We would have a different picture of what's actually going on if we got rid of this notion of free will. We can't take away that moral judgment and still defend the idea that Mahatma Gandhi summoned a kind of moral courage, right? So, I mean, I think there is a loss here in terms of the stories we tell ourselves about what it means to be alive.
Neuroscientist, philosopher, podcaster, author, meditation guru, and unabashed atheist Sam Harris is one of our best-known — and most controversial — public intellectuals. In this bonus episode, he and Rufus talk about consciousness, free will, morality, and people’s stubborn insistence on being irrational.