Sam Harris Quotes

The rules of morality are not the conclusion of our reason.

Contemporary moral philosophy has found an original way of being boring, which is by not discussing moral issues at all.

My work is based on the assumption that clarity and consistency in our moral thinking is likely, in the long run, to lead us to hold better views on ethical issues.

One has only as much morality as one has philosophy and poetry.

The moral earth, too, is round! The moral earth, too, has its antipodes! The antipodes, too, have their right to exist! There is still another world to be discovered--and more than one! Set sail, you philosophers!

It is a prejudice to think that morality is more favourable to the development of reason than immorality.

Ethics is inescapable.

Our moral traditions developed concurrently with our reason, not as its product.

I would like us to think about it more explicitly, and not take our intuitions as the given of ethics, but rather to reflect on it, and be more open about the fact that something is an ethical issues and think what we ought to do about it.

The world of empirical morality consists for the most part of nothing but ill will and envy.

I think that moral philosophy is useful for framing questions, but terrible at answering them. I think moral psychology is booming right now, and we're making a lot of progress on understanding how we actually work, what our moral nature is.

Morality is a mountain which we cannot climb by our own efforts; and if we could we should only perish in the ice and unbreathable air of the summit, lacking those wings with which the rest of the journey has to be accomplished. For it is from there that the real ascent begins. The ropes and axes are 'done away' and the rest is a matter of flying.

Ethical and questions of philosophy interest me a great deal.

I want people to come away from my book with questions. Questions about virtue and goodness. Not answers.

The science of morality is about maximizing psychological and social health. It's really no more inflammatory than that.

One of the great questions of philosophy is, do we innately have morality, or do we get it from celestial dictation? A study of the Ten Commandments is a very good way of getting into and resolving that issue.

There's a great deal of difference between thinking reflectively about moral issues and achieving higher standards of ethical behavior.

It's because I work in ethics, and, more specifically, applied ethics, that I think it's important that if you have things to say that you think are right and you think could make the world a better place, it's important that many people read about them.

The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy, that is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.

Ethics are pre-determined and a matter of discovery, not a evolved concept.

If you say morality is just what you like, you lose the metaphysical level of what in the history of philosophy is called 'categorical imperative.'

In ethics, we don't make progress by discovering pre-existent truths; we do so by solving problems.

Talking about freedom, about ethical issues, about responsibilities as well as convenience, is asking people to think about things they might prefer to ignore, such as whether their conduct is ethical. This can trigger discomfort, and some people may simply close their minds to it. It does not follow that we ought to stop talking about these things.

They all deserve to die. Even you, Mrs. Lovett Even I. Because the lives of the wicked should be made brief For the rest of us death would be relief.

All good moral philosophy is ... but the handmaid to religion.