Join best-selling author and neuroscientist Sam Harris and cognitive neuroscientist Jonas Kaplan as they dive into the complex neuroscience behind belief change. They discuss the emotional biases that often mislead our reasoning and the importance of self-awareness in forming new opinions. Explore how adaptability in belief systems is crucial during divisive times and the challenges posed by misinformation. With a focus on open-mindedness and critical thinking, they provide insights on how conversation can help us navigate our differences.
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insights INSIGHT
Belief Flexibility
Belief flexibility is crucial for a functioning society, enabling productive conversations and information exchange.
Without it, progress in various fields, like science and education, becomes limited, increasing the risk of conflict.
insights INSIGHT
Focus on Self-Reflection
Instead of focusing on persuading others, examine your own resistance to new information.
Increasing your open-mindedness and receptiveness to evidence is key for personal growth and societal progress.
insights INSIGHT
Continued Influence Effect
The continued influence effect shows how misinformation continues affecting our thinking even after correction.
The initial wrong belief gets ingrained in our memory and influences subsequent thoughts.
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In 'Letter to a Christian Nation', Sam Harris responds to the feedback he received after the publication of his first book, 'The End of Faith'. Harris argues against the rationality of Christian scriptures and the concept of intelligent design, highlighting the conflicts between religion and science. He critiques the moral and intellectual implications of religious dogma, particularly in areas such as stem-cell research, condom use in Africa, and the prevention of HIV and AIDS. Harris also addresses the problem of evil and the perceived false morality created by religious beliefs. The book is written in the form of an open letter to a Christian in the United States, aiming to challenge the influence of faith on public policy and societal values.
The End Of Faith
Sam Harris
In this book, Sam Harris delivers a critical analysis of the clash between reason and religious faith in the modern world. He argues that religious beliefs, even moderate ones, can lead to dangerous consequences, such as terrorism, and that these beliefs are not grounded in empirical evidence. Harris draws on insights from neuroscience, philosophy, and Eastern mysticism to propose a secular and humanistic foundation for ethics and spirituality. The book is a call to action against the encroachment of organized religion into world politics and advocates for a rational approach to ethics based on human happiness and suffering.
In a world where the personal has become political, and politics has swallowed everything, the stakes of changing your mind can feel really high. To change your mind is to risk betrayal – of your people, your culture, your tribe. But there may be nothing more important to a functioning democracy than to be able to influence each other, and be influenced ourselves, on the basis of conversation.
So for today’s episode: the neuroscience of belief change. It’s an interview that aired last year on The Making Sense podcast, hosted by Sam Harris.
Sam Harris is a lot of things: a best-selling author, a neuroscientist and a meditation teacher. In this conversation, Sam talks with cognitive neuroscientist Jonas Kaplan about how we can be more amenable to persuasion, why we mistake emotion as evidence, wishful thinking, and how we can become more critical of ourselves as we form new opinions.
As Sam has said many times before, we only have two choices to resolve conflict as human beings: violence or conversation. To change your mind, or to be open to changing your mind, is to choose the latter.
Honestly with Bari Weiss 
