Sam Harris

1. 2004The End of Faith

   His first book criticises religious belief. It wins the PEN/Martha Albrand Award and stays 33 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list.

   Wikipédia 2026 · Sam Harris
2. 2007Debates on God

   He appears with Dawkins, Dennett and Hitchens in the 'Four Horsemen' discussion, and debates Rick Warren about God in Newsweek.

   Wikipédia 2026 · Sam Harris
3. 2010The Moral Landscape

   He argues that science can in principle answer moral questions. He defends the idea that morality concerns the well-being of conscious creatures. The book follows his 2009 UCLA doctorate.

   Wikipédia 2026 · The Moral Landscape
4. 2012Free Will

   A short book arguing that free will is an illusion. Daniel Dennett later replies that it attacks only the popular idea of free will.

   Book 2012 · Free Will (book page)2
5. 2014Waking Up

   He proposes a spirituality without religion. Its aim is to see that the sense of self is an illusion, through practices like meditation (he practises Dzogchen).

   Wikipédia 2026 · Waking Up: A Guide to…
6. 2016Warning about AI

   In a TED talk he warns about the risk of building artificial intelligence without keeping control over it.

   Video 2016 · Can we build AI without losing…
7. 2018Waking Up app and talks with Peterson

   The Waking Up meditation app launches in September. In June and July he has public conversations with Jordan Peterson on God and truth.

   Wikipédia 2026 · Sam Harris2
8. 2020Happiness and selfishness

   Talking with Laurie Santos, he says that helping others is the wiser form of selfishness. He disagrees with Daniel Kahneman, who separates the remembering self from the experiencing self.

   In their words

   « this is a point of disagreement between me and Danny I really do think the remembering self is simply the experience himself in one of its modes »He disagrees with Daniel Kahneman: the remembering self is just a mode of the experiencing self. watch

   « this is where so-called self-sacrifice becomes the wiser form of selfishness if you really just want to be happy »He says that if you want to be happy, helping others is the wiser form of selfishness. watch

   Video 2020 · The Science of Happiness: A…2
9. 2021Final thoughts on free will

   He restates his case: neither determinism nor randomness gives free will, and we only witness our decisions once they are made.

   In their words

   « the feeling of having free will is directly connected to the feeling of being a self »He ties the feeling of free will to the feeling of being a self. watch

   « neither determinism nor randomness, nor any combination of the two, justifies the feeling that most people have that goes by the name of free will »Neither determinism nor randomness, nor a mix, supports the feeling of free will. watch

   « There is no will in randomness. »Randomness would not give us free will: a random act would be out of character, not free. watch

   Video 2021 · Final Thoughts on Free Will…2
10. 2021The Paradox of Death

    In a solo episode he says one can just as easily argue that the transience of everything magnifies its beauty, rather than that death robs life of meaning.

    In their words

    « I think one could easily argue it's the treny of everything that magnifies the beauty of everything »He argues that the fleeting nature of things magnifies their beauty, so death does not rob life of meaning. watch

    « if death really is the end of us if it's synonymous with the end of experience well then that finality robs life of any conceivable purpose or meaning or significance »He presents and rejects the religious intuition that death as the end of experience would make life meaningless. watch

    Video 2021 · The Paradox of Death (Episode…
11. 2022The illusion of the self

    With Jay Garfield he says that seeing the self is an illusion is the most important thing he has learned, and calls this insight a 'universal solvent' of psychological suffering.

    In their words

    « being able to experience the illusoriness of the self has been the most important thing i've ever learned in my life »He says seeing that the self is an illusion is the most important thing he has learned. watch

    « it is not there in the first place and it can be discovered its absence can be discovered in a way that changes the character of experience »He claims there is no self to begin with, and its absence can be directly seen. watch

    « this insight into selflessness is a kind of psychologically speaking a kind of universal solvent of psychological suffering »He calls the insight into selflessness a universal solvent of psychological suffering. watch

    Video 2022 · Do You Really Have a Self? A…2
12. 2023Free will: rival intuitions

    After a long exchange with Tim Maudlin, he says that certain rival intuitions about free will cannot be settled by argument alone; if you experience yourself in a certain way, some points cannot land.

    In their words

    « certain rival intuitions on the topic of Free Will can't quite be resolved through argument »After a long exchange with Maudlin on free will, he concludes that rival intuitions on the topic cannot be settled by argument alone. watch

    « if you experience yourself in a certain way certain points just can't land »He says that if you experience yourself in a certain way, some points about free will cannot land, and with a different experience they seem obvious. watch

    Video 2023 · Physics & Philosophy: A…
13. 2024The Moral Landscape clarified

    In a solo episode he restates that we know to a moral certainty that human life can be better, and compares our intuitive morality to intuitive physics: it may be wrong.

    In their words

    « we know to a moral certainty that human life can be better »He says we know with moral certainty that human life can be better, which grounds objective moral truths. watch

    « are members of the Islamic State wrong about morality yes really wrong yeah yes can we say so from the perspective of science yes »He says science can tell us that the Islamic State is really wrong about morality. watch

    « this paints an unrealistic picture of the human mind »He rejects Hume's view that moral truths can only move us when combined with some passion, calling it an unrealistic picture of the mind. watch

    Video 2024 · Facts & Values: Clarifying the…2
14. 2025No free will, and compassion

    Talking with Dan Harris, he says nobody has free will and that giving up the belief is a direct antidote to hatred: with another life story, anyone could have been the murderer.

    In their words

    « I think being a pacifist is really just a way of outsourcing a real ethical consideration of violence to other people who are not pacifists »He argues that pacifism is a way of outsourcing the ethics of violence to others, and not a moral high ground. watch

    « my position on free will I actually don't think anyone has it and I think everyone is just kind of playing out the causes and conditions »He says nobody has free will: everyone is playing out causes and conditions such as genes, environment and neurochemistry. watch

    « I too could have been that person »He says that with another life story, genes and upbringing, anyone could have been a murderer, so compassion is possible even for the worst. watch

    Video 2025 · Sam Harris & Dan Harris: This Is…23
15. 2026Consciousness and machines

    He defines consciousness as the fact that the lights are on. If AIs seem conscious, he says, people will treat them as conscious, and it is easier to assume that other humans are conscious than machines.

    In their words

    « consciousness is the fact that the lights are on. And it's synonymous with the fact of experience »He defines consciousness as the fact that the lights are on, i.e. experience. watch

    « there really couldn't be a Westworld because, you know, only psychopaths could go there »If AIs seem conscious, people will treat them as conscious, so a Westworld park could not exist. watch

    « it is parsimonious to assume every every one like us, you know, born Homo sapiens are are very likely conscious when they say they are »He says we can assume other humans are conscious, but it is hard to say the same of machines. watch

    Video 2026 · Michael Pollan on Consciousness,…2
16. 2026Today's language models

    He says he has no concern that current language models are conscious, while he already said in 2023 that we do not know when consciousness emerges and that AIs will come to seem conscious.

    In their words

    « there's simply no question that we have built intelligent machines and we're continuing to build them and they are intelligent »He says machines are already intelligent in the sense of competent, whether or not there is anything it is like to be them. watch

    « we simply don't know you know how and when Consciousness emerges and whether it comes along for the ride at a certain level of complexity »He says we do not know how or when consciousness emerges, or whether it comes with a certain level of complexity and intelligence. watch

    « at a certain point they're going to seem conscious and we're going to treat them as though they were conscious whether or not we ever know the ground truth there »He predicts that AIs will come to seem conscious and be treated as conscious, whether or not we ever know the truth. watch

    Video 2026 · Can AI Cure Loneliness?2

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