Yes I've seen this happen a couple of times in my life now. A great figure whom I respect espouses an argument for X as a principle, sometimes their whole research program is based on it. Then later they make an argument about a specific thing that is the result of believing not-X.
I just shrug my shoulders and chalk it up to being human. If we were perfectly logical beings how boring would that be? :)
Sam taught me to never put my faith in public figures. It really felt like a betrayal at the time. I can only imagine what kind of corpses are piling up in his basement. There are few lies greater than, "I know lying is wrong, so much so I wrote a whole book about it, but now, now the ends justify the means, clearly."
Good luck in your quest for truth. A lifetime of lies leaves a knotted net of dead wood, and its not so easy as it sounds, burning it all away. "One word of truth outweighs the world" - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Sam Harris has shown himself to be a fraud, that’s not a surprise to me, but his trivializing trafficked children…may he be shunned by decent people and never interviewed again.
Superb, Holly. As good a discussion of ethics as you’d hear from a brilliant apologist like CS Lewis, or brilliant polemicist like Christopher Hitchens.
Why is one party is so unconcerned with ethics in general and yet so vested in the ethics of this one person?
For awhile, before Trump's run for the 2016 presidency, I listened to Sam Harris and thought he had a pretty good grip on things. Then, after Trump entered the picture, he went off the rails. I lost all respect for him because it was clear to me that he wasn't basing his judgement about Trump on anything other than emotional over reaction high in vitriol and void of fact.
Aug 18, 2022·edited Aug 18, 2022Liked by Holly MathNerd
There is momentum in this country toward suspending democracy and due process of law (ostensibly)* in order to save them. (See tweets from General Hayden et al for further details.)
Sam Harris has added his considerable influence to this momentum.
So disheartening to see this in people who seem to have no self awareness, are so lacking in discernment, and yet believe they have the wisdom to expound about matters of conscience and moral foundation.
Trump broke Harris. Covid broke him even further. The way he spoke about and treated Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying during the pandemic proved to me he is not a person anyone should listen to.
I remember another time when an authority figure openly lied and defended it: Obama was trying to sell the ACA, and admitted that they were making false statements about it because they KNEW that it was the best thing if people accepted it. They called it "nudges" because people don't really like liars. Those who currently despise Democrat politicians have long memories of things like this.
But have you ever read Robert Trivers' "Folly of Fools?" More of an evo-psych and less of a psychoanalytical POV.
I just saw the clip you're referencing. I thought maybe SH was making some dark joke about "children's corpses". He was completely serious. "We're a nation of adult children of alcoholics. We don't get mad at the people who are inflicting the pain in this country. We get mad at the people who are pointing it out." Everything they accuse Trump of, has been done for the last 50 years by Rs and Ds. But, when Trump does it, journalists cover it, and we can't pretend it's not happening.
On a personal note. Everyone who lives long enough becomes the person they hate. Chomsky. Yes, Noam Chomsky was a lockdown/mandate aficionado at Newsom/Trudeau levels.It's disappointing, but it happens
Excellent, concise, definitive dismemberment of the once-awesome Sam Harris. Thank you. I agree with a previous commenter: there’s a hint of the late great Hitchens in your writing and analysis. So glad to have found you hear after I (and you) thankfully quit twitter.
I will share a John Irving story in the comments. I actually had a few books signed by him at the National Mall in DC. It was amazing to see and it was quite endearing. He seemed very chill and very honorable. Only one day, I actually wrote a book, and I said, "hey, I'm going to use a phrase from Until I find you" for my first book, The Disintegrating Bloodline." He was so chill that he let me use it will full permission, and didn't even have to pay for it. When I asked if he would love to read it, then that became a different story. But it's okay. Business is business, I guess, and using the quote for free worked out well.
Also, I do agree with what you're saying. I think Noam Chomsky was the same for me. To see him say, "separate the unvaccinated" made me cringe to the most unfathomable moment of tears. And then he says, "The person who lead us out of Ukraine is Donald Trump." It's like "what?" I don't think I have an eloquent tone such as you, but you're right to feel this way. And it was just as awful to watch, too, but I was never a fan of his, so I really don't have any stake concerning Sam Harris's future.
Yes I've seen this happen a couple of times in my life now. A great figure whom I respect espouses an argument for X as a principle, sometimes their whole research program is based on it. Then later they make an argument about a specific thing that is the result of believing not-X.
