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Sam Harris Quotes

Values reduce to facts about the well-being of conscious creatures Picture Quote #1

We will continue to spill blood in what is, at bottom, a war of ideas Picture Quote #1

You cannot take death for apostasy seriously and be working for peace Picture Quote #1

We will embarrass our descendants, just as our ancestors embarrass us. This is moral progress Picture Quote #1

The world is fast succumbing to the activities of men and women who would stake the future of our species on beliefs that should not survive an elementary school education Picture Quote #1

You can learn something about a person by the company she keeps Picture Quote #1

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Reason is nothing less than the guardian of love Picture Quote #1

The faith of religion is belief on insufficient evidence Picture Quote #1

A puppet is free as long as he loves his strings Picture Quote #1

Many scientists have been drawn to Buddhism out of a sense that the Western tradition has delivered an impoverished conception of basic, human sanity. In the West, if you speak to yourself out loud all day long, you are considered crazy. But speaking to yourself silently - thinking incessantly - is considered perfectly normal Picture Quote #1

Science is the most durable and nondivisive way of thinking about the human circumstance. It transcends cultural, national, and political boundaries. You don’t have American science versus Canadian science versus Japanese science Picture Quote #1

Human well-being is not a random phenomenon. It depends on many factors - ranging from genetics and neurobiology to sociology and economics. But, clearly, there are scientific truths to be known about how we can flourish in this world. Wherever we can have an impact on the well-being of others, questions of morality apply Picture Quote #1

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Religion provides the only story that is fundamentally consoling in the face of the worst possible experiences - the death of a parent, for instance. In fact, many religions take away the problem entirely, because their adherents ostensibly believe that they’re going to be reunited with everyone they love, and death is an illusion Picture Quote #1

Moderates want their faith respected. They don’t want faith itself criticized, and yet faith itself is what is bringing us all this - this lunacy Picture Quote #1

It is easy to see what many people, women especially, admire about Sarah Palin. Here is a mother of five who can see the bright side of having a child with Down syndrome and still find the time and energy to govern the state of Alaska Picture Quote #1

Many of my fellow atheists consider all talk of ‘spirituality’ or ‘mysticism’ to be synonymous with mental illness, conscious fraud, or self-deception. I have argued elsewhere that this is a problem - because millions of people have had experiences for which ‘spiritual’ and ‘mystical’ seem the only terms available Picture Quote #1

Most people believe that the Creator of the universe wrote (or dictated) one of their books. Unfortunately, there are many books that pretend to divine authorship, and each makes incompatible claims about how we all must live Picture Quote #1

The conflict between religion and science is inherent and (very nearly) zero-sum. The success of science often comes at the expense of religious dogma; the maintenance of religious dogma always comes at the expense of science Picture Quote #1

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The president of the United States has claimed, on more than one occasion, to be in dialogue with God. If he said that he was talking to God through his hairdryer, this would precipitate a national emergency. I fail to see how the addition of a hairdryer makes the claim more ridiculous or offensive Picture Quote #1

It is taboo in our society to criticize a persons religious faith... these taboos are offensive, deeply unreasonable, but worse than that, they are getting people killed. This is really my concern. My concern is that our religions, the diversity of our religious doctrines, is going to get us killed. I’m worried that our religious discourse- our religious beliefs are ultimately incompatible with civilization Picture Quote #1

One of the worst things about breaking the law is that it puts one at odds with an indeterminate number of other people. This is among the many corrosive effects of having unjust laws: They tempt peaceful and (otherwise) honest people to lie so as to avoid being punished for behavior that is ethically blameless Picture Quote #1

The problem of vindicating an omnipotent and omniscient God in the face of evil is insurmountable. Those who claim to have surmounted it, by recourse to notions of free will and other incoherencies, have merely heaped bad philosophy onto bad ethics Picture Quote #1

The problem is that religion tends to give people bad reasons to be good Picture Quote #1

Religious ideas about good and evil tend to focus on how to achieve well-being in the next life, and this makes them terrible guides to securing it in this one. Of course, there are a few gems to be found in every religious tradition, but insofar as these precepts are wise and useful they are not, in principle, religious Picture Quote #1

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The freedom to think out loud on certain topics, without fear of being hounded into hiding or killed, has already been lost Picture Quote #1

We are free to burn the Qur’an or any other book, and to criticize Muhammad or any other human being. Let no one forget it Picture Quote #1

Morality must relate, at some level, to the well-being of conscious creatures. If there are more and less effective ways for us to seek happiness and to avoid misery in this world - and there clearly are - then there are right and wrong answers to questions of morality Picture Quote #1

The usefulness of religion - the fact that it gives life meaning, that it makes people feel good - is not an argument for the truth of any religious doctrine. It’s not an argument that it’s reasonable to believe that Jesus really was born of a virgin or that the Bible is the perfect word of the creator of the universe Picture Quote #1

You know, when you get to the New World and you develop your three branches of government and you have a civil society, you can just jettison all the barbarism I recommended in the first books Picture Quote #1

Either God can do nothing to stop catastrophes like this, or he doesn’t care to, or he doesn’t exist. God is either impotent, evil, or imaginary. Take your pick, and choose wisely Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

