Despite being labeled as one of the four horsemen of atheism, Sam Harris stands out by extending his future course of action to individuals whose belief has withered off or never existed. The highly rational individual that he is, Sam Harris explores two areas where ultra-rationalism might find compromise for the better. In the first instance, he meticulously presents arguments to rationalize a practice—meditation. Harris contends that the mindfulness technique he advocates, promoting a life of awareness and reduced suffering, can be likened to mental training, analogous to the physical training undertaken by athletes. Notably, there is a mounting body of scientific evidence supporting the rationality of his stance.
In the second instance, he goes into irrationality, addressing the question of life's meaning, specifically what individuals ought to do with their lives. In fact, that is the biggest problem with science. It does not offer answers to "what one ought to do?", the question answered by religion all along. Harris proposes that determining what one ought to do, both individually and as a human race, becomes possible by accepting a foundational principle. Namely, the shared desire to avoid a state of absolute hell—maximum suffering for everyone, at every moment—and to move towards well-being. While there is no scientific proof mandating this direction, it aligns with rational and common-sense thinking for any reasonable person. Although this sounds reasonable, it is his deeply honest reverence towards the scientific method that makes him admit that it is still an irrational principle since it has no scientific proof. However, if one accepts the premise of steering away from hell and pursuing a better world, there are numerous rational pathways to achieve this goal.
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