The Moral Landscape

Sam Harris

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English

Black Swan
01 April 2012

Ethics & moral philosophy; Religion & beliefs; Religion: general; Philosophy of science

An explosive book that calls for an end to religion's monopoly on morality, by the bestselling author of The Enf of Faith.

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 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.

By: Sam Harris
Imprint: Black Swan
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 127mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 262g
ISBN: 9780552776387
ISBN 10: 0552776386
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 01 April 2012
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Sam Harris is a neuroscientist and the author of the New York Times bestsellers The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. His writing has appeared in Newsweek, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Times, Nature and in many other journals. He holds a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA. He is a co-founder and chairman of Project Reason.

Reviews for The Moral Landscape

Reading Sam Harris is like drinking water from a cool stream on a hot day. He has the rare ability to frame arguments that are not only stimulating, they are downright nourishing, even if you don't always agree with him! In this new book he argues from a philosophical and a neurobiological perspective that science can and should determine morality. His discussions will provoke secular liberals and religious conservatives alike, who jointly argue from different perspectives that there always will be an unbridgeable chasm between merely knowing what is and discerning what should be. As was the case with Harris' previous books, readers are bound to come away with previously firm convictions about the world challenged, and a vital new awareness about the nature and value of science and reason in our lives. <p> -- Lawrence M. Krauss, Foundation Professor and Director of the ASU Origins Project at Arizona State University , author of The Physics of Star Trek, and , Quantum Man: Richard