I just shrug my shoulders and chalk it up to being human. If we were perfectly logical beings how boring would that be? :)
Well said. I, too, have been listening to Sam since before Trump. I still hold out hope that one day he will see the error of all this.
Sam taught me to never put my faith in public figures. It really felt like a betrayal at the time. I can only imagine what kind of corpses are piling up in his basement. There are few lies greater than, "I know lying is wrong, so much so I wrote a whole book about it, but now, now the ends justify the means, clearly."
Good luck in your quest for truth. A lifetime of lies leaves a knotted net of dead wood, and its not so easy as it sounds, burning it all away. "One word of truth outweighs the world" - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Sam Harris has shown himself to be a fraud, that’s not a surprise to me, but his trivializing trafficked children…may he be shunned by decent people and never interviewed again.
Superb, Holly. As good a discussion of ethics as you’d hear from a brilliant apologist like CS Lewis, or brilliant polemicist like Christopher Hitchens.
Why is one party is so unconcerned with ethics in general and yet so vested in the ethics of this one person?
For awhile, before Trump's run for the 2016 presidency, I listened to Sam Harris and thought he had a pretty good grip on things. Then, after Trump entered the picture, he went off the rails. I lost all respect for him because it was clear to me that he wasn't basing his judgement about Trump on anything other than emotional over reaction high in vitriol and void of fact.
There is momentum in this country toward suspending democracy and due process of law (ostensibly)* in order to save them. (See tweets from General Hayden et al for further details.)
Sam Harris has added his considerable influence to this momentum.
*EDITED to add ‘(ostensibly)’
So disheartening to see this in people who seem to have no self awareness, are so lacking in discernment, and yet believe they have the wisdom to expound about matters of conscience and moral foundation.
I wonder if Jordan Peterson will speak to this issue.
Trump broke Harris. Covid broke him even further. The way he spoke about and treated Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying during the pandemic proved to me he is not a person anyone should listen to.
I remember another time when an authority figure openly lied and defended it: Obama was trying to sell the ACA, and admitted that they were making false statements about it because they KNEW that it was the best thing if people accepted it. They called it "nudges" because people don't really like liars. Those who currently despise Democrat politicians have long memories of things like this.
But have you ever read Robert Trivers' "Folly of Fools?" More of an evo-psych and less of a psychoanalytical POV.
I just saw the clip you're referencing. I thought maybe SH was making some dark joke about "children's corpses". He was completely serious. "We're a nation of adult children of alcoholics. We don't get mad at the people who are inflicting the pain in this country. We get mad at the people who are pointing it out." Everything they accuse Trump of, has been done for the last 50 years by Rs and Ds. But, when Trump does it, journalists cover it, and we can't pretend it's not happening.
On a personal note. Everyone who lives long enough becomes the person they hate. Chomsky. Yes, Noam Chomsky was a lockdown/mandate aficionado at Newsom/Trudeau levels.It's disappointing, but it happens
Excellent, concise, definitive dismemberment of the once-awesome Sam Harris. Thank you. I agree with a previous commenter: there’s a hint of the late great Hitchens in your writing and analysis. So glad to have found you hear after I (and you) thankfully quit twitter.
At this point all he can hope for is that he doesn't get what he's asked for.
I will share a John Irving story in the comments. I actually had a few books signed by him at the National Mall in DC. It was amazing to see and it was quite endearing. He seemed very chill and very honorable. Only one day, I actually wrote a book, and I said, "hey, I'm going to use a phrase from Until I find you" for my first book, The Disintegrating Bloodline." He was so chill that he let me use it will full permission, and didn't even have to pay for it. When I asked if he would love to read it, then that became a different story. But it's okay. Business is business, I guess, and using the quote for free worked out well.
Also, I do agree with what you're saying. I think Noam Chomsky was the same for me. To see him say, "separate the unvaccinated" made me cringe to the most unfathomable moment of tears. And then he says, "The person who lead us out of Ukraine is Donald Trump." It's like "what?" I don't think I have an eloquent tone such as you, but you're right to feel this way. And it was just as awful to watch, too, but I was never a fan of his, so I really don't have any stake concerning Sam Harris's future.
Hope you're doing well regardless, Queen
Louis.