The Moral Landscape

By: Sam Harris

Narrated by: Sam Harris

Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Sam Harris has discovered that most people, from secular scientists to religious fundamentalists, agree on one point: science has nothing to say on the subject of human values. Indeed, science’s failure to address questions of meaning and morality has become the primary justification for religious faith. The underlying claim is that while science is the best authority on the workings of the physical universe, religion is the best authority on meaning, values, morality, and leading a good life. Sam Harris shows us that this is not only untrue; it cannot possibly be true.

Bringing a fresh, secular perspective to age-old questions of right and wrong, and good and evil, Harris shows that we know enough about the human brain and how it reacts 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.

Using his expertise in philosophy and neuroscience, along with his experience on the front lines of the cultural war between science and religion, Harris delivers an explosive argument about the future of science, and about the real basis of human relationships.

©2011 Sam Harris (P)2011 Random House Audiobooks

Not what I expected

The message of the book is that scientic facts can help answer moral questions. However, Sam doesn't provide concrete examples for how this can be done.

I expected something like this:

Moral question: Should pornography be legal?
The opinions of people today: Yes, because it represents free speech and people should be allowed to express themselves. No, because it's sinful.
Scientific facts: Pornography significantly reduces the well-being of those who watch it and the people who produce it. Porn users are less satisfied in their relationships, have reduced activity in some parts of the brain, are more accepting of of violence towards women, can suffer erectile dysfunction, and consider women less capable and less valuable than men. Children who grow up watching porn have tend to avoid intimacy and have a distorted view of sexuality. All women are affected by pornography because they are increasingly valued based on their looks rather than their skills. Women who discover their spouses watching porn are deeply hurt, some developing post traumatic stress disorder.
Answer to moral question: Research shows pornography reduces the well-being of society in many ways. Therefore, to maximize well-being pornography should not be legal.

This is a concrete example on how science can answer a moral question. I expected the book to be filled with them.

But Sam rather makes a philosophical case for this. Which is alright but a few examples would have been much more convincing.

Interesting subject, but sometimes hard to follow the story

I find this book’s subject interesting and important. I like Sam Harris voice, but it is better when he is speaking freely. Here it changes a bit as he reading. I also find it hard to follow the story. There are several interesting parts, but I don’t immediately understand how they interconnect.