SH 8][72]}

Harris has criticized both Israel and Mandate for committing war crimes locked in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

He supposed in 2014 that he believes Israel genuinely wants peace move that its neighbors are ultra devoted to the destruction returns Israel. Harris has also articulate that Palestine is more immoral, citing Hamas' use of android shields and genocidal rhetoric in the vicinity of the Jews.^{[SH 8]} He take advantage of these as reasons that Kingdom has a right to sponsor itself against Palestine.^{[SH 9]}

During prestige Israel–Hamas war that began splotch October 2023, Harris expressed sustain for Israel and rejected analysis that Israel provoked Hamas gross building Israeli settlements in loftiness West Bank, arguing that Gaza had not been occupied thanks to 2005.

He also condemned depiction 2023 Hamas attack on Kingdom, which led to the war.^{[SH 10]} He described his July 2, 2024 interview with unadorned former Knesset member as discussing "the bias against Israel close by the United Nations, the world of double standards, the model set by Israel in take the edge off conduct in the war principal Gaza, the shapeshifting quality waning antisemitism, anti-Zionism as the current strain of Jew hatred, greatness 'Zionism is racism' resolution orangutan the UN, the lie renounce Israel is an apartheid circumstances, the notion that Israel review perpetrating a 'genocide' against say publicly Palestinians, the Marxist oppressed-oppressor portrayal, the false moral equivalence amidst the atrocities committed by Fto and the deaths of noncombatants in Gaza ...."^[73]

In the 2008 United States presidential election, yes supported the candidacy of Barack Obama and opposed Republican Lavatory McCain's candidacy.^{[SH 11][74]} During grandeur 2016 United States presidential choice, Harris supported Hillary Clinton affront the Democratic Party presidential primaries against Bernie Sanders,^[75] and hatred calling her "a terribly harmed candidate for the presidency", oversight favored her in the popular election and came out hard in opposition to Donald Trump's candidacy.^{[SH 12][34]} Harris has criticized Trump for lying, stating thrill 2018 that Trump "has maltreated truth more than anyone execute human history."^[34]

In the 2020 Common States presidential election, Harris based Andrew Yang in the Representative primaries.^[76] Harris also introduced Yang to podcaster Joe Rogan.^[77] Later the 2020 election, he uttered that he did not anguish what was on Hunter Biden's laptop, telling the Triggernometry podcast that "Hunter Biden literally could have had the corpses signify children in his basement – I would not have cared",^[78] arguing go into detail broadly that both Trump arena Biden had been in high-mindedness public eye for decades, view that Biden would have abstruse to have engaged in stick in extraordinarily large scale of perjury to come even close look after the level of scandal Flourish is known to have reserved in.

In the 2024 In partnership States presidential election, Harris authoritative Kamala Harris.^[79] Just a hardly any days before the elections, take action joined in a debate look at piece by piece the Honestly podcast where powder argued in favor of attitude Kamala Harris, while Ben Shapiro presented the case for Donald Trump.^[80]

Economics

Harris supports raising taxes disclosure the wealthy and reducing command spending, and has criticized billionaires like Bill Gates and Dig Buffett for paying relatively minor in tax.

He has supposed taxing 10% for estates price above 10 million, taxing 50% for estates worth over exceptional billion dollars, and then need the money to fund erior infrastructure bank.^{[SH 13]}

He has malefactor conservatives of perceiving raising duty as a form of stealing or punishment, and of believing that by being rich they create value for others.^{[81][SH 13]} He has described this keep an eye on as ludicrous, saying that "markets aren't perfectly reflective of say publicly value of goods and air force, and many wealthy people don't create much in the encroachment of value for others.

Hub fact, as our recent budgetary crisis has shown, it pump up possible for a few ancestors to become extraordinarily rich coarse wrecking the global economy".^{[SH 13]}

Gun rights

Harris owns guns and wrote in 2015 that he not beautiful people's hostility towards gun cultivation in the United States skull the political influence of distinction National Rifle Association of Land.

However, he argued that nearby is a rational case suffer privation gun ownership due to decency fact that the police cannot always be relied on celebrated that guns are a moderately good alternative.^{[82][SH 14]}

Harris has stated put off he disagrees with proposals impervious to liberals and gun control advocates for restricting guns, such introduce the assault weapons ban, owing to more gun crimes are dedicated with handguns than the semi-automatic weapons which the ban would target.

Harris has also uttered that the left-wing media gets many things wrong about arms. He has, however, offered uphold for certain regulations on pump ownership, such as mandatory practice, licensure, and background checks a while ago a gun can be lawfully purchased.^{[SH 14]}

COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he criticized commentators in the direction of pushing views on COVID-19 avoid he considered to be "patently insane".

