Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions

http://www.ted.com Questions of good and evil, right and wrong are commonly thought unanswerable by science. But Sam Harris argues that science can -- and should -- be an authority on moral issues, shaping human values and setting out what constitutes a good life.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

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[librazone]

"The great fool is the individual who is above wisdom and not below it." G.K. Chesterton

Sounds like Sam Harris.

[thestrugglewithin]

@dooby78

He's wrong from the get-go.

The question of morals is WHY do we perceive right and wrong, without being taught?

Why do we perceive those values independently?

Firstly is because we perceive reality relative to self - thats how sympathy works for example.

The rest of the formula is explained by the same reasons of why people are inherently bad - lie, judge, hate - all of which are contrasts to what we can comprehend as 'perfection'.

The 'law' is written on our hearts.

[ellk420]

Whenever Sam Harris is speaking, I'm constantly waiting for De Niro to come along and whisper 'I'm watching you Focker' in his ear...

[YouTubricant]

I am a (liberal/progressive) Christian...and I agree with virtually all of this.

[SCFootball04]

@thestrugglewithin do you realize that there have been studies done that find a correlation between serial killers and not being cared for and cuddled as infants. Because they did not receive that care, they did not develop empathy for other people. They have no emotional response to people screaming, crying, etc. Where is the law written then?

[convictPKlol]

@crowbs90 Because people love the idea of showing off their plumage. Sam Harris is one of the great intellectuals of the present and will be remembered in the future, yet the opinionated population on this rock will forever troll.

[BigDog91527]

haha i love the casual use of dark humor in his metaphors :)

[Pythagoras211]

Much of this comes straight from Aristotle I think.

[crowbs90]

Why are the top rated comments criticisms of this speech, yet the likes overwhelm the dislikes? What a joke.

[themongru]

@dooby78 We may know that hurting people is bad, I agree that we don't need science to tell us this. However science tells us why hurting people is bad and why we feel that it's bad.

[devious21]

@ConnorShovel I was just thinking the exact same thing.

[Mandragara]

@dooby78 I think he means the scientific method more than experimental results