Making Sense of Foundations of Morality

<p>In this episode, we try to trace morality to its elusive foundations. Throughout the compilation we take a look at Sam&rsquo;s &ldquo;Moral Landscape&rdquo; and his effort to defend an objective path towards moral evaluation.</p> <p>We begin with the moral philosopher Peter Singer who outlines his famous &ldquo;shallow pond&rdquo; analogy and the framework of utilitarianism. We then hear from the moral psychologist Paul Bloom who makes the case against empathy and points out how it is more often a &ldquo;bug&rdquo; in our moral software than a &ldquo;feature.&rdquo; Later, William&nbsp;MacAskill describes the way a utilitarian philosophy informs his engagement with the Effective Altruism movement.</p> <p>The moral psychologist Jonathan Haidt then puts pressure on Sam&rsquo;s emphasis on rationality and objective pathways towards morality by injecting a healthy dose of psychological skepticism into the conversation.</p> <p>After, we hear a fascinating exchange with the historian Dan Carlin where he and Sam tangle on the fraught issues of cultural relativism.</p> <p>We end by exploring the intersection of technological innovation and moral progress with the entrepreneur Uma Valeti, whom Sam seeks out when he encounters his own collision with a personal moral failure.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>About the Series</strong></p> <p>Filmmaker Jay Shapiro has produced&nbsp;<strong>The Essential Sam Harris</strong>,&nbsp;a new series of audio documentaries&nbsp;exploring the major topics that Sam has focused on over the course of his career.</p> <p>Each episode weaves together original analysis, critical perspective, and novel thought experiments with some of the most compelling exchanges from the Making Sense archive. Whether you are new to a particular topic, or think you have your mind made up about it, we think you&rsquo;ll find this series fascinating.</p>