Sam Harris vs. Deepak Chopra (debate): Consciousness and the Brain

Excerpt from a debate on the question "Does God Have a Future?" presented by ABC's Nightline on 3/23/2010. The participants were Sam Harris, Michael Shermer, Deepak Chopra and Jean Houston. The moderator was Dan Harris.

The full debate can be viewed at http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/FaceOff/. This excerpt starts at 6:44 in the segment entitled "Science Can Explain Life."

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Sam Harris
• Debate
• Deepak Chopra
• Michael Shermer
• Jean Houston
• Atheism
• Spirituality
• Religion
• God
• Consciousness
• Mind
• Brain
• Neurology
• Subjectivity
• Objectivity
• Nightline
• Face-Off
• CalTech

[jaggerlags]

Deepak is simply ridiculous.

[lachezar43]

Why someone like Sam Harris would have discourse with charlatans like Mr. Chopra?

[ZEDSTODT2]

@flutterandwow You can hew & haw all you wish but I saw my brothers ghost when he died so I already know consciousness doesnt end after death. I cant prove it (unless I could remember what he told me, perhaps under hypnosis) but I know what I saw.

[MrDarkbloom]

Wow, you know we are so damn lucky to live in an era where we can watch TY videos (pretty much) where and as often as we please to consolidate (or feed) our learning. There will ALWAYS be well-meaning bullshit floating around (e.g Chopra), but in the 21st Cent. we soooooo have to be skeptical, smart, rational, morally grounded (e.g Harris) in order to not squander the significant humanitarian breakthroughs of the last century.

[flutterandwow]

@ZEDSTODT2 What did Harris say that was FACTUALLY wrong when he disagreed with Chopra? I haven't seen you counter anything he has actually said with an argument. I told you, as far as we know, our consciousness seems to come from the brain - when the brain dies, consciousness does to. It's a well-known human cognitive trait to over-detect agency in the world and much more... What can you actually say against this?

[flutterandwow]

@sleepcity That was very well said - you hit the nail on the head about the usual (unthinking) Harris critics! Oh, and did you know that because Harris' mother apparently identifies herself as 'Jewish' that means Harris is a Zionist? hehehe

[ZEDSTODT2]

@sleepcity Of course you & Harris are "experts" on all Exotericism & Esotericism eh? The fact that you want to silence dissenters is proof of my assertions. Obviously youre an easy sell if you claim that Harris BS is "brilliant". Its quite the opposite.

[sleepcity]

@MrDarkbloom Yeah, a metaphor for our times. He bowls the unsuspecting, marketing-trained/vulnerable, and scientifically illiterate over with "sciencey" verbiage. Why bother constructing and presenting a long, reasonable, evidence-based argument when you can just badger people with metaphysically loaded statements (designed only to impress the ignorant) and point to their bewilderment at you as proof of the truth of your half-assed arguments?

[sleepcity]

@ZEDSTODT2 "Because Harris has an ulterior political agenda." Oh please shut up. Seriously. You can put whatever agenda you want on him...doesn't get around his philosophical arguments as exhibited here brilliantly. You're either an extreme right-winger who hates him for his godlessness or your an extreme left-winger who hates him for a couple of passages about torture in his first book. From that you've extrapolated a huge conspiracy. Just go away. And read more books.

[DaMuzicKing]

Deepak wants to make everything so deep and profound and Sam Harris is saying that can be explained by the brain functions. Nobody ever wants to look at the reality of shit and they just want to make everything magical. ACCEPT THE FUCKING TRUTH

[freshair3451]

You are the man, Deepak.