“On one level, wisdom is nothing more than the ability to take your own advice.”
– Sam Harris
This is Sam Harris’s second appearance on the show. Sam is a neuroscience Ph.D. and the author of the bestselling books, The End of Faith, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, Lying, and Waking Up. His work has been discussed in The New York Times, Time, Scientific American, Nature, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and many other journals.
You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
- Listen to it on iTunes.
- Stream by clicking here
- Download both as MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as”.
Want to hear my previous interview with Sam Harris? — In this episode, we discuss spirituality, neuroscience, meditation, and more (stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is also brought to you by LegalZoom. Matt Mullenweg (CEO of Automattic – now worth more than a billion dollars) first incorporated his company on LegalZoom. LegalZoom, which I’ve used myself, can help you with almost anything legal, including setting up a will, doing a proper trademark search, forming an LLC, setting up a non-profit, or finding simple cease-and-desist letter templates. LegalZoom is not a law firm, but they do have a network of independent attorneys available in most states. They can give you advice on the best way to get started, provide contract review, and otherwise help you run your business. Use the code “Tim” at checkout to get $10 off your next order. Take a gander at everything you can get for a fraction of what you’d expect — LegalZoom.com
This podcast is brought to you by MeUndies. Have you ever wanted to be as powerful as a mullet-wearing ninja from the 1980’s, or as sleek as a black panther in the Amazon? Of course you have, and that’s where MeUndies comes in. I’ve spent the last 2-3 weeks wearing underwear from these guys 24/7, and they are the most comfortable and colorful underwear I’ve ever owned. Their materials are 2x softer than cotton, as evaluated using the Kawabata method. Check out MeUndies.com/Tim to see my current faves (some are awesomely ridiculous) and, while you’re at it, don’t miss lots of hot ladies wearing MeUndies.
QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your biggest takeaway from this session? How has your thinking changed? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Enjoy!
Selected Links from the Episode
- A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
- Reasons and Persons by Derek Parfit
- The Last Word and Mortal Questions by Thomas Nagel
- Read The Quran, it’s shorter than the bible and you can read it in a weekend
- Super Intelligence by Nick Bostrom
- Our Final Invention by James Barrat
- Humiliation and The Anatomy of Disgust by William Ian Miller
- The Flight of the Garuda translated by Keith Dowman
- I Am That by Nisargadatta Maharaj
- Machete Season by Jean Hatzfeld a short book about the Rwandan genocide
- The End of Faith by Sam Harris
- Stumbling Upon Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
- Watch Sam Harris’s debate with William Lane Craig
- Islam and the Future of Tolerance by Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz
- God is Not Great and Hitch-22 by Christopher Hitchens
- Learn more about the Trolley Problem
Show Notes
- What are five books you think everyone should read? [6:53]
- In The End of Faith, you briefly discuss the challenging reality of having children. Why did you decide to have children? [18:58]
- Why have you stopped doing public debates? Who would you like to debate? [23:18]
- Could you talk about one of your differences with Christopher Hitchens on? Specifically, his pro-life stance. [29:03]
- What fact/event has made you change your mind recently? [32:53]
- What are Sam Harris’s morning rituals? I would especially like to know his meditation rituals. [36:03]
- If you had to recommend one thing for brain health outside meditation or exercise, what would that be? [46:18]
- Your first book, The End of Faith, featured a blistering attack on religious moderates. Now you strive to encourage religious moderation in the Islamic world. Have you changed your mind on religious moderation? [49:48]
- Would you push the fat man in the trolley scenario? Do you think a society could occupy a peak on the moral landscape if it’s inhabitants would all push the fat man? [55:28]