Sam Harris Model Of The Moral Landscape

Sam Harris believes he has identified a fatal flaw in contemporary thinking about morals and human values. For Harris, we are suffering from an epidemic of moral relativism, wherein most people, including secular academics, feel as though science and values are destined to belong to separate realms of thinking; science in the objective, morality stuck in the subjective. This notion of questions of morality not having right or wrong answers is seen as dangerous, Harris argues there are real answers to life 's most important questions, and these answers can promote human flourishing much more than our accepted pattern of ignorance. The general claim made is that there are empirical facts to be known about the connection between values and
Harris makes it clear in articulating his reasoning that his argument does not come from the position of a cultural imperialist. Although he gives the example of the Taliban’s veiling of women, he also presents a Western depiction of women (half-naked on numerous magazine covers) as another improper extreme. He upholds that science can find a balance between the two; he proposes his model of The Moral Landscape can find a more reasonable solution between the two that leads to a ‘peak’ of human well-being. Harris, contrary to Earp’s accusations, believes “the most basic facts about human flourishing must transcend culture, just as most other facts do”. He holds that our current thinking of “who’s to say they are wrong?” when it comes to questions of morality stem from an “attempt to pay intellectual reparations for the crimes of western colonialism, ethnocentrism, and racism” (Harris, “Moral confusion”). He holds that science will soon be able to answer questions of who is right and who is wrong. Harris himself is not putting down certain views and promoting his own, what he is pushing for is a more scientific inquiry toward universal truths that can advance human wellbeing and stimulate human