Product Description

An impassioned plea for reason in a world divided by faith.

This important and timely book delivers a startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in today's world. Harris offers a vivid historical tour of mankind's willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when those beliefs are used to justify harmful behavior and sometimes-heinous crimes. He asserts that in the shadow of weapons of mass destruction, we can no longer tolerate views that pit one true god against another. Most controversially, he argues that we cannot afford moderate lip service to religion—an accommodation that only blinds us to the real perils of fundamentalism. While warning against the encroachment of organized religion into world politics, Harris also draws on new evidence from neuroscience and insights from philosophy to explore spirituality as a biological, brain-based need. He calls on us to invoke that need in taking a secular humanistic approach to solving the problems of this world.

Natalie Angier wrote in the New York Times: "The End of Faith articulates the dangers and absurdities of organized religion so fiercely and so fearlessly that I felt relieved as I read it, vindicated….Harris writes what a sizable number of us think, but few are willing to say."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2511 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Amazon.com Review
Sam Harris cranks out blunt, hard-hitting chapters to make his case for why faith itself is the most dangerous element of modern life. And if the devil's in the details, then you'll find Satan waiting at the back of the book in the very substantial notes section where Harris saves his more esoteric discussions to avoid sidetracking the urgency of his message.

Interestingly, Harris is not just focused on debunking religious faith, though he makes his compelling arguments with verve and intellectual clarity. The End of Faith is also a bit of a philosophical Swiss Army knife. Once he has presented his arguments on why, in an age of Weapons of Mass Destruction, belief is now a hazard of great proportions, he focuses on proposing alternate approaches to the mysteries of life. Harris recognizes the truth of the human condition, that we fear death, and we often crave "something more" we cannot easily define, and which is not met by accumulating more material possessions. But by attempting to provide the cure for the ills it defines, the book bites off a bit more than it can comfortably chew in its modest page count (however the rich Bibliography provides more than enough background for an intrigued reader to follow up for months on any particular strand of the author' musings.)

Harris' heart is not as much in the latter chapters, though, but in presenting his main premise. Simply stated, any belief system that speaks with assurance about the hereafter has the potential to place far less value on the here and now. And thus the corollary -- when death is simply a door translating us from one existence to another, it loses its sting and finality. Harris pointedly asks us to consider that those who do not fear death for themselves, and who also revere ancient scriptures instructing them to mete it out generously to others, may soon have these weapons in their own hands. If thoughts along the same line haunt you, this is your book.--Ed Dobeas

From Publishers Weekly
In this sometimes simplistic and misguided book, Harris calls for the end of religious faith in the modern world. Not only does such faith lack a rational base, he argues, but even the urge for religious toleration allows a too-easy acceptance of the motives of religious fundamentalists. Religious faith, according to Harris, requires its adherents to cling irrationally to mythic stories of ideal paradisiacal worlds (heaven and hell) that provide alternatives to their own everyday worlds. Moreover, innumerable acts of violence, he argues, can be attributed to a religious faith that clings uncritically to one set of dogmas or another. Very simply, religion is a form of terrorism for Harris. Predictably, he argues that a rational and scientific view—one that relies on the power of empirical evidence to support knowledge and understanding—should replace religious faith. We no longer need gods to make laws for us when we can sensibly make them for ourselves. But Harris overstates his case by misunderstanding religious faith, as when he makes the audaciously naïve statement that "mysticism is a rational enterprise; religion is not." As William James ably demonstrated, mysticism is far from a rational enterprise, while religion might often require rationality in order to function properly. On balance, Harris's book generalizes so much about both religion and reason that it is ineffectual.
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Review
An important book, on a topic that…should not be shielded from the crucible of human reason. -- Natalie Angier, The New York Times Book Review

At last we have a book that…links Islamic terrorism with the irrationality of all religious faith. -- Peter Singer, author of The President of Good and Evil

Harris's tour de force demonstrates how faith threatens our very existence…A must read for all rational people. -- Alan Dershowitz, author of America on Trial

Here is a ringing challenge to all Americans. -- Joseph C. Hough, Jr., President, Union Theological Seminary, New York

Will strike a chord with anyone who has ever pondered the irrationality of religious faith and its cruel, murderous consequences. -- The Economist

[Harris] writes with such verve and frequent insight that even skeptical readers will find it hard to put down. -- The San Francisco Chronicle

Customer Reviews

Well worth it - even after reading Dawkins, Dennett and Hitchens
I wasn't sure that it would be worth my time to read the fourth recent book on atheism. I'm glad I did.

The End of Faith adds many ideas and nuances to the conversation. This is especially true in the last two chapters, which other reviewers have found controversial, rambling, or babble, but I found thought-provoking. Harris acknowledges that there are not many answers. However, just as the last 2000 years have seen astronomy develop from positing the earth being the center of the universe, rational experimentation and knowledge development can develop ethics and spiritualism into sound sciences.

Chapter 6 - A Science of Good and Evil - explores ethics from a starting point of zero faith. After making a case against relativism and pragmatism, Harris explores several interesting ethical questions. Like on abortion - Just because we can't determine exactly when humanity starts doesn't mean that you cannot make a moral judgement about a stem cell or a weeks-old fetus. Or a thought-provoking question on tortue that challenges moral intuition - is it really worse to tortue a known criminal for information that would save lives than it is to drop bombs from the air on potentially innocent civilians?

Chapter 7 - Experiments in Consciousness - acknowledges the human desire for spiritualism/mysticism and starts to explore how to grow in those directions in a mindset that does not include faith.

Sam Harris presages Sarah Palin.
Sam Harris writes: "In our next presidential election, an actor who reads his Bible would almost certainly defeat a rocket scientist who does not." If Stephen Prothero is correct in his book "Religious Literacy", which concludes that Americans are illiterate about their own religion, then any "implicit" presidential requirement of reading the Bible would seem superfluous. Prothero, a professor of Religion, writes that Americans are undeniably religious but also profoundly illiterate about their own religion.

The only thing alarming about Mr. Harris's book is that he actually had to write it. Take a gander at this little pearl (for example): http://infonomics.infonomx5.com/evolution/evolution.asp (scroll down for source). Embarrassing. Now consider Sherri Shepherd of "The View". Explain to me how a person can reach middle-age and be uncertain about the curvature of the earth (she does not know if its flat or not) yet resolute about the inadequacy of Darwin's theory of evolution. Explain to me how you can connect with a populace when the preponderance of Christians not only do not read about their own God but they also seem to be unabashedly untroubled by it. Explain to me how to promote reason to an electorate that supports a creationist with silly syllogisms such as: Sarah Palin is the governor of Alaska. Alaska is close to Russia. Therefore, Sarah Palin has foreign policy experience. Lest you dismiss this neo-logic as mere political rhetoric, note the increase in the Republican campaign crowds since Sarah Palin's arrival. Forgive my cynical mood, but I used to be alarmed that Americans did not think; now, I am fearful that they do.

Sam Harris presaged Sarah Palin. If she insist on invoking God's name to support military action, then she must bear the burden of proving God's existence. Buy the book and support reason before Sarah Palin nukes it.

A Thought Provoking Outlook on World Events and Religious Attitudes
Sam Harris presents his rationale that the world faces an equally dangerous yet wholly unexpected vulnerability from religious moderates as it does from extremists. Harris asserts that moderate beliefs cause the masses to refrain from attacking fundamentally flawed religious beliefs based on the notion that certain values are perceived as too sacred to question. If you are an atheist looking to bolster you views, an agnostic wishing to amplify your curiosity, or a member of any religion looking to strengthen your convictions, Sam Harris will deliver as his book is filled with provocative questions and thoughts worthy of our times.

Harris has a resounding ideal that becomes apparent very quickly in his book. "There is no reason that our ability to sustain ourselves emotionally and spiritually cannot evolve with technology, politics, and the rest of culture. Indeed, it must evolve if we are to have any future." For it is evident that Harris' mission is not to disrupt the beliefs of the religious, but to instill in the public an inquisitive nature about events that at the very least opens the issue of religion up for discussion among all other topics.

The foundation of Harris' view stems from his belief that people generally assess situations in all realms of life based on logic and rationality, excluding religion. "Tell a devout Christian that his wife is cheating on him...and he is likely to require as much evidence as anyone else, and to be persuaded only to the extent that you give it. Tell him that the book he keeps by his bed was written by an invisible deity who will punish him with fire for eternity if he fails to accept its every incredible claim about the universe, and he seems to require no evidence whatsoever." The result of this stance ends up producing a defense and justification for an avoidance of a meticulous examination essential for truly understanding fundamental motivations. If we are unwilling to even ponder such a line of reasoning, how can we expect to successfully find fault among common terrorists actively hiding behind the same line of logical reasoning? Assertions like these will resonate with some, and will strengthen the religious views of others; but all intelligent people will agree that there is merit in considering such thoughts because if our beliefs cannot withstand simple logical questioning, than what does this reveal of our beliefs?

Where Harris might emit some weakness is in his view that the entire impetus behind Islamic terrorism is the loose quality of Koran. This clearly overlooks the far greater population of Muslims that do not share terrorist ambitions despite devoutly following the same text. Thus Harris may have been better served looking at all influencing factors (such as poverty, social influence, group identity, etc) instead of assuming religion must represent the only incentive.

The End of Faith is not to be taken lightly, as even detractors of Harris' work will require significant time to sincerely analyze the vast scope of reasoning offered. If you are seeking a thought provoking outlook on world events and religious attitudes and have the strength of conviction to handle an undeviating line of reasoning, you will find this book invigorating.