PDF The End of Faith: Religion; Terror; and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The most important book of our time. It is a MUST READBy MountainManCOThe most important book of our time. It is a MUST READ for anyone; believer or not; who wants to honestly think seriously about why we believe the things we believe and if it is good to do so. Sam Harris is one of the most clear thinkers; writers; speakers of our generation. If you appreciate thoughtful conversation or writing and are at all considering reading this; DO IT!6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. A Thought Provoking Outlook on World Events and Religious AttitudesBy TWSam 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 your 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." It is evident that Harris' mission is not to disrupt the beliefs of the religious sector; 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.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Good; but some faultsBy lawguy20I came into this book already believing in Harris' central thesis. In the first few chapters he brilliantly sets forth arguments that would be difficult to adequately refute. However; I have some serious qualms with his final two chapters. Early on in the book Harris argues the evils of religion by demonstrating just how barbaric religion can cause people to behave by giving examples of early christian torture devices that personally made me quite uneasy. Harris explains how these sessions of torture would always result in false confessions. Harris even gives an example of a judge who began to feel suspicious of the reliability of torture to elicit meaningful confessions. Upon the judge voicing his concern that torture may elicit false confessions about being a witch; he himself was tortured and then confessed to being a witch. Yet; Harris then proceeds; in the second to last chapter; to defend torture if it will help elicit any response. He claims that anything is better than nothing. It seemed to me that Harris contradicted himself and reserved the right to torture to the "enlightened" modern thinkers; while condemning the medieval torturers. I feel that Harris' attitude toward torture is that medieval torture was wrong because it was done in the name of religion; but modern forms of torture are acceptable because they may save a persons life. However; to me; torture is torture regardless of the intentions or reasons for torturing.The final chapter I found to be peculiar. Harris seems to embrace; although he claims otherwise; the teachings of Buddhism. Either way; I found the final chapter irrelevant to the book as a whole. The premise of the book was to debunk the validity faith; not advocate a replacement.I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 because of the last two chapters. I know I focused on the negatives in this review; but the book is very enjoyable and I would highly recommend it.