Sam Harris: The great problem of our time

About the video: "I think we need a truly open-ended conversation with 8 billion strangers, and
what makes that hard to do increasingly is a level of political fragmentation and extremism and
partisanship born of our engagement with these new technologies."

Our culture has atomized: We’re all on our own with our phones, laptops, and digital media experiences. No one knows what everyone else is seeing. In some ways, these technologies have caused a shattering of culture, and we can’t seem to agree about our perceptions of the world, says philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris.

To combat this, we need to secure some semblance of human wellbeing. What makes that an increasing challenge is the political fragmentation and extremism born from our engagement with new technologies.

We’re witnessing a zero-sum contest between those of us who want to maintain open societies and those who increasingly want to build closed, belligerent ones that make it impossible to share space. We have to become more intelligent to deal with these threats without losing the values we seek to defend. That’s why dogmatism is an intellectual sin, and overcoming it is key to building a better future for us all, says Harris.

Timestamps:
0:00: A crisis of meaning
2:03: Conversation vs. violence
3:51: Good people, bad ideas
5:37: Eliminating dogma
7:36: Your mind is all you have

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About Sam Harris:

Sam Harris is the author of the New York Times bestsellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction.

Mr. Harris' writing has been published in over ten languages. He and his work have been discussed in Newsweek, TIME, The New York Times, Scientific American, Rolling Stone, and many other journals. His writing has appeared in Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, The Times (London), The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, Nature, The Annals of Neurology, and elsewhere.

Mr. Harris is a graduate in philosophy from Stanford University and holds a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA, where he studied the neural basis of belief with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). He is also a Co-Founder and CEO of Project Reason.

[cemberendsen]

people clicking on this video are probably not the people who need to hear this

[PecosHank]

"If you're beliefs are non-falsifiable... If there's no scenario that can convince you that your most cherished opinions are in error, then that's proof that you didn't get them by being in contact with reality." -Harris ^

[mockEVOviii]

Teaching people how to think will forever be superior to telling people what to think.

[robbie_paterson]

''If world peace is to be established, peace in the individual must be established first''

I love how Sam's closing point hints for people to go within and start with themselves first.

[ufftatabummbumm]

What's wrong with the world is that intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.

[shaneh]

"The real problem of humanity is we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and god-like technologies.” —E.O. Wilson.

[sallyduda]

“Good people, normal people under the influence of bad ideas.” Need to remember that when I get angry or frustrated.

[isaacquirivan]

I’m a philosophy major who chose to go back to supporting kids in school because I think an education in the ideas that Harris describes among others are one of the most important goals of the 21st century. We HAVE to break the cycle, somehow…

[bijanjan]

The real problem of being certain of own opinion is that we transform our opinions and concepts into our identity and when we are confronted by others it becomes a threat to what we consider our identity

[Dozenz]

Unfortunately, the problem isn't that people don't care about facts, it's that people choose the facts that suit their beliefs.

[BendingPinkSteel]

This is such a powerful reminder that our minds are the battleground. If we don’t learn to train our thoughts, they’ll train us.

[evangaryhirsch]

What an absolutely beautiful speech and perspective. The solutions are right here, Folks... 🥰

[Ali-ehb]

You said it better than I could. There is no order in this digital network. We need the communication, but can't rid ourselves of the "noise."

[jayinderkaushik]

I am always astonished how effortlessly articulate Sam is

[xq]

I told a friend a long time ago that a time will come when people will be told that 2+2 actually doesnt = 4. And many will believe it. We are almost there.

[Shiibai]

3 things that helped me and literally changed my life

1. I stopped telling myself I'll do it tomorrow
2. I read books on nixorus
3. I had faith and religion.

[What_If_We_Tried]

Extremely thought provoking video! Thanks so much!

[WeylandLabs]

*We engage endlessly in digital discourse, debating rebutting in an algorithmic theater. Yet despite our ceaseless exchange of words, we rarely forge real solutions. We've become more invested in performance of dialogue then in the difficult work of creating change.*

_Why do societies world wide seem trapped in this cycle of debate without progress ?_

_Perhaps we need to ask ourselves:_ *Are we truly seeking solutions, or have we become too comfortable in the familiar dance of endless discussions ?*

[petergradilone]

The mythologist Joseph Campbell noted well over 50 years ago, that perhaps the only proper mythic symbol of our time, should be the first image of the earth from the moon taken during the Apollo program. As Campbell noted: "There is a common humanity built into our nervous system, out of which our imaginations work". That's just hard science as much as common sense. Genuine community only happens if there is a larger picture to work for, often when crisis is widely perceived. That said, also heed Carl Jung's warning about individuals who are too judicious with their "understanding" of those who are intolerant.
Too many people just want to burn the house down. Be open, but be aware.

[Sean-oyxm]

I was an Evangelical Christian for forty years. I was in ministry and church leadership, and was an avid Apologist of the Christian faith. That path of seeking for solid arguments, along with the overwhelming lack of evidence for the claims of Christianity has led me to an Atheistic worldview. Thank you Sam.