How long do you have, Dan? To do justice to the subject we'd need a few beers and a few hours. I'll provide you with the Cliff Notes version here. I'm not positive when he first appeared on my radar but it probably was related to his very public atheism and his short but powerful rebuke of Christianity in "Letter to a Christian Nation". For the uninitiated, it's less than 100 pages and can easily be read in one sitting. It concisely and forcefully argued many of the criticisms that I had, but of course his ideas were fully fleshed out and far more articulately stated than I could have expressed. I'm thinking that that led me to his 2005 PEN/Albrand award winning book for non-fiction, "The End of Faith", which won for best nonfiction. He began writing it the day after 911. In it, Sam took on all religion, arguing for rationality and a morality that doesn't require a supernatural element. I was hooked, and I have since listened to all 438 of his podcasts, usually 2-3 times, watched countless Youtube videos of speeches, debates, best of compilations, (there are 5 debates with Jordan Peterson, and biased though I am, Sam wiped the floor with the pompous Peterson), and there are other books on free will and lying, and I've seen Sam twice in Boston, and this Thursday will be #3.

But you asked why I am inspired by him. I'll take a stab at it. Harris has a Spock-like rationality. He's very much aware of the cognitive biases that we all have to battle and I think he largely manages to avoid them. My mind has been stretched on many fronts: morality (and the importance of happiness and suffering for all conscious creatures), free will (I'm not thoroughly convinced as Sam is that we totally lack it but he's moved me considerably in the direction that we don't possess it like we think we do, luck (he's opened my eyes to the enormously consequential role that good and bad luck play in our lives, and society's absolute obligation to mitigate for the effects (a deep and strong social safety net for example). He's led me to really contemplate what constitutes  a good, virtuous life. Sam has especially been focused on the threat posed by Islamists and Jihadists to our values, and truth be told, lives. His discussions with Douglas Murray on Muslim immigration to Europe have been thought provoking. This particular subject area has brought with it many, many death threats to Sam and I know he has enormous security concerns. Still, he's a voice that won't be silenced. It's interesting how he has lost many prominent friends and acquaintances because he won't budge on issues that he believes are enormously consequential. Elon Musk was a friend but his antics on so many fronts forced Sam to very publicly and with great specificity explain why he's severed ties. To a lesser degree, his friendship with Joe Rogan, who had Sam as a guest several times, has largely ended as it has with Brett Weinstein. Their adoption of dangerous Covid-related positions and their platforming guests with similar views was a bridge too far for Sam. On-line, you'll find some real Sam haters out there, with many happily taking Sam out of context. Glenn Greenwald is one noteworthy example. 

I could go on, Dan, but for the uninitiated, I have a few suggestions. Try a few of his short Youtube videos:

Best of Sam Harris on Religion & Faith10:16

Sam Harris- It is Always Now   5:42

I am a big fan of his near legendary 2 hour discussion with Hitchens, Dawkins, and Dennett held at Hitchens apartment with the host imbibing and smoking, and generally holding court. You can google: Youtube Four Horsemen Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris...and you'll get there. There are one hour versions but I heartily recommend the full 2 hours. 

Similarly, his podcasts have featured other "big thinkers" who have broadened my horizons in so many ways: Pinker, Sapolsky, David Deutsch, Douglas Murray, Jonathan Haidt, Anne Applebaum, Masha Gessen, David French, Andrew Sullivan, Paul Blum,  David Frum, Ritchie Torres, Jocko Willink, to name a few. 

FYI, Sam's podcast was initially titled "Waking Up", he now reserves that name for the meditation app that he offers. The podcast is now called "Making Sense".

I hope I've given you a sense for the journey that Sam Harris has put me on, Dan. He's no guru, no god, just a very clear thinking, fearless moral philosopher with a Phd in neuroscience, who views TRUTH as being at the center of the bullseye and human flourishing as the noblest of goals.

And that's all folks!

Peter T.