Ask Me Anything #15
11/30/18 • 104 min
If you had to rewrite The Moral Landscape, would you change or expand on anything?
If you designed a school for kids, what would be in the curriculum?
Do you think white men really have too much power?
What is your relationship to money? How important is it to your happiness?
Political scientist Robert Pape claims that the root cause of suicidal terrorism is military occupation, do you contest his theory?
What did you think of the debate between David Frum and Steve Bannon on populism?
Which news sources do you trust and why?
The spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is far scarier than AI, will talk about this on your podcast?
Have you ever struggled with procrastination? Can mindfulness help with it?
Is it possible to understand that the ego is an illusion without experiencing it as such?
How does an intensely voluntary action feel once the illusion of the self has vanished?
Can you explain the connection between religiosity and the denial of climate change?
In the last few minutes of your conversation with Brian Greene, it seemed that one of your core beliefs about free will was shaken. Can you discuss this?
Isn't your framework of the "moral landscape" just another form of moral relativism?
When we focus our attention on consciousness, who is it that is paying attention?
If you needed to join Alcoholics Anonymous, how would you rationalize a belief in "a higher power"?
In your podcast with Rebecca Traister, you spoke about #MeToo exclusively in terms of its effects on the lives of rich and powerful men. But it has much greater implications for ordinary people. Please discuss this.
Please elaborate on what you mean when you say "look of the one who is looking" or "look for your head" in your guided meditations.
Is morality limited to human beings? For instance, can chimps behave immorally?
What are your thoughts about lucid dreaming? Does it make sense to acquire this skill?
A Dutch man wants to legally change his age from 69 to 49. Please discuss this in relation to transgenderism.
If you had to rewrite The Moral Landscape, would you change or expand on anything?
If you designed a school for kids, what would be in the curriculum?
Do you think white men really have too much power?
What is your relationship to money? How important is it to your happiness?
Political scientist Robert Pape claims that the root cause of suicidal terrorism is military occupation, do you contest his theory?
What did you think of the debate between David Frum and Steve Bannon on populism?
Which news sources do you trust and why?
The spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is far scarier than AI, will talk about this on your podcast?
Have you ever struggled with procrastination? Can mindfulness help with it?
Is it possible to understand that the ego is an illusion without experiencing it as such?
How does an intensely voluntary action feel once the illusion of the self has vanished?
Can you explain the connection between religiosity and the denial of climate change?
In the last few minutes of your conversation with Brian Greene, it seemed that one of your core beliefs about free will was shaken. Can you discuss this?
Isn't your framework of the "moral landscape" just another form of moral relativism?
When we focus our attention on consciousness, who is it that is paying attention?
If you needed to join Alcoholics Anonymous, how would you rationalize a belief in "a higher power"?
In your podcast with Rebecca Traister, you spoke about #MeToo exclusively in terms of its effects on the lives of rich and powerful men. But it has much greater implications for ordinary people. Please discuss this.
Please elaborate on what you mean when you say "look of the one who is looking" or "look for your head" in your guided meditations.
Is morality limited to human beings? For instance, can chimps behave immorally?
What are your thoughts about lucid dreaming? Does it make sense to acquire this skill?
A Dutch man wants to legally change his age from 69 to 49. Please discuss this in relation to transgenderism.
Previous Episode
#143 - The Keys to the Mind
Sam Harris speaks with Derren Brown about his work as a “psychological illusionist.” They discuss the power of hypnosis, the power of expectations, the usefulness of Stoic philosophy, and other topics.
Derren Brown began his UK television career in December 2000 with a series of specials called Mind Control. In the UK his name is now pretty much synonymous with the art of psychological manipulation. Amongst a varied and notorious TV career, Derren has played Russian Roulette live, convinced middle-managers to commit armed robbery, led the nation in a séance, stuck viewers at home to their sofas, successfully predicted the National Lottery, motivated a shy man to land a packed passenger plane at 30,000 feet, hypnotised a man to assassinate Stephen Fry, and created a zombie apocalypse for an unsuspecting participant after seemingly ending the world. He has also written several best-selling books and – a first in the history of magic – has toured with eight sell-out one-man stage shows. The shows have garnered a record-breaking five Olivier Award nominations for Best Entertainment, and won twice. This means Derren has had the largest number of nominations and wins for one-person shows in the history of the Awards. His 2017 US debut show SECRET won the New York Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical experience and is planning a Broadway return in 2019. His Latest book is Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine.
Website: http://derrenbrown.co.uk
Twitter: @DerrenBrown
Instagram: @derrenbrown
Episodes that have been re-released as part of the Best of Making Sense series may have been edited for relevance since their original airing.
Next Episode
#144 - Conquering Hate
Sam Harris speaks with Deeyah Khan about her groundbreaking films “Jihad” and “White Right.” They discuss her history as a target of religious intolerance, her adventures with neo-Nazis and other white supremacists, the similarities between extremist groups, the dangers of political correctness, and other topics.
Deeyah Khan is a two-time Emmy Award-winning and twice BAFTA-nominated documentary film director. She is the founder of Fuuse, a media and arts company that puts women and minority communities at the heart of telling their own stories. In 2016, she became the first UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for artistic freedom and creativity. Her 2012 film, “Banaz: A Love Story,” which earned Deeyah her first Emmy Award, chronicled the life and death of Banaz Mahmod, a young British Kurdish woman murdered by her family in a so-called honour killing. Her second film, “Jihad,” was nominated for a BAFTA; it involved two years of interviews and filming with Islamic extremists, convicted terrorists and former jihadis; and “White Right: Meeting the Enemy,” in which Deeyah travelled to the United States to filmed with neo-Nazis, including attending the now-infamous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, won her a second Emmy Award and a second BAFTA nomination.
Twitter: @Deeyah_Khan
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/making-sense-with-sam-harris-invalid-feed-208900/ask-me-anything-15-21951528"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to ask me anything #15 on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy