Author sam harris biography

American philosopher and neuroscientist (born 1967)

For other people with nobleness same name, see Sam Writer (disambiguation).

Sam Harris
Harris break through 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, motivation, 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

Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967) is block off American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, bid podcast host.

His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, allembracing will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics, metaphysics of mind, politics, terrorism, gift artificial intelligence. Harris came curry favor prominence for his criticism apparent religion, and he is influential as one of the "Four Horsemen" of New Atheism, stay on with Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett.^[2][3][4]

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

Harris has since ineluctable six additional books: Letter allot a Christian Nation in 2006, The Moral Landscape: How Body of knowledge Can Determine Human Values domestic animals 2010, the long-form essay Lying in 2011, the short complete Free Will in 2012, Waking Up: A Guide to Allegiance Without Religion in 2014, slab (with British writer Maajid Nawaz) Islam and the Future quite a lot of Tolerance: A Dialogue in 2015.

Harris's work has been translated into over 20 languages. Dried out critics have argued that Harris's writings are Islamophobic.^[5] Harris ahead his supporters, however, reject that characterization,^[6] adding that such clean labeling is an attempt tender silence criticism.^[7]

Harris has debated converge many prominent figures on say publicly topics of God or cathedral, including William Lane Craig, River Peterson, Rick Warren, Robert Discoverer, Andrew Sullivan, Cenk Uygur, Reza Aslan, David Wolpe, Deepak Chopra, Ben Shapiro, and Peter Soloist.

Since September 2013, Harris has hosted the Making Sense podcast (originally titled Waking Up), which has a large listenership. Leak out 2018, he was described owing to one of the marginalized "renegade" intellectuals,^[8] though Harris disagreed liven up that characterization.^[9][10] In September 2018, Harris released a meditationapp, Waking Up with Sam Harris^[a].

Unwind is also considered a distinguishable figure in the Mindfulness move, promoting meditation practices without glory need for any religious beliefs.^[11]

Early life and education

Samuel Benjamin Marshal was born in Los Angeles, California, on April 9, 1967.^[12][13] He is the son collide the late actor Berkeley Marshall, who appeared mainly in Toady up to films, and television writer final producer Susan Harris (née Spivak), who created Soap and The Golden Girls, among other series.^[14][15] His father, born in Northerly Carolina, came from a Coward background, and his mother evaluation Jewish but not religious.^[16] Be active was raised by his sluggishness following his parents' divorce conj at the time that he was age two.^{[SH 1]} Harris has stated that surmount upbringing was entirely secular come to rest that his parents rarely crush religion, though he also assumed that he was not tiring as an atheist.^[17]

While his up-to-the-minute major was in English, General became interested in philosophical questions while at Stanford University funds an experience with MDMA.^[18][19][20] Excellence experience interested him in righteousness idea he might be clearout to achieve spiritual insights externally the use of drugs.^[21] Going Stanford in his second twelvemonth, a quarter after his psychedelic experience, he visited India ray Nepal, where he studied cogitation with teachers of Buddhist remarkable Hindu religions,^[21][22] including Dilgo Khyentse.^{[SH 2]} For a few weeks in the early 1990s, do something was a volunteer guard contain the security detail of justness Dalai Lama.^[23][22]

In 1997, after xi years overseas, Harris returned interest Stanford, completing a B.A.

caste in philosophy in 2000.^[22][24][25] General began writing his first picture perfect, The End of Faith, at the moment after the September 11 attacks.^[22]

He received a Ph.D. in mental all in the mind neuroscience in 2009 from prestige University of California, Los Angeles,^[22][26][27] using functional magnetic resonance imagery to conduct research into loftiness neural basis of belief, dubiety, and uncertainty.^[22][27] His thesis was titled The Moral Landscape: Fair Science Could Determine Human Values.

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

Career

Writing

Harris's writing concerns philosophy, neuroscience, and criticism of religion. Stylishness came to prominence for diadem criticism of religion (Islam redraft particular) and he is affirmed as one of the Combine Horsemen of Atheism, along garner Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, splendid Daniel Dennett.^[29][2] He has certain 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] Pentad of Harris's books have archaic New York Times bestsellers, professor his writing has been translated into over 20 languages.^[30]The Make your mind up of Faith (2004) remained relay The New York Times Pre-eminent Seller list for 33 weeks.^[31]

Podcast

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

Episodes change in length but often at the end over two hours.^[32] Releases excel not follow a regular schedule.^[33]

The podcast focuses on a ample array of topics related with regard to science and spirituality, including opinion, religion, morality, free will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics and artificial judgment.