Values reduce to facts about the well-being of conscious creatures (Sam Harris Quotes) We will continue to spill blood in what is, at bottom, a war of ideas (Sam Harris Quotes) You cannot take death for apostasy seriously and be working for peace (Sam Harris Quotes) We will embarrass our descendants, just as our ancestors embarrass us. This is moral progress (Sam Harris Quotes) The world is fast succumbing to the activities of men and women who would stake the future of our species on beliefs that should not survive an elementary school education (Sam Harris Quotes) You can learn something about a person by the company she keeps (Sam Harris Quotes) Reason is nothing less than the guardian of love (Sam Harris Quotes) The faith of religion is belief on insufficient evidence (Sam Harris Quotes) A puppet is free as long as he loves his strings (Sam Harris Quotes) Many scientists have been drawn to Buddhism out of a sense that the Western tradition has delivered an impoverished conception of basic, human sanity. In the West, if you speak to yourself out loud all day long, you are considered crazy. But speaking to yourself silently - thinking incessantly - is considered perfectly normal (Sam Harris Quotes) Science is the most durable and nondivisive way of thinking about the human circumstance. It transcends cultural, national, and political boundaries. You don’t have American science versus Canadian science versus Japanese science (Sam Harris Quotes) Human well-being is not a random phenomenon. It depends on many factors - ranging from genetics and neurobiology to sociology and economics. But, clearly, there are scientific truths to be known about how we can flourish in this world. Wherever we can have an impact on the well-being of others, questions of morality apply (Sam Harris Quotes) Religion provides the only story that is fundamentally consoling in the face of the worst possible experiences - the death of a parent, for instance. In fact, many religions take away the problem entirely, because their adherents ostensibly believe that they’re going to be reunited with everyone they love, and death is an illusion (Sam Harris Quotes) Moderates want their faith respected. They don’t want faith itself criticized, and yet faith itself is what is bringing us all this - this lunacy (Sam Harris Quotes) It is easy to see what many people, women especially, admire about Sarah Palin. Here is a mother of five who can see the bright side of having a child with Down syndrome and still find the time and energy to govern the state of Alaska (Sam Harris Quotes) Many of my fellow atheists consider all talk of ‘spirituality’ or ‘mysticism’ to be synonymous with mental illness, conscious fraud, or self-deception. I have argued elsewhere that this is a problem - because millions of people have had experiences for which ‘spiritual’ and ‘mystical’ seem the only terms available (Sam Harris Quotes) Most people believe that the Creator of the universe wrote (or dictated) one of their books. Unfortunately, there are many books that pretend to divine authorship, and each makes incompatible claims about how we all must live (Sam Harris Quotes) The conflict between religion and science is inherent and (very nearly) zero-sum. The success of science often comes at the expense of religious dogma; the maintenance of religious dogma always comes at the expense of science (Sam Harris Quotes) The president of the United States has claimed, on more than one occasion, to be in dialogue with God. If he said that he was talking to God through his hairdryer, this would precipitate a national emergency. I fail to see how the addition of a hairdryer makes the claim more ridiculous or offensive (Sam Harris Quotes) It is taboo in our society to criticize a persons religious faith... these taboos are offensive, deeply unreasonable, but worse than that, they are getting people killed. This is really my concern. My concern is that our religions, the diversity of our religious doctrines, is going to get us killed. I’m worried that our religious discourse- our religious beliefs are ultimately incompatible with civilization (Sam Harris Quotes) One of the worst things about breaking the law is that it puts one at odds with an indeterminate number of other people. This is among the many corrosive effects of having unjust laws: They tempt peaceful and (otherwise) honest people to lie so as to avoid being punished for behavior that is ethically blameless (Sam Harris Quotes) The problem of vindicating an omnipotent and omniscient God in the face of evil is insurmountable. Those who claim to have surmounted it, by recourse to notions of free will and other incoherencies, have merely heaped bad philosophy onto bad ethics (Sam Harris Quotes) The problem is that religion tends to give people bad reasons to be good (Sam Harris Quotes) Religious ideas about good and evil tend to focus on how to achieve well-being in the next life, and this makes them terrible guides to securing it in this one. Of course, there are a few gems to be found in every religious tradition, but insofar as these precepts are wise and useful they are not, in principle, religious. (Sam Harris Quotes) The freedom to think out loud on certain topics, without fear of being hounded into hiding or killed, has already been lost. (Sam Harris Quotes) We are free to burn the Qur’an or any other book, and to criticize Muhammad or any other human being. Let no one forget it. (Sam Harris Quotes) Morality must relate, at some level, to the well-being of conscious creatures. If there are more and less effective ways for us to seek happiness and to avoid misery in this world - and there clearly are - then there are right and wrong answers to questions of morality. (Sam Harris Quotes) The usefulness of religion - the fact that it gives life meaning, that it makes people feel good - is not an argument for the truth of any religious doctrine. It’s not an argument that it’s reasonable to believe that Jesus really was born of a virgin or that the Bible is the perfect word of the creator of the universe. (Sam Harris Quotes) You know, when you get to the New World and you develop your three branches of government and you have a civil society, you can just jettison all the barbarism I recommended in the first books. (Sam Harris Quotes) Either God can do nothing to stop catastrophes like this, or he doesn’t care to, or he doesn’t exist. God is either impotent, evil, or imaginary. Take your pick, and choose wisely. (Sam Harris Quotes)

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