New Releases by Sam Harris

In this dialogue between a famous atheist and a former radical, Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz invite you to join an urgently needed conversation: Is Islam a religion of peace or war? Is it amenable to reform? Why do so many Muslims seem drawn to extremism? The authors demonstrate how two people with very different views can find common ground.

"Les sacrifices ont toujours été objets de fascination chez l''être humain. D''ailleurs, il n''était pas rare de voir un enfant naître dans ce monde pour y être élevé avec patience et tendresse par des fanatiques religieux, dans le seul but de le mener ensuite par la main vers un champ ou au sommet d''une montagne et là, de l''enterrer, l''exécuter ou le brûler vif en offrande à un dieu invisible. tout ça parce que ces religieux étaient convaincus de cette manière infaillible d''assurer que le soleil continue à se lever ou que les récoltes soient abondantes. [...] L''idée que le Christ soit mort pour nos péchés et qu''un Dieu "d''amour" exige un tel acte d''expiation pour accorder son pardon est l''héritage direct et flagrant des superstitions sanglantes qui ont tourmenté des peuples innocents à travers l''histoire..." -- [4e de couv.].

Pleidooi voor een atheïstische praktijk van mindfulness en meditatie.

For the millions of Americans who want spirituality without religion, Sam Harris’s latest New York Times bestseller is a guide to meditation as a rational practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. From Sam Harris, neuroscientist and author of numerous New York Times bestselling books, Waking Up is for the twenty percent of Americans who follow no religion but who suspect that important truths can be found in the experiences of such figures as Jesus, the Buddha, Lao Tzu, Rumi, and the other saints and sages of history. Throughout this book, Harris argues that there is more to understanding reality than science and secular culture generally allow, and that how we pay attention to the present moment largely determines the quality of our lives. Waking Up is part memoir and part exploration of the scientific underpinnings of spirituality. No other book marries contemplative wisdom and modern science in this way, and no author other than Sam Harris—a scientist, philosopher, and famous skeptic—could write it.

In a collection of personal essays that are “both rip-roaringly funny and sentimental, drawing natural (and justified) comparisons to David Sedaris and David Rakoff” (Esquire), longtime recording artist and actor Sam Harris recounts stories of friendship, love, celebrity, and growing up and getting sober. In sixteen 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. In “I Feel, You Feel” he opens for Aretha Franklin during a blizzard. “Promises” is a front-row account of Liza Minnelli’s infamous wedding to “the man whose name shall go unmentioned.” In “The Zoo Story” Harris desperately searches for a common bond with his rough-and-tumble four-year-old son. What better place to find painfully funny material than in growing up gay, gifted, and ambitious in the heart of the Bible belt? And that’s just the first cut: From partying to parenting, from Sunday school to getting sober, these slices of Ham will have you laughing and wiping away salty tears in equal measure with their universal and down-to-earth appeal. After all, there’s a little ham in all of us.

As it was in Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, and Othello, so it is in life. Most forms of private vice and public evil are kindled and sustained by lies. Acts of adultery and other personal betrayals, financial fraud, government corruption—even murder and genocide—generally require an additional moral defect: a willingness to lie. In Lying, best-selling author and neuroscientist Sam Harris argues that we can radically simplify our lives and improve society by merely telling the truth in situations where others often lie. He focuses on "white" lies—those lies we tell for the purpose of sparing people discomfort—for these are the lies that most often tempt us. And they tend to be the only lies that good people tell while imagining that they are being good in the process.

Sam Harris é um dos líderes do movimento que prega o abandono da religião em nome da ciência: o Novo Ateísmo, também defendido com veemência por Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett e Christopher Hitchens. Em A paisagem moral, o autor pretende demolir de vez a benevolência com que muita gente - cientistas inclusive - aborda a religião, como se a ciência não tivesse o que opinar no plano moral. Segundo ele, a neurociência pode sim contribuir na busca pela maximização do bem-estar disseminado que define, em sua visão, o pensamento moral. O universo de decisões que podem ser tomadas é representado no livro por uma paisagem "cujos picos correspondem ao apogeu do bem-estar possível e cujos vales representam o mais profundo sofrimento". A ciência - em especial no que diz respeito ao funcionamento do cérebro - já pode em parte ajudar a determinar o relevo dessa paisagem e, à medida que o conhecimento avança, essa influência deverá se tornar cada vez mais concreta. Em capítulos que tratam de verdades morais, do bem e do mal, de crenças, de religião e do futuro da felicidade, Harris descreve resultados de estudos em neurociência que não só definem essa ideia de moral, mas também lançam luz sobre os equívocos e a irrelevância da religião; a seu ver, esta seria antes uma fonte de fanatismo e intolerância - uma argumentação mordaz que tem tudo para arrebatar seguidores e promover debates acalorados.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The End of Faith, a thought-provoking, "brilliant and witty" (Oliver Sacks) look at the notion of free will—and the implications that it is an illusion. A belief in free will touches nearly everything that human beings value. It is difficult to think about law, politics, religion, public policy, intimate relationships, morality—as well as feelings of remorse or personal achievement—without first imagining that every person is the true source of his or her thoughts and actions. And yet the facts tell us that free will is an illusion. In this enlightening book, Sam Harris argues that this truth about the human mind does not undermine morality or diminish the importance of social and political freedom, but it can and should change the way we think about some of the most important questions in life.

Essay tegen het liegen, omdat eerlijkheid altijd productiever is.

Filosofische verhandeling over de mogelijkheid om op wetenschappelijke manier ethiek te bedrijven.

New York Times bestselling author 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 non-believing 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.

O livro de Sam Harris ataca os alicerces das religiões dogmáticas, numa contundente denúncia do perigo representado pelo relativismo cultural e pela tolerância aos fundamentalismos. Dos atentados suicidas dos terroristas islâmicos à influência de organizações religiosas sobre o governo norte-americano, nenhuma manifestação de irracionalidade relacionada à fé é poupada. O autor elenca os horrores da Inquisição, do antissemitismo e das ''guerras santas'' para iluminar as estruturas arcaicas do discurso religioso, apontando no componente dogmático da crença o principal responsável pelo explosivo ''choque de civilizações'' que hoje ameaça a existência da humanidade.

“Gagasan bahwa Yesus Kristus mati untuk menebus dosa kita dan kematiannya merupakan pengorbanan yang sukses untuk Tuhan yang ‘penuh kasih’ adalah warisan perselisihan berbau takhayul… yang menghantui orang-orang bingung sepanjang sejarah….” Buku The End of Faith (2004) menggegerkan dunia Kristen. Protes pun menyeruak. Ribuan umat Kristiani melayangkan surat kepada penulisnya, Sam Harris. Mereka mencela dan mengecam Harris karena "menentang" ajaran Kristen. Surat Terbuka untuk Bangsa Kristen adalah respons atas surat-surat tersebut. Di dalamnya, Harris menangkis protes yang ditujukan kepadanya. Mengupas topik-topik mutakhir terutama menyangkut relasi agama dan kekerasan, dia menyangkal dengan telak keyakinan kaum fundamentalis Kristen. Buku kecil ini menyodorkan informasi sekaligus kritik pedas ihwal dominasi Kristen konservatif di banyak lini kehidupan publik di Amerika Serikat. Lebih dari itu, karya ini mengabarkan bahwa fundamentalisme agama tak melulu monopoli Islam. Bacalah “surat” ini, dan Anda akan paham alasan teologis di balik invasi AS ke Irak, atau Afghanistan.