A concise take-down of Sam Harris

December 21, 2019 12:53 PM

Some folks in my meditation group are buzzed about Sam Harris. They are in leadership roles and are presenting his meditation guidance within our public-facing groups. I have the sense that they are unaware of how problematic he is, and would be horrified (as I am) at his views beyond meditation. Can you provide me with a concise take-down of him that I can share with them?
posted by nanook to Religion & Philosophy (5 answers total)

Thank you for taking this on. This piece by the Southern Poverty Law Center is longish but has a good section on Harris and his alt-right implications.
posted by veery at 1:38 PM on December 21, 2019 [2 favorites]

Why I Stopped Idolizing Sam Harris
posted by loveandhappiness at 2:11 PM on December 21, 2019

Best answer: Current Affairs has done an epic take-down of Harris (cf. their articles on Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro, et al.). "Being Mr. Reasonable." It's well sourced and comprehensive. But concise it is not.
posted by Beardman at 3:15 PM on December 21, 2019 [6 favorites]

This article at The Guardian explores someone's personal experience with Sam Harris videos being a starting point to leading them down the youtube algorithm rabbit hole to increasingly extreme content:

'Alt-right’ online poison nearly turned me into a racist
posted by bluecore at 3:53 PM on December 21, 2019 [1 favorite]

On the meditation front, he’s just repackaged Buddhism with an NPR voice.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 9:07 PM on December 21, 2019