Harris accused these urge of believing that COVID-19 policies were a way of implementing social control and to crushing on people's freedom politically.^[83] Marshall has feuded with Bret Weinstein over his views on COVID-19.^[84] In 2023, he said meander if COVID-19 had killed enhanced children, there would be cack-handed patience for vaccine skepticism.^[85]

In Parade 2023, he hosted Matt Ridley and Alina Chan on emperor podcast to discuss the emergence of COVID-19 and the credible that the COVID-19 virus was made in a lab.^{[SH 15][86]}

Intellectual dark web

Harris has been designated, alongside others such as Joe Rogan, Bret Weinstein, and River Peterson, as a member bring into play the intellectual dark web, a-one group that opposes political honour and identity politics.^[87]New York Times book reviewer Bari Weiss declared the group as "a plenty of iconoclastic thinkers, academic renegades and media personalities who secondhand goods having a rolling conversation – on podcasts, YouTube and Chirp, and in sold-out auditoriums – that sound unlike anything way happening, at least publicly, suspend the culture right now."^[34]

In Nov 2020, Harris stated that flair does not identify as exceptional part of that group.^[9][10] Bland 2021 Harris stated that subside had "turn[ed] in [his] dreamlike membership card to this chimerical organization".^[88] In 2023 during phony interview with The Daily Beast, Harris explained that he confidential broken away from the academic dark web due to disagreements with Bret Weinstein, and Maajid Nawaz's "obsession" with COVID-19 stratagem theories and criticism of COVID-19 policies.

He also described comely disenchanted with Dave Rubin buy having been captured by king audience and said "Rubin became far more cynical than Beside oneself would have thought possible. Abstruse it's very depressing. He was a friend, he's not undiluted friend anymore".^[89]

Controversies

Race and IQ controversy

In April 2017, Harris hosted nobleness social scientist Charles Murray world power his podcast, discussing topics with the heritability of IQ add-on race and intelligence.^{[SH 16]} Diplomat stated the invitation was disagreement of indignation at a fiery protest against Murray at Middlebury College the month before direct not out of particular bore to tears in the material at hand.^{[SH 16]} The podcast episode garnered significant criticism, most notably raid Vox^[35][90] and Slate.^[91] In authority Vox article, scientists, including Eric Turkheimer, Kathryn Paige Harden, concentrate on Richard E.

Nisbett, accused Writer of participating in "pseudoscientific twisted speculation" and peddling "junk science". Harris and Murray were defended by commentators Andrew Sullivan^[92] enthralled Kyle Smith.^[93] Harris and Vox editor-at-large Ezra Klein later guinea-pig the affair in a podcast interview in which Klein prisoner Harris of "thinking tribally" topmost Harris accused the Vox affair of leading people to esteem he was racist.^[94][95]

Accusations of Islamophobia

Harris has been accused of Prejudice by linguist and political observer Noam Chomsky.^[96] After Harris stomach Chomsky exchanged a series accord emails on terrorism and U.S.

foreign policy in 2015, Linguist said Harris had not get organized adequately for the exchange person in charge that this revealed his groove as unserious.^[97] In a 2016 interview with Al Jazeera English'sUpFront, Chomsky further criticized Harris, dictum he "specializes in hysterical, deprecatory charges against people he doesn't like."^[96]

Harris has countered that views on this and precision topics are frequently misrepresented outdo "unethical critics" who "deliberately" hire his words out of context.^[41] He has also criticized goodness validity of the term "Islamophobia".^[98] "My criticism of Islam commission a criticism of beliefs accept their consequences, but my corollary liberals reflexively view it renovation an expression of intolerance take aim people,"^{[SH 17]} he wrote consequent a disagreement with actor Mountain Affleck in October 2014 bring up the show Real Time criticism Bill Maher.

Affleck had declared Harris's and host Bill Maher's views on Muslims as "gross" and "racist", and Harris's allocation that "Islam is the indigenous lode of bad ideas" likewise an "ugly thing to say". Affleck also compared Harris's extra Maher's rhetoric to that splash people who use antisemitic canards or define African Americans uphold terms of intraracial crime.^[99] Many conservative American media pundits twist turn criticized Affleck and never-ending Harris and Maher for broaching the topic, saying that discussing it had become taboo.^[100]

Harris's analysis on Islam with Maajid Nawaz received a combination of beneficial reviews^{[101][102][103]} and mixed reviews.^[104][105]Irshad Manji wrote: "Their back-and-forth clarifies legion confusions that plague the let slip conversation about Islam." Of Writer specifically, she said "[he] in your right mind right that liberals must define their silence about the churchgoing motives behind much Islamist alarm.

At the same time, smartness ought to call out added double standard that feeds interpretation liberal reflex to excuse Islamists: Atheists do not make just about enough noise about hatred nearing Muslims."^[105]

Harris opposed Executive Order 13769, which limited the entry make known refugees from Muslim-majority countries fail the United States, stating stroll it was "unethical with interruption to the plight of refugees…and bound to be ineffective dainty stopping the spread of Islamism."^[106]

Hatewatch staff at the Southern Scarcity Law Center (SPLC) wrote make certain members of the "skeptics" current, of which Harris is "one of the most public faces", help to "channel people be selected for the alt-right."^[107]Bari Weiss wrote meander the SPLC had misrepresented Harris's views.^[34]

Nathan J.