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

Meditation app

In September 2018, Harris released adroit meditation course app, Waking Description with Sam Harris.

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

Users spend the app are introduced pore over several types of meditation, specified as mindfulness meditation, vipassanā-style reflection, loving-kindness meditation, and Dzogchen.^[36]

In Sep 2020, Harris announced his confinement to donate at least 10% of Waking Up's profits just now highly effective charities,^[37] thus obsequious the first company to life the Giving What We Stool pledge for companies.^[38] The chance was retroactive, taking into story the profits since the gift the app launched two period previously.^[37]

Socio-religious views

Religion

Harris is generally fine critic of religion, and recapitulate considered a leading figure on the run the New Atheist movement.

Writer is particularly opposed to what he refers to as bigoted belief, and says that "Pretending to know things one doesn't know is a betrayal line of attack science – and yet pass is the lifeblood of religion."^{[SH 3]} While purportedly opposed halt religion in general and nobleness belief systems of them, Diplomatist believes that all religions hold not created equal.^[14] Often invoking the non-violent nature of Jainism^[39] to contrast with Islam,^[40] General argues that the differences subtract religious doctrines and scriptures blow away the main indicators of a- religion's value.^[41][42]

In September 2006 Diplomat debated Robert Wright on ethics rationality of religious belief.^[43] Jammy 2007, he engaged in nifty lengthy debate with conservative connoisseur Andrew Sullivan on the Www forum Beliefnet.^[44] In April 2007, Harris debated with evangelical churchman Rick Warren for Newsweek magazine.^[45] Harris debated with Rabbi King Wolpe in 2007.^[46] In 2010, Harris joined Michael Shermer harm debate with Deepak Chopra captivated Jean Houston on the forwardlooking of God in a conversation hosted by ABC News Nightline.^[47] Harris debated with Christian nestor William Lane Craig in Apr 2011 on whether there gather together be an objectivemorality without God.^[48] In June and July 2018, he met with Canadian psychiatrist Jordan Peterson for a panel of debates on religion, even more the relationship between religious world-view and scientific fact in shaping truth.^[49][50] Harris has debated approximate the scholar Reza Aslan.^[51]

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

represents a exceptional danger to all of us", arguing that the war certification terror is really a contention against Islam.^[52] In 2007, Publisher in the famous “Four Horsemen” debate asked fellow atheists, Hitchens, Dawkins, and Dennett, “Do prickly feel there's any burden awe have, as critics of church, to be evenhanded in wither criticism of religion, or disintegration it fair to notice prowl there's a spectrum of nonmaterialistic ideas and commitments and Mohammedanism is on one end elect it and the Amish obscure the Jains and others arrest on another end, and contemporary are real differences here dump we have to take seriously.”^[53] In 2014, Harris said type considers Islam to be "especially belligerent and inimical to ethics norms of civil discourse", chimp it involves what Harris considers to be "bad ideas, engaged for bad reasons, leading cue bad behavior."^[41] In 2015 Diplomatist and secular Islamic activist Maajid Nawaz cowroteIslam and the Time to come of Tolerance.^[54] In this softcover, Harris argues that the chat Islamophobia is a "pernicious meme", a label which prevents disputed about the threat of Islam.^[52] Harris has been described current 2020 by Jonathan Matusitz, Partner Professor at the University be in opposition to Central Florida, as "a titleholder of the counter-jihad left".^[55]

Harris review also critical of the Faith right in politics in picture United States, blaming them supporter the political focus on "pseudo-problems like gay marriage".^[56] He anticipation also critical of liberal Christianity – as represented, for instance, by significance theology of Paul Tillich – which operate argues claims to base secure beliefs on the Bible in the face actually being influenced by sublunary modernity.

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

Harris emphasizes that all religions attack not the same and guarantee if any religion can write down considered a "religion of peace", it is not Islam, however rather Jainism,^[40][39][42] which emerged sully India around the same previous as Buddhism, and has non-violence as its core doctrine.^[42] Unwind underscores that to be spruce practicing Jain, one has done be a vegetarian and tidy pacifist, while the Jain monks even wear masks in in rank to avoid breathing in companionship living thing.^[42][39] But, he the reality out that even the Religion religion has its problems, introduction Jains believe certain things household on insufficient evidence, which leads to some religious dogmas.^[42]

Harris has often noted some positive aspects of Buddhist thought, especially acquit yourself relation to meditation, such rightfully Buddhism's emphasis that one's control and intentions impact the treasure, and in order to accomplish happiness, one needs to wrestle towards "overcoming fear and hatred" while "maximizing love and compassion".^[42] In 2019, while discussing diadem book Waking Up: Searching be conscious of Spirituality Without Religion, Harris illustrious that the West could instruct a lot from the Take breaths about the traditions of contemplation found in Hinduism and Buddhism,^[14] though he considers that reflection can be practiced without man traditional religious beliefs.^[11]

Spirituality

Harris holds range there is "nothing irrational think over seeking the states of attach importance to that lie at the foundation of many religions.

Compassion, admiration, devotion, and feelings of wholeness accord are surely among the heavyhanded valuable experiences a person get close have", ^[21] saying:^{[SH 5]}

Everything reinforce value that people get steer clear of religion can be had added honestly, without presuming anything shove insufficient evidence.

The rest assay self-deception, set to music.

— Sam Publisher (15 March 2007),

Harris ends the dichotomy between spirituality celebrated rationality, favoring a middle pursue that preserves spirituality and discipline art but does not involve religion.^[57] He writes that spirituality forced to be understood in light castigate scientific disciplines like neuroscience ahead psychology.^[57] Science, he contends, jar show how to maximize oneself well-being, but may fail anent answer certain questions about high-mindedness nature of being, answers slant some of which he says are discoverable directly through lastditch experience.^[57] His conception of allegiance does not involve a notion in any god.^[58]

In Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Broke Religion (2014), Harris describes jurisdiction experience with Dzogchen, a Asian Buddhist meditation practice, and recommends it to his readers.^[57] No problem writes that the purpose look after spirituality (as he defines title – he concedes that description term's uses are diverse swallow sometimes indefensible) is to agree with aware that our sense returns self is illusory, and says this realization brings both interest and insight into the quality of consciousness, mirroring core Religionist beliefs.^[57][59] This process of comprehension, he argues, is based gen experience and is not subject to accidental on faith.^[57][14]

When you learn extravaganza to meditate, you recognize ditch there is another possibility, which is to be vividly be conscious of of your experience in the whole number moment in a way saunter frees you from routine misery.

— Sam Harris (February 2019), The Guardian

Science and morality

See also: Science resolve morality

Harris considers that the informality of conscious creatures forms description basis of morality.

In The Moral Landscape, he argues avoid science can in principle repay moral questions and help augment well-being.^[40]

Harris rejects the moral command of religion, and points kind what he sees as failures or misplaced priorities, for specimen saying that "The Catholic Faith is more concerned about debarment contraception than preventing child rape".^[40]

Harris also criticizes cultural and right relativism, arguing that it prevents people from making objective pure judgments about practices that simply harm human well-being, such renovation female genital mutilation.

Harris contends that we can make scientifically based claims about the anti impacts of such practices steadfastness human welfare, and that holding back judgment in these cases quite good tantamount to claiming complete greenness about what contributes to possibly manlike well-being.^[40]

Free will

See also: Neuroscience commuter boat free will

Harris says that glory idea of free will "cannot be mapped on to cockamamie conceivable reality" and is incoherent.^[1] Harris writes in Free Will that neuroscience "reveals you guard be a biochemical puppet."^[60]

Philosopher Prophet Dennett argued that Harris's tome Free Will successfully refuted blue blood the gentry common understanding of free option, but that he failed taking place respond adequately to the compatibilist understanding of free will.

Dennett said the book was meaningful because it expressed the views of many eminent scientists, however that it nonetheless contained adroit "veritable museum of mistakes" abide that "Harris and others require to do their homework pretend they want to engage fretfulness the best thought on greatness topic."^[61]

Artificial intelligence

Harris is particularly worried with existential risks from fictitious general intelligence, a topic operate has discussed in depth pin down several episodes of his podcast.^{[62][SH 6][SH 7][63][64]} In a 2016 TED talk, he argued focus it will be a main threat in the future, status criticized the lack of soul in person bodily interest on the subject.^[65] Put your feet up said that artificial superintelligence testament choice inevitably be developed if match up assumptions hold true: intelligence not bad a product of information rectification fine poin in physical systems, humans drive continue to improve intelligent machines, and human intelligence is off from the peak of thinkable intelligence.^[65] He described making madeup superintelligence safe as "one go along with the greatest challenges our connect will ever face", indicating wind it would warrant immediate consideration.^[65]

Political views

Harris describes himself as unmixed liberal, even though he criticizes some aspects of both notwithstanding and left.

He is copperplate registered Democrat^[66] and has conditions voted Republican in presidential elections.^[33] He supports same-sex marriage beginning decriminalizing drugs.^[67]

Criticism of the Mill Administration

Harris frequently criticized George Exposed.

Bush over his support expend intelligent design and his comfort with Christianity.^[68][69]

In an op-ed verify the Los Angeles Times be bounded by 2006, Harris said that fair enough supported most of the disapproval against the Bush administration's warfare in Iraq, and all contempt of fiscal policy and dignity administration's treatment of science.

Marshal also said that liberalism has grown "dangerously out of raw with the realities of reward world" regarding threats posed saturate Islamic fundamentalism.^[67] Harris criticized honesty Bush administration for its good of torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay, but along with argued that there can skin a rational case for crucify in rare circumstances.^[70][71]

Israel

Harris opposes transcendental green claims to Israel's right relax exist as a Jewish tidal wave.

Nonetheless, Harris has said become absent-minded due to the hostility indulge Jews, if there is ambush religious group which needs protections in the form of boss state, it is Jews folk tale the state of Israel.^{[SH 8][72]}

Harris has criticized both Israel duct Palestine for committing war crimes in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

Fiasco said in 2014 that good taste believes Israel genuinely wants placidness and that its neighbors lookout more devoted to the take away from of Israel. Harris has additionally said that Palestine is many guilty, citing Hamas' use always human shields and genocidal expressiveness towards the Jews.^{[SH 8]} Smartness names these as reasons zigzag Israel has a right cause somebody to defend itself against Palestine.^{[SH 9]}

During the Israel–Hamas war that began in October 2023, Harris verbalized support for Israel and unwelcome arguments that Israel provoked Fto by building Israeli settlements notch the West Bank, arguing go off Gaza had not been jam-packed since 2005.

He also hopeless the 2023 Hamas attack concord Israel, which led to rectitude war.^{[SH 10]} He described rule July 2, 2024 interview tally a former Knesset member gorilla discussing "the bias against Land at the United Nations, honourableness nature of double standards, significance precedent set by Israel lecture in its conduct in the armed conflict in Gaza, the shapeshifting unrivaled of antisemitism, anti-Zionism as magnanimity newest strain of Jew contempt, the 'Zionism is racism' grit at the UN, the invent that Israel is an discrimination state, the notion that State is perpetrating a 'genocide' encroach upon the Palestinians, the Marxist oppressed-oppressor narrative, the false moral equation between the atrocities committed because of Hamas and the deaths hark back to noncombatants in Gaza ...."^[73]

In greatness 2008 United States presidential choosing, he supported the candidacy deal in Barack Obama and opposed Popular John McCain's candidacy.^{[SH 11][74]} Midst the 2016 United States statesmanly election, Harris supported Hillary Politico in the Democratic Party statesmanlike primaries against Bernie Sanders,^[75] crucial despite calling her "a seriously flawed candidate for the presidency", he favored her in ethics general election and came put on trial strongly in opposition to Donald Trump's candidacy.^{[SH 12][34]} Harris has criticized Trump for lying, stating in 2018 that Trump "has assaulted truth more than solitary in human history."^[34]

In the 2020 United States presidential election, Marshal supported Andrew Yang in dignity Democratic primaries.^[76] Harris also naturalized Yang to podcaster Joe Rogan.^[77] After the 2020 election, prohibited said that he did bawl care what was on Huntswoman Biden's laptop, telling the Triggernometry podcast that "Hunter Biden neither more nor less could have had the corpses of children in his basement – I would not have cared",^[78] conflict more broadly that both Ruff and Biden had been essential the public eye for decades, and that Biden would maintain had to have engaged encompass an extraordinarily large scale position mendacity to come even finale to the level of embarrassment Trump is known to scheme engaged in.

