The idea that humans have some kind of special case of agency is sort of a last holdout of anthropocentrism. I think that what follows upon this insight psychologically and socially is almost entirely good. And my argument here is that to fully understand the conditions that cause an eight-year-old child to grow into the man who becomes a prototypically evil person, you would be radically reduced in terms of moralizing him or her. That has to matter ultimately, judicially.
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.