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The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values Audiobook
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(3.25) - 12 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Sam Harris’s first book, The End of Faith, ignited a worldwide debate about the validity of religion. In the aftermath, Harris discovered that most people—from religious fundamentalists to non-believing scientists—agree on one point: science has nothing to say on the subject of human values. Indeed, our failure to address questions of meaning and morality through science has now become the primary justification for religious faith.
In this highly controversial book, Sam Harris seeks to link morality to the rest of human knowledge. Defining morality in terms of human and animal well-being, Harris argues that science can do more than tell how we are; it can, in principle, tell us how we ought to be. In his view, moral relativism is simply false—and comes at an increasing cost to humanity. And the intrusions of religion into the sphere of human values can be finally repelled: for just as there is no such thing as Christian physics or Muslim algebra, there can be no Christian or Muslim morality. Using his expertise in philosophy and neuroscience, along with his experience on the front lines of our “culture wars,” Harris delivers a game-changing book about the future of science and about the real basis of human cooperation.
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"An intriguing idea, put forward very eloquently. In some cases, more arguments and data would have been needed, but the book is intended as a first proposal. For this, it is excellent."
— C.-F. Vintar (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Philosophers of mind have already discovered that they can’t duck the study of neuroscience, and the best of them have raised their game as a result. Sam Harris shows that the same should be true of moral philosophers, and it will turn their world exhilaratingly upside down. As for religion, and the preposterous idea that we need God to be good, nobody wields a sharper bayonet than Sam Harris.”
— Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion -
“Sam Harris breathes intellectual fire into an ancient debate. Reading this thrilling, audacious book, you feel the ground shifting beneath your feet. Reason has never had a more passionate advocate.”
— Ian McEwan, author of Atonement -
“A lively, provocative, and timely new look at one of the deepest problems in the world of ideas. Harris makes a powerful case for a morality that is based on human flourishing and thoroughly enmeshed with science and rationality. It is a tremendously appealing vision, and one that no thinking person can afford to ignore.”
— Steven Pinker, Harvard College Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of How the Mind Works and The Blank Slate. -
“Harris argues forcefully for the superiority of science over religion as a means of determining morality and understanding the subtle gradations between permanent truths and culturally and historically determined values.”
— Publishers Weekly
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
The Moral Landscape Listener Reviews
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Brian Basler, 6/10/2019
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" Quite different from the previous books but the same great style. I like the first two books better though. "
— Charlotte, 5/21/2011 -
" I like Sam Harris--I think every Christian ought to read Sam Harris. He failed me in this one, just didn't make his case very well. What he did was to invent his own religion... "
— Diana, 5/15/2011 -
" Brilliant & Informative! Just how do we manage without a god-head telling us right from wrong? Sam Harris answers beautifully! "
— Michael, 5/5/2011 -
" A disaster.Weak philosophy porous logic;quick to slide past objections to his point of view and gloss over holes in his argument.Disappointing especially considering the strenghth of his previous work.This reads as a rehash of his doctoral thesis not a fully realised concept. "
— Mark, 4/1/2011 -
" Another excellent book from Mr. Harris, showing how human morals do not have to be relegated to the Land of the Supernatural, i.e. religion. "
— Kevin, 3/14/2011
About Sam Harris
Sam Harris is the author of the bestsellers The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, and Lying. The End of Faith won a 2005 PEN Award for nonfiction, and his writing has been published in over fifteen languages. Harris’ work has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, the Atlantic, and Newsweek, among others. He is cofounder and CEO of Project Reason, a nonprofit foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge in society. He received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA.