The Moral Landscape

How Science Can Determine Human Values

By: Sam Harris

Narrated by: Sam Harris

Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

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 nonbelieving 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 most common justification for religious faith. It is also the primary reason why so many secularists and religious moderates feel obligated to "respect" the hardened superstitions of their more devout neighbors.

In this explosive new book, Sam Harris tears down the wall between scientific facts and human values, arguing that most people are simply mistaken about the relationship between morality and the rest of human knowledge. Harris urges us to think about morality in terms of human and animal well-being, viewing the experiences of conscious creatures as peaks and valleys on a "moral landscape". Because there are definite facts to be known about where we fall on this landscape, Harris foresees a time when science will no longer limit itself to merely describing what people do in the name of "morality"; in principle, science should be able to tell us what we ought to do to live the best lives possible.

Bringing a fresh perspective to age-old questions of right and wrong and good and evil, Harris demonstrates that we already know enough about the human brain and its relationship to events in the world to say that there are right and wrong answers to the most pressing questions of human life. Because such answers exist, moral relativism is simply false—and comes at 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.

©2010 Sam Harris (P)2010 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

“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)

“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)

Standard Sam Harris stuff

Pretty good book. I say pretty good because I am already a Sam Harris fan and was not blown away by anything in this book. I did find the flat tone of Sam to be tiring in this audio book after a while, something I do not experience when listening to his podcasts.

This book is my new bible!

I cannot count the number of times I have read this book. Since I lost my faith in god, I have needed something to anchor my morality. Sam Harris provides the most reasonable method of finding a new anchor for morality in the modern age I have found.

Amazing!

Inspiring read: thoroughly enjoyable , with the depth of a philosophical treatise. A book to read many times over.

Amazing

This is a profoundly brilliant work. Harris concisely destroys moral relativism. Absolutely worth multiple listens.

sam harris pisses me off

waking up was one of the most valuable books i've ever read. nothing comes close to it. then, i tried reading his other books and got bored. i wasn't raised by religious people, so i don't think most of his other books are compelling to me. i understand the appeal, but find them to be preaching to the choir. while i know i didn't get much out of his other books because I'm not the intended audience, i still felt disappointed that they didn't have the same impression on me as waking up did. this book also hasn't come close to waking up for me, but i was relieved to have gotten such enjoyment out of it. i've never heard anyone talk about the moral landscape's subject matter in this way before. i found myself disappointed when the book ended. id highly recommend this one

Wow a life lesson in morality.

Incredible context and I’ll need to listen to a moral landscape a second time. I am new to Sam Harris and feel I’ve been deprived of a voice of reason in these troubled times.

Love the comparison of morality to health

So many great points in this book - but one that really resonates with me is comparing morality to health. While healthy habits can vary across cultures and people, we can still identify the diets and behaviors that are healthiest through measurable outcomes. When morality is defined as “maximizing wellbeing” there are different paths to achieve this, with some being clearly better than others.

It will soon become a sociology classic

Brilliantly written, brilliantly delivered, this book will become as relevant as the works of Kant, Descartes or Rousseau some day. Life-changing.

4

One really annoying thing was the 's' or 'sh' sound whenever he spoke. It sounded like a really loud whistle and was very annoying. Other than that a great read.

Wow. Should be mandatory reading.

So amazingly fantastic, Harris is dedicated to the truth and finding the best path to human wellbeing.