Making Sense of Foundations of Morality | Episode 3 of The Essential Sam Harris

In this episode, we try to trace morality to its elusive
foundations. Throughout the compilation we take a look at Sam’s
“Moral Landscape” and his effort to defend an objective path
towards moral evaluation.


We begin with the moral philosopher Peter Singer who outlines his
famous “shallow pond” analogy and the framework of
utilitarianism. We then hear from the moral psychologist Paul
Bloom who makes the case against empathy and points out how it is
more often a “bug” in our moral software than a “feature.” Later,
William MacAskill describes the way a utilitarian philosophy
informs his engagement with the Effective Altruism movement.


The moral psychologist Jonathan Haidt then puts pressure on Sam’s
emphasis on rationality and objective pathways towards morality
by injecting a healthy dose of psychological skepticism into the
conversation.


After, we hear a fascinating exchange with the historian Dan
Carlin where he and Sam tangle on the fraught issues of cultural
relativism.


We end by exploring the intersection of technological innovation
and moral progress with the entrepreneur Uma Valeti, whom Sam
seeks out when he encounters his own collision with a personal
moral failure.


 


About the Series


Filmmaker Jay Shapiro has produced The Essential Sam
Harris, a new series of audio
documentaries exploring the major topics that Sam has
focused on over the course of his career.


Each episode weaves together original analysis, critical
perspective, and novel thought experiments with some of the most
compelling exchanges from the Making Sense archive. Whether you
are new to a particular topic, or think you have your mind made
up about it, we think you’ll find this series fascinating.