The Problem with Sam Harris' "Morality" | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Sam Harris' book "The Moral Landscape" conflates moral truths and scientific truths about well-being, which leads to a problematic understanding of morality.

Key Insights

• 🥺 Sam Harris conflates moral truth and scientific truth about well-being, leading to a problematic understanding of morality.
• 🙂 Ludwig Wittgenstein's distinction between relative and absolute uses of moral language sheds light on the differences between the two.
• ❓ Treating moral truth as absolute denies the significance of all other human activities and creates an arrogant attitude.
• ❓ Moral discourse, like religious discourse, can be dangerous and has the potential to incite conflict and violence.
• 👨‍🏫 The example of violence in schools used by Harris actually demonstrates the deflation of morality and the focus on well-being in modern education.
• ❓ Identifying moral truths in an absolute sense is neither possible nor desirable.
• 👔 Morality is a specific form of discourse and communication, closely tied to conflict and division.

Transcript

you mentioned the definition of moralities kind of problematic in the moral landscape in the book so can you tell me about this um yes i think what the book does it conflates two things on the one hand um really one major intention of harry's is is to point out that there are moral truths and that there is something like a universal morality that i... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: What are the two major intentions of Sam Harris in his book "The Moral Landscape"?

Harris aims to show that there are moral truths and universal morality, as well as scientific truths about human well-being.

Q: How does Harris conflate the two concepts of moral truth and scientific truth about well-being?

Harris believes that by identifying what contributes to well-being, we can determine what is morally good. However, this conflates the relative and absolute uses of the terms "good" and "right."

Q: What does Wittgenstein's distinction between relative and absolute uses of "good" and "right" reveal?

Wittgenstein argues that the relative use of these terms is tied to specific criteria and perspectives, while the absolute use is not tied to anything specific. The absolute use is beyond description and language.

Q: Why does the conflation of moral truth and scientific truth pose a problem?

It devalues other human activities and creates an arrogant attitude where only moral truth matters. Additionally, it fails to recognize the impossibility and undesirability of speaking in absolute moral terms.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Sam Harris argues that there are moral truths and objective truths about human well-being, but fails to recognize that these are distinct and cannot be combined.

• Ludwig Wittgenstein's distinction between relative and absolute uses of the terms "good" and "right" highlights the differences between the two.

• Harris attempts to bridge the gap between objective moral truths and scientific facts about well-being, but this is a fundamental mistake.