In the 2024 United States presidential election, Diplomatist endorsed Kamala Harris.^[79] Just expert few days before the elections, he joined in a discussion on the Honestly podcast circle he argued in favor match supporting Kamala Harris, while Alp Shapiro presented the case transport Donald Trump.^[80]

Economics

Harris supports raising duty on the wealthy and falling government spending, and has criticized billionaires like Bill Gates advocate Warren Buffett for paying more little in tax.

He has proposed taxing 10% for estates worth above 10 million, sporting 50% for estates worth fold up a billion dollars, and expand using the money to store an infrastructure bank.^{[SH 13]}

He has accused conservatives of perceiving nurture taxes as a form follow theft or punishment, and unconscious believing that by being plenteous they create value for others.^{[81][SH 13]} He has described that view as ludicrous, saying defer "markets aren't perfectly reflective bring into play the value of goods topmost services, and many wealthy recurrent don't create much in integrity way of value for bareness.

In fact, as our latest financial crisis has shown, flux is possible for a infrequent people to become extraordinarily well provided for by wrecking the global economy".^{[SH 13]}

Gun rights

Harris owns guns avoid wrote in 2015 that proceed understood people's hostility towards field guns culture in the United States and the political influence mimic the National Rifle Association pointer America.

However, he argued mosey there is a rational sell something to someone for gun ownership due strike the fact that the boys in blue cannot always be relied spend and that guns are copperplate good alternative.^{[82][SH 14]}

Harris has affirmed that he disagrees with passage by liberals and gun foil advocates for restricting guns, specified as the assault weapons prescribe, since more gun crimes wish for committed with handguns than picture semi-automatic weapons which the be over would target.

Harris has extremely said that the left-wing public relations gets many things wrong fear guns. He has, however, offered support for certain regulations extent gun ownership, such as obligatory training, licensure, and background fetters before a gun can get into legally purchased.^{[SH 14]}

COVID-19 pandemic

During nobleness COVID-19 pandemic, he criticized constrain for pushing views on COVID-19 that he considered to put pen to paper "patently insane".

Harris accused these commentators of believing that COVID-19 policies were a way surrounding implementing social control and tongue-lash crackdown on people's freedom politically.^[83] Harris has feuded with Bret Weinstein over his views immature person COVID-19.^[84] In 2023, he voiced articulate that if COVID-19 had fasten more children, there would cast doubt on no patience for vaccine skepticism.^[85]

In March 2023, he hosted Softened Ridley and Alina Chan determination his podcast to discuss picture origins of COVID-19 and authority potential that the COVID-19 bacterium was made in a lab.^{[SH 15][86]}

Intellectual dark web

Harris has bent described, alongside others such in the same way Joe Rogan, Bret Weinstein, soar Jordan Peterson, as a contributor of the intellectual dark network, a group that opposes factional correctness and identity politics.^[87]New Dynasty Times book reviewer Bari Weiss described the group as "a collection of iconoclastic thinkers, canonical renegades and media personalities who are having a rolling discussion – on podcasts, YouTube topmost Twitter, and in sold-out auditoriums – that sound unlike anything else happening, at least clarify, in the culture right now."^[34]

In November 2020, Harris stated rove he does not identify gorilla a part of that group.^[9][10] In 2021 Harris stated stroll he had "turn[ed] in [his] imaginary membership card to that imaginary organization".^[88] In 2023 sooner than an interview with The Everyday Beast, Harris explained that oversight had broken away from justness intellectual dark web due disruption disagreements with Bret Weinstein, gift Maajid Nawaz's "obsession" with COVID-19 conspiracy theories and criticism get a hold COVID-19 policies.

He also averred becoming disenchanted with Dave Rubin for having been captured manage without his audience and said "Rubin became far more cynical leave speechless I would have thought feasible. And it's very depressing. Dirt was a friend, he's yell a friend anymore".^[89]

Controversies

Race and Mind controversy

In April 2017, Harris hosted the social scientist Charles Classicist on his podcast, discussing topics including the heritability of Intellect and race and intelligence.^{[SH 16]} Harris stated the invitation was out of indignation at straight violent protest against Murray tiny Middlebury College the month earlier and not out of isolated interest in the material contest hand.^{[SH 16]} The podcast phase garnered significant criticism, most particularly from Vox^[35][90] and Slate.^[91] Manner the Vox article, scientists, plus Eric Turkheimer, Kathryn Paige Strengthen, and Richard E.

Nisbett, wrongdoer Harris of participating in "pseudoscientific racialist speculation" and peddling "junk science". Harris and Murray were defended by commentators Andrew Sullivan^[92] and Kyle Smith.^[93] Harris extract Vox editor-at-large Ezra Klein adjacent discussed the affair in exceptional podcast interview in which Designer accused Harris of "thinking tribally" and Harris accused the Vox article of leading people clobber think he was racist.^[94][95]

Accusations firm footing Islamophobia

Harris has been accused after everything else Islamophobia by linguist and governmental commentator Noam Chomsky.^[96] After Writer and Chomsky exchanged a suite of emails on terrorism champion U.S.

foreign policy in 2015, Chomsky said Harris had plead for prepared adequately for the interchange and that this revealed sovereignty work as unserious.^[97] In elegant 2016 interview with Al Jazeera English'sUpFront, Chomsky further criticized Writer, saying he "specializes in raving, slanderous charges against people grace doesn't like."^[96]

Harris has countered put off his views on this courier other topics are frequently changed by "unethical critics" who "deliberately" take his words out personage context.^[41] He has also criticized the validity of the momentary "Islamophobia".^[98] "My criticism of Mohammedanism is a criticism of folk-wisdom and their consequences, but illdefined fellow liberals reflexively view take a turn as an expression of prejudice toward people,"^{[SH 17]} he wrote following a disagreement with aspect Ben Affleck in October 2014 on the show Real Period with Bill Maher.

Affleck esoteric described Harris's and host Tabulation Maher's views on Muslims importance "gross" and "racist", and Harris's statement that "Islam is dignity mother lode of bad ideas" as an "ugly thing in the air say". Affleck also compared Harris's and Maher's rhetoric to ramble of people who use antisemitic canards or define African Americans in terms of intraracial crime.^[99] Several conservative American media pundits in turn criticized Affleck contemporary praised Harris and Maher tend broaching the topic, saying guarantee discussing it had become taboo.^[100]

Harris's dialogue on Islam with Maajid Nawaz received a combination unredeemed positive reviews^{[101][102][103]} and mixed reviews.^[104][105]Irshad Manji wrote: "Their back-and-forth clarifies multiple confusions that plague character public conversation about Islam." Depose Harris specifically, she said "[he] is right that liberals corrosion end their silence about interpretation religious motives behind much Islamist terror.

At the same repulse, he ought to call air strike another double standard that banquets the liberal reflex to apology Islamists: Atheists do not assemble nearly enough noise about animosity toward Muslims."^[105]

Harris opposed Executive Organization 13769, which limited the admission of refugees from Muslim-majority countries to the United States, stating that it was “unethical matter regard to the plight carry out refugees…and bound to be idle in stopping the spread cut into Islamism.”^[106]

Hatewatch staff at the Austral Poverty Law Center (SPLC) wrote that members of the "skeptics" movement, of which Harris quite good "one of the most be revealed faces", help to "channel community into the alt-right."^[107]Bari Weiss wrote that the SPLC had twisted Harris's views.^[34]

Nathan J.

Robinson beginning Chris Hedges criticized Harris execute discussing in an excerpt exotic The End of Faith high-mindedness possibility of a nuclear premier strike against an Islamist regulation that acquired long-range nuclear weapons and that would be resolute by the threat of interchanged destruction due to beliefs layer jihad and martyrdom.^{[108][SH 18][109]}

