Difference between revisions of "Sam Harris"

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[[File:Sam Harris 01.jpg|thumbnail|250px|right|[[Sam Harris]] ]]
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[[File:Sam Harris 01.jpg|thumbnail|250px|right|Sam Harris]]
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'''Sam Harris''' is an [[American]] [[author]] and [[Atheism|atheist]]. Harris is one of the founders of the [[New Atheism]] movement.  Dr. Harris received a Ph.D. in [[neuroscience]] from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is also a graduate in philosophy from [[Stanford University]]. He wrote two controversial, but New York Times best seller books, ''The End of Faith'' and ''Letter to a Christian Nation''.  He has written essays such as "Science must destroy religion"<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-harris/science-must-destroy-reli_b_13153.html Huffington Post article]</ref>.
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'''Sam Harris''' is an [[American]] [[author]] and [[Atheism|atheist]]. Harris is one of the founders of the [[New Atheism]] movement which is a type of dogmatic, [[militant atheism]] in terms of its [[rhetoric]] (see: [[New Atheism, dogmatism and Jonathon Haidt's study]]).  Dr. Harris received a Ph.D. in [[neuroscience]] from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is also a graduate in philosophy from [[Stanford University]]. He wrote two controversial, but New York Times best seller books, ''The End of Faith'' and ''Letter to a Christian Nation''.  He has written essays such as "Science must destroy religion".<ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-harris/science-must-destroy-reli_b_13153.html Huffington Post article]</ref>
  
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== Sam Harris and charges of misogny ==
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In 2022, Sam Harris said, "[[Hunter Biden]] could have had the corpses of children in his basement - I would not have cared."<ref>[https://news.grabien.com/story-sam-harris-hunter-biden-literally-could-have-had-corpses-chi SAM HARRIS: ‘HUNTER BIDEN LITERALLY COULD HAVE HAD THE CORPSES OF CHILDREN IN HIS BASEMENT - I WOULD NOT HAVE CARED’]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPuU89j2GL8 Sam Harris ENDS His Career with DERANGED Rant over Trump!!!], [[Steve Turley]] video</ref> In response, Theodore Beale wrote: "[[Atheism and morality|Atheists have no moral anchor]]. There’s literally nothing there. Their much-vaunted, self-constructed value systems revolve around nothing more than whatever happens to trigger their emotions at any given moment. They are simple creatures of pure appetite and [[rhetoric]]. Remember, Sam Harris is supposed to be among the finest, smartest, most highly-refined [[Philosophy|philosophers]] that the atheist community has on offer."<ref>[https://voxday.net/2022/08/19/atheist-morality/ Atheist Morality], Vox Day, August 19, 2022</ref>
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[[File:Richard Dawkins pic.jpg|alt=Richard Dawkins|thumbnail|225px|left|[[Richard Dawkins]] ]]
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== