Making Sense

Name: Making Sense
Author: Sam Harris

Sam Harris

Question assumptions and pursue truth through clear thinking, scientific evidence, and a deeper understanding of morality.

17 min9 Chapters

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Philosophy

Society & Culture

Outline

What's it about?

Making Sense (2020) collects some of the most compelling conversations from Sam Harris’s podcast of the same name. Harris talks with leading scientists, philosophers, and thinkers about consciousness, the self, free will, morality, artificial intelligence, violence, and the future of humanity. The book offers readers an engaging tour of big ideas and a model of careful, open-minded conversation about difficult questions.

Key ideas

The book collects some of the most compelling conversations from Sam Harris's podcast of the same name, published in 2020.
Harris talks with leading scientists, philosophers, and thinkers about consciousness, the self, and free will.
The conversations also cover morality, artificial intelligence, violence, and the future of humanity.
Clear thinking and scientific evidence are the tools for questioning assumptions and pursuing truth.
The book models careful, open-minded conversation about difficult questions.

About the author

Sam Harris is an American neuroscientist, philosopher, and writer known for his work on the mind, morality, free will, and meditation. He hosts the Making Sense podcast and created the Waking Up meditation app. His books include The Moral Landscape, Free Will, and Waking Up.

Questions people ask

What is Making Sense by Sam Harris about?

It collects some of the most compelling conversations from Sam Harris's podcast, where he talks with scientists, philosophers, and thinkers about consciousness, free will, morality, artificial intelligence, and the future of humanity.

Who is Making Sense for?

It suits readers who enjoy big ideas and want to see how difficult questions can be discussed carefully and with an open mind. No specialist background is mentioned or required.

How long does the Durar summary of Making Sense take?

The Durar summary takes about 15 minutes to read or listen to. It gives you the main themes of the conversations without going through the whole book.