Sam Harris Quotes

Seek truth from facts.

The good thing about science is that it is true whether or not you believe in it.

A truly open mind means forcing our imaginations to conform to the evidence of reality, and not vice versa.

Rationalism doesn't require "belief," only observation. The real, measurable world doesn't care what you believe.

My colleagues have learned to respect nothing but evidence, and to believe that their highest duty lies in submitting to it, however it may jar against their inclinations.

The bedrock of science is the unwillingness to accept authority.

Modern science's defense against self-delusion relies upon a spirit of open and critical inquiry. This, though hardly infallible, ostensibly uncovers errors and thereby proceeds towards objective truth

Scientific method isn't about winning popularity contests. It's also not about being with the majority opinion. It isn't supposed be determined by politics. It is about attempting to limit bias or prejudice in the results

The proof of a theory is in its reasoning, not in its sponsorship. The proof of a theory is in its reasoning, not in its sponsorship.

To govern well, one must see things as they are.

You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it

Look at the facts as they truly are, not as you want them to be.

Science is a wonderful way of getting out what's real.

What I want people to consider is that no matter what it is we want to believe, and no matter what story it is we want to jam the world into, the truth is the truth.

But I think you can strip the emotion and the subjectivity away while you focus on doing the science - and that's really important.

When we make decisions based on factors other than the available empirical evidence, we are less than objective, which means we are no longer acting as scientists.

Scientists want to know the evidence behind a statement; they want reproducible tests and verifiable facts. There is a big difference in the thought process of a trial lawyer who is interested not in what's true but what he can convince a jury is true.

It is clear that I am a person who believes fundamentally in facts, evidence, data, and science, which supports decision-making and allows us to function as a society based on knowledge.

Who besides guys like me are part of the reality-based community?

Look at what's in front of you, not what you've been told or what you expect or what you want to see.

No amount of belief makes something a fact.

The facts: nothing matters but the facts: worship of the facts leads to everything, to happiness first of all and then to wealth.

Science is not a body of facts. Science is a state of mind. It is a way of viewing the world, of facing reality square on but taking nothing on its face. It is about attacking a problem with the most manicured of claws and tearing it down into sensible, edible pieces.

I think science is real. And I think it's important that we grip this and deal with it, both at home and abroad.

Science has nothing to do with any dogma. Science ceases to exist when there is a dogma.