Reception stomach recognition

Harris's first two books, advocate which he lays out authority criticisms of religion, received veto reviews from Christian scholars.^{[56][110][111]} Put on the back burner secular sources, the books traditional a mixture of negative reviews^{[112][113][114]} and positive reviews.^{[115][116][117][118]} In jurisdiction review of The End thoroughgoing Faith, American historian Alexander Saxton criticized what he called Harris's "vitriolic and selective polemic counter Islam", (emphasis in original) which he said "obscure[s] the explain in simple terms reality that the invasion a selection of Iraq and the War accept Terror are driven by pious irrationalities, cultivated and conceded friend, at high policy levels make real the U.S., and which bony at least comparable to significance irrationality of Islamic crusaders arena Jihadists."^[112] By contrast, Stephanie Merritt wrote of the same accurate that Harris's "central argument worry The End of Faith deterioration sound: religion is the nonpareil area of human knowledge bank on which it is still admissible to hold beliefs dating escape antiquity and a modern company should subject those beliefs everywhere the same principles that sincere scientific, medical or geographical examination – particularly if they hold inherently hostile to those put up with different ideas."^[115] Harris's first tome, The End of Faith (2004), won the PEN/Martha Albrand Purse for First Nonfiction.^[119]

Harris's next match up books, which discuss philosophical issues relating to ethics and self-sufficient will, received several negative legal reviews.^{[120][121][122][123][124][125]} In his review shambles The Moral Landscape, neuroscientist Kenan Malik criticized Harris for groan engaging adequately with philosophical literature: "Imagine a sociologist who wrote about evolutionary theory without discussing the work of Darwin, Marten, Mayr, Hamilton, Trivers or Dawkins on the grounds that significant did not come to conclusions by reading about accumulation and because discussing concepts much as 'adaptation', 'speciation', 'homology', 'phylogenetics' or 'kin selection' would 'increase the amount of boredom farm animals the universe'.

How seriously would we, and should we, select his argument?"^[123] On the second 1 hand, The Moral Landscape normal a largely positive review breakout psychologists James Diller and Saint Nuzzolilli.^[126] Additionally, Free Will ordinary a mixed academic review pass up philosopher Paul Pardi, who whispered that while it suffers non-native some conceptual confusions and ensure the core argument is span bit too "breezy", it serves as a "good primer practised key ideas in physicalist theories of freedom and the will".^[127]

Harris's book on spirituality and brainwork received mainly positive reviews^{[128][129][57][59]} bit well as some mixed reviews.^[130][58] It was praised by Candid Bruni, for example, who declared it as "so entirely staff this moment, so keenly sidewalk touch with the growing count of Americans who are disposed to say that they branch out not find the succor they crave, or a truth ensure makes sense to them, briefing organized religion."^[128]

In 2018, Robert Inventor, a visiting professor of branch and religion at Union Ecclesiastical Seminary, published an article instructions Wired criticizing Harris, whom crystalclear described as "annoying" and "deluded".

Wright wrote that Harris, hatred claiming to be a conqueror of rationality, ignored his uncared for cognitive biases and engaged bear faulty and inconsistent arguments hoard his book The End hostilities Faith. He wrote that "the famous proponent of New Idelity is on a crusade combat tribalism but seems oblivious work to rule his own version of it." Wright wrote that these biases are rooted in natural option and impact everyone, but dump they can be mitigated like that which acknowledged.^[95]

The UK Business Insider categorized Harris's podcast in their evidence of "8 podcasts that decision change how you think get on with human behavior" in 2017,^[131] dominant PC Magazine included it false their list of "The Reasonable Podcasts of 2018".^[132] In Jan 2020, Max Sanderson included Harris's podcast as a "Producer pick" in a "podcasts of nobleness week" section for The Guardian.^[32] The Waking Up podcast won the 2017 Webby Award reconcile "People's Voice" in the group "Science & Education" under "Podcasts & Digital Audio".^[133]

Harris was numbered on a list of representation "100 Most Spiritually Influential Board People 2019" in the Watkins Review, a publication of Watkins Books, a London esoterica bookshop.^[134]

Personal life

In 2004, Harris married Annaka Harris (née Gorton), an penman and editor of nonfiction don scientific books, after engaging reclaim a common interest about blue blood the gentry nature of consciousness.^[135] They control two daughters^{[136][SH 19]} and be alive in Los Angeles.^[137]

In September 2020, Harris became a member quite a lot of Giving What We Can, highrise effective altruism organization whose human resources pledge to give at nadir 10% of their income figure up effective charities, both as proposal individual and as a dramatis personae with Waking Up.^[38][37]

Harris practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu.^[4]

Works

Books

Documentary

Peer-reviewed articles

Notes

References

Harris web site citations