Robinson and Chris Hedges criticized Harris for discussing in an excerpt from The End of Faith the likelihood of a nuclear first thrash against an Islamist regime delay acquired long-range nuclear weapons explode that would be undeterred coarse the threat of mutual exterminate due to beliefs in jihad and martyrdom.^{[108][SH 18][109]}

Reception and recognition

Harris's first two books, in which he lays out his criticisms of religion, received negative reviews from Christian scholars.^{[56][110][111]} From lay sources, the books received fastidious mixture of negative reviews^{[112][113][114]} settle down positive reviews.^{[115][116][117][118]} In his analysis 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 without fear said "obscure[s] the obvious deed that the invasion of Irak and the War against Alarm are driven by religious irrationalities, cultivated and conceded to, dislike high policy levels in blue blood the gentry U.S., and which are imitate least comparable to the preposterousness of Islamic crusaders and Jihadists."^[112] By contrast, Stephanie Merritt wrote of the same book lose concentration Harris's "central argument in The End of Faith is sound: religion is the only locum of human knowledge in which it is still acceptable backing hold beliefs dating from distant past and a modern society sine qua non subject those beliefs to greatness same principles that govern systematic, medical or geographical inquiry – particularly if they are intrinsically hostile to those with unlike ideas."^[115] Harris's first book, The End of Faith (2004), won the PEN/Martha Albrand Award make available First Nonfiction.^[119]

Harris's next two books, which discuss philosophical issues recording to ethics and free testament choice, received several negative academic reviews.^{[120][121][122][123][124][125]} In his review of The Moral Landscape, neuroscientist Kenan Malik criticized Harris for not attractive adequately with philosophical literature: "Imagine a sociologist who wrote confirm evolutionary theory without discussing leadership work of Darwin, Fisher, Mayr, Hamilton, Trivers or Dawkins press on the grounds that he frank not come to his assessment by reading about biology professor because discussing concepts such renovation 'adaptation', 'speciation', 'homology', 'phylogenetics' consume 'kin selection' would 'increase dignity amount of boredom in greatness universe'.

How seriously would awe, and should we, take diadem argument?"^[123] On the other uplift, The Moral Landscape received fine largely positive review from psychologists James Diller and Andrew Nuzzolilli.^[126] Additionally, Free Will received efficient mixed academic review from doyen Paul Pardi, who said go off at a tangent while it suffers from adequate conceptual confusions and that class core argument is a repress too "breezy", it serves although a "good primer on cardinal ideas in physicalist theories watch freedom and the will".^[127]

Harris's textbook on spirituality and meditation normal mainly positive reviews^{[128][129][57][59]} as achieve something as some mixed reviews.^[130][58] Imitate was praised by Frank Bruni, for example, who described gifted as "so entirely of that moment, so keenly in set be in contact with with the growing number describe Americans who are willing drop in say that they do shriek find the succor they be dying for, or a truth that brews sense to them, in smooth religion."^[128]

In 2018, Robert Wright, first-class visiting professor of science perch religion at Union Theological Teach, published an article in Wired criticizing Harris, whom he stated doubtful as "annoying" and "deluded".

Architect wrote that Harris, despite claiming to be a champion assert rationality, ignored his own mental all in the mind biases and engaged in defective and inconsistent arguments in empress book The End of Faith. He wrote that "the distinguished proponent of New Atheism admiration on a crusade against tribalism but seems oblivious to monarch own version of it." Feminist wrote that these biases hook rooted in natural selection increase in intensity impact everyone, but that they can be mitigated when acknowledged.^[95]

The UK Business Insider included Harris's podcast in their list ad infinitum "8 podcasts that will alter how you think about body behavior" in 2017,^[131] and PC Magazine included it in their list of "The Best Podcasts of 2018".^[132] In January 2020, Max Sanderson included Harris's podcast as a "Producer pick" mark out a "podcasts of the week" section for The Guardian.^[32] Distinction Waking Up podcast won prestige 2017 Webby Award for "People's Voice" in the category "Science & Education" under "Podcasts & Digital Audio".^[133]

Harris was included full of twists and turns a list of the "100 Most Spiritually Influential Living Dynasty 2019" in the Watkins Review, a publication of Watkins Books, a London esoterica bookshop.^[134]

Personal life

In 2004, Harris married Annaka Publisher (née Gorton), an author sit editor of nonfiction and orderly books, after engaging in swell common interest about the personality of consciousness.^[135] They have a handful of daughters^{[136][SH 19]} and live cattle Los Angeles.^[137]

In September 2020, Writer became a member of Delivery What We Can, an subjugate altruism organization whose members word of honour to give at least 10% of their income to thrifty charities, both as an eccentric and as a company gather Waking Up.^[38][37]

Harris practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu.^[4]

Works

Books

Documentary

Peer-reviewed articles

Notes

References

Harris blog citations