The Moral Landscape cover art

The Moral Landscape

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

The Moral Landscape

By: Sam Harris
Narrated by: Sam Harris
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £8.62

Buy Now for £8.62

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 Ethics & Morality History & Philosophy Philosophy Physics Science Morality Thought-Provoking Human Brain
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c
All stars
Most relevant
There are many statements that Harris makes in this book that I ended up disagreeing with and hence I do not agree with his conclusions. But to date, I have not read a better discussion of how we should define what is moral and I feel indebted to Harris for having provided the discourse that allowed me to refine my own views.
I should point out that my disagreement has been strengthened when reading further on the science that Harris is referring to. In my view, like many Neurologists today, I think that the conclusions that are made from the existing experiments are far too broad given the limited scope of what we can really measure.
Having said that, Harris is excellent where he shows how screwed up the public discourse on morality really is and he is offering a valid "arena" in which we could have a meaningful discussion about how we should define morality within society.

Controversial, maybe wrong, but important

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Regardless of whether you find yourself in total agreement with Sam Harris at the end of the audiobook, I am willing to stake any reputation I may have garnered on the promise of it's having a profound impact on the way you think. There is simply no justification for not engaging with The Moral Landscape. I would also point out that generally the skills of being a truly unique philosopher and being strong with analogies are close to mutually exclusive, however Mr Harris hits the proverbial nail on the head. A glorious, seismic work.

Amazing, amazing, amazing!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Morality is typically thought of in the educated west in pluralistic terms that renders reasoning and discernment impossible on issues with real consequence. Sam Harris' thought on this subject, a method of reasoning related to wellbeing, is sorely needed.

Much needed reasoning

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It was a pleasure to listen to the author, Sam Harris, as he read his book, The Moral Landscape. This book discusses long standing questions such as how we define good vs bad, the duality between religion and science, how the world around us influences an individuals beliefs and therefore views on morality and the need to overcome stigma when discussing the principle of of the human moral landscape in order to combat injustice, prejudice and bias. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone with the patience to actively listen + reflect upon its topics, particularly if like myself, you consider yourself to be the sole author of all and any of the thoughts and experiences you have in day-to-day life.

Such a brilliant mind, such a complelling listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A must read for anyone interested in morality, ethics and human values. Some biased religious examples though but an intelligent reader would not be bothered about it.

Ground-breaking!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews