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The Moral Landscape
- How Science Can Determine Human Values
- Narrated by: Sam Harris
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
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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.
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The Belief Instinct
- The Psychology of Souls, Destiny, and the Meaning of Life
- By: Jesse Bering
- Narrated by: Jesse Bering
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Why is belief so hard to shake? Despite our best attempts to embrace rational thought and reject superstition, we often find ourselves appealing to unseen forces that guide our destiny, wondering who might be watching us as we go about our lives, and imagining what might come after death. In this lively and masterfully argued new book, Jesse Bering unveils the psychological underpinnings of why we believe.
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engaging and insightful
- By juliagee on 01-02-15
By: Jesse Bering
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About Behaviorism
- By: B.F. Skinner
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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About Behaviorism is about the controversial philosophy known as behaviorism, written by its leading exponent.
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Refreshing and concise
- By Autumn and Sam on 07-30-22
By: B.F. Skinner
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Big Gods
- How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict
- By: Ara Norenzayan
- Narrated by: Paul Nixon
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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How did human societies scale up from small, tight-knit groups of hunter-gatherers to the large, anonymous, cooperative societies of today - even though anonymity is the enemy of cooperation? How did organized religions with "Big Gods" - the great monotheistic and polytheistic faiths - spread to colonize most minds in the world? In Big Gods, Ara Norenzayan makes the surprising and provocative argument that these fundamental puzzles about the origins of civilization are one and the same, and answer each other.
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Great read
- By paro on 02-27-24
By: Ara Norenzayan
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The Moral Animal
- Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology
- By: Robert Wright
- Narrated by: Greg Thornton
- Length: 16 hrs and 30 mins
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Are men literally born to cheat? Does monogamy actually serve women's interests? These are among the questions that have made The Moral Animal one of the most provocative science books in recent years. Wright unveils the genetic strategies behind everything from our sexual preferences to our office politics - as well as their implications for our moral codes and public policies.
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Ridiculously Insightful
- By Liron on 10-25-10
By: Robert Wright
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What Love Is
- And What It Could Be
- By: Carrie Jenkins
- Narrated by: Carrie Jenkins
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
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What is love? Aside from being the title of many a popular love song, this is one of life's perennial questions. In What Love Is, philosopher Carrie Jenkins offers a bold new theory on the nature of romantic love that reconciles its humanistic and scientific components.
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What Philosophy Is and What It Could Be
- By Amazon Customer on 03-09-17
By: Carrie Jenkins
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Deep Thought
- 42 Fantastic Quotes That Define Philosphy
- By: Gary Cox
- Narrated by: Richard Mitchley
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
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As Douglas Adams points out, if there is no final answer to the question "what is the meaning of life?" 42 is as good or bad an answer as any other. Indeed, 42 quotes might be even better! Gary Cox guides us through 42 of the most misunderstood, misquoted, provocative, and significant quotes in the history of philosophy, providing witty and compelling commentary along the way.
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Best philosophy intro ever
- By Fabian on 04-14-18
By: Gary Cox
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Psychotherapy East and West
- By: Alan Watts
- Narrated by: Jeremy Arthur
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
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Alan Watts examines the problem of humans in a seemingly hostile universe in ways that question the social norms and illusions that bind and constrict modern humans. Marking a groundbreaking synthesis, Watts asserts that the powerful insights of Freud and Jung, which had, indeed, brought psychiatry close to the edge of liberation, could, if melded with the hitherto secret wisdom of the Eastern traditions, free people from their battles with the self.
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Not what I have come to expect from Alan Watts works
- By Shiva Latchmipersad on 03-22-19
By: Alan Watts
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The Monk and the Philosopher
- A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life
- By: Jean-Francois Revel
- Narrated by: David Shaw-Parker
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
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Twenty-seven years ago, Matthieu Ricard gave up a promising career as a scientist to study Tibetan Buddhism - not as a detached observer but by immersing himself in its practice under the guidance of its greatest living masters. Years later, this project was born, and Richard met with his father, Jean-Francois Revel - a French philosopher who became world famous for his challenges to both Communism and Christianity. At an inn, these two profoundly thoughtful men explored questions that have occupied humankind throughout its history.
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The dialogues themselves proved tranquility is attainable.
- By Mingster on 05-16-19
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Would You Kill the Fat Man?
- By: David Edmonds
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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A train is racing toward five men, tied to the track. Unless the train is stopped, it will inevitably kill all five men. If a fat man is pushed onto the line, although he will die, his body will stop the train, saving five lives. Would you kill the fat man? As David Edmonds shows, answering the question is far more complex, and important, than it first appears. In fact, how we answer it tells us a great deal about right and wrong.
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Wonderfully Rendered Book...
- By Douglas on 01-25-14
By: David Edmonds
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What Are We Doing Here?
- By: Marilynne Robinson
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Marilynne Robinson has plumbed the human spirit in her renowned novels, including Lila and Gilead, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. In this new essay collection she trains her incisive mind on our modern political climate and the mysteries of faith. Whether she is investigating how the work of great thinkers about America, like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Alexis de Tocqueville, inform our political consciousness or discussing how beauty informs and disciplines daily life, Robinson's peerless prose and boundless humanity are on full display.
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Unpersuasive and a bit repetitive
- By Adam Shields on 03-07-18
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Good book, bad narrator
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the examined life
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From multiple New York Times best-selling author, neuroscientist, and "new atheist" Sam Harris, Waking Up is for the 30 percent of Americans who follow no religion, but who suspect that Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Rumi, and the other saints and sages of history could not have all been epileptics, schizophrenics, or frauds.
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I don't completely agree. BUT THAT SAID...
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Good book, bad narrator
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the examined life
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- By Amazon Customer on 12-21-20
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I don't completely agree. BUT THAT SAID...
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Short
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Rich and Real, but Heavy
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For all the thousands of books that have been written about religion, few until this one have attempted to examine it scientifically: to ask why - and how - it has shaped so many lives so strongly. Is religion a product of blind evolutionary instinct or rational choice? Is it truly the best way to live a moral life? Ranging through biology, history, and psychology, Daniel C. Dennett charts religion’s evolution from “wild” folk belief to “domesticated” dogma.
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Great Reader Actually Enhances A Great Book!
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In the tradition of Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris' recent best-seller, The End of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos.
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5-Star Writing. Perfect Author Narration.
- By Michael on 12-13-09
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Christopher Hitchens continues to make the case for a splendidly godless universe in this first-ever gathering of the influential voices past and present that have shaped his side of the current (and raging) God/no-god debate. With Hitchens as your erudite and witty guide, you'll be led through a wealth of philosophy, literature, and scientific inquiry, including generous portions of the words of Lucretius, Benedict de Spinoza, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Mark Twain, and more.
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This is ABRIDGED
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Half the book
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Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity
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Inside bible arguments for bible enthusiast only
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No new ground is covered.
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Ham: Slices of a Life
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In 16 brilliantly observed true stories, Sam Harris emerges as a natural humorist in league with David Sedaris, Chelsea Handler, Carrie Fisher, and Steve Martin, but with a voice uniquely his own. Praised by the Chicago Sun-Times for his "manic, witty commentary", and with a storytelling talent the New York Times calls " New Yorker - worthy," he puts a comedic spin on full-disclosure episodes from his own colorful life. What better place to find painfully funny material than in growing up gay, gifted, and ambitious in the heart of the Bible belt?
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mrorbitman
- By John on 11-30-15
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Can there be freedom and free will in a deterministic world? Renowned philosopher Daniel Dennett emphatically answers "yes!" Using an array of provocative formulations, Dennett sets out to show how we alone among the animals have evolved minds that give us free will and morality. Weaving a richly detailed narrative, Dennett explains in a series of strikingly original arguments - drawing upon evolutionary biology, cognitive neuroscience, economics, and philosophy - that far from being an enemy of traditional explorations of freedom, morality, and meaning, the evolutionary perspective can be an indispensable ally.
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I knew I was going to like this book
- By Gary on 05-30-14
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Why Evolution Is True
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Why evolution is more than just a theory: it is a fact. In all the current highly publicized debates about creationism and its descendant "intelligent design", there is an element of the controversy that is rarely mentioned: the evidence, the empirical truth of evolution by natural selection.
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As great as everyone says it is
- By Joseph on 12-01-10
By: Jerry A. Coyne
What listeners say about The Moral Landscape
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Gerald Schoen
- 10-31-10
The book says what many feel, but fear to say
I was expecting an anti-religious dialogue; however, I found myself repeatedly saying, “I feel the same way”.
The author clearly makes the point that religions have so many contradictions in their message that thinking people cannot understand what the message really is; while others pick and choose what they believe from the contradictions. These people often become a part of the religious fringe that drives so many others from the good things that many religions offer.
I enjoyed and learned much about religions that I had not known. I also found the Mr. Harris had done his research well when I checked his statements.
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- Alex
- 07-02-15
really good argument.
Sam sometimes whistles on his s's and it hurts my ears sometimes. I really enjoyed the book however.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Roger Loomis
- 02-03-17
Brilliant!
To explain where I'm coming from, I was raised Mormon and became an atheist in my mid 20's--nearly 20 years ago now. Religion has remained a fascinating topic for me, and I've spent some time over the years discussing it with believers and non believers alike.
The most challenging topic has been morality. Certain believers are adamant that there is absolutely no basis of morality without a God to give the rules, keep score, and inflict judgment. Is that true? Taking a step back, what causes a thing to be moral or immoral, regardless of whether there is a god or not? Or is morality something that doesn't actually exist in the real world?
In The Moral Landscape, Sam Harris discusses this issue head on. The tone is intelligent, insightful, optimistic, and humble. Yes, morality exists, and yes, in principle at least it is accessible to science. There are many very tough questions regarding ethics and Harris doesn't shy away from them or pretend to have all the answers. But he has a few answers, including a clear understanding of how the problem should be framed.
I've read a couple of books by "new atheists" Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, and frankly wasn't that impressed. Attacking religion is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel, and can lead to being a little lazy in how you describe things. This book is completely different--it's a thoughtful and insightful discourse on a challenging and important topic.
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- LaMar Fam
- 03-22-18
Wow
Maybe the best book that I have ever read! Has radically affected the way that I view morality and how and where we should direct it going forward. I can think of no higher praise than what I would give this wonderful book.
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- Peter
- 08-11-15
...not what, but how you think.
Clearly reasoned, written, and read, the Moral Landscape takes obscure and sensitive subject matter seriously. Sam expresses his concerns and critiques without obscurantist rhetoric and, while some readers will inevitably detect condescension toward certain world views, Sam never relies on tone or characterization to do more than give color his arguments which are always backed up with examples and sensible comparisons. When discussing scientific particularities, such as brain structures and experimental procedures, he is explicit without getting bogged down in jargon, minutia or interminable lists. All sources are clearly cited. I personally believe that anyone who takes morality and questions of social good seriously is obligated to read this book.
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-19-17
Founding the Science of maximizing human welbeing
Seems to me that morality is the set of tools provided by biological and cultural evolution to manage cooperation within our social groups. Since our social groups are now larger and more dangerous than ever before we certainly need to refine those tools. I don't care if the idea that maximizing human wellbeing can be defined as right in a philosophical sense. Obviously we need to make a science of maximizing wellbeing and working out moral rules around that regardless of the should and oughts that come out of the current tool kit. It also seems that Harris hits quite a few nails on the head in this book. I can understand his frustration with the irrationality of religion but would like to see him recognize and acknowledge the useful tools that it provides, as well as highlighting the very real problems it creates.
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- Jeffrie Benedetti
- 07-11-20
wow
I mean come on how do I even how do I even review this thing this was the best book I could imagine Sam could have written at the time yeah
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- OrionDeHunter
- 03-18-20
You have no idea.
Ever thought about right and wrong before?
Not like this.
Sam offers us a guide to rational morality. You should listen to it.
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- Cohen
- 02-13-21
Enlightening!
An invaluable book to me in thinking on the topic of morality. I am convinced by the point that it is possible and necessary to invest in a science of morality and the overwhelming positive implications it might have for humanity in the future.
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Overall
- Gus
- 07-18-19
Best Harris book
Without a doubt Harris's best work. By that I mean that it shed the most light on his positions.
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