The Decline of Intelligence in the World

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Intelligence is a somewhat taboo topic.
Intelligence is equated with moral superiority.
This makes people uncomfortable.
The conversation also discusses why intelligence is a taboo topic. One reason is that people equate intelligence with moral superiority. This makes people uncomfortable because it means that people who are smarter than others are not just talented, but they are also better than others in terms of morality.

Sam Harris speaks with Arthur C. Brooks about what it takes to build a good life. They discuss the power of social comparison, the intelligence taboo, political dignity and ethical hierarchy, the Dalai Lama, the nature of love, fluid and crystallized intelligences, the strange case of Linus Pauling, the limits of identity, atheism and religious faith, fear of death, psychedelics, existentialism, St. Thomas Aquinas, and other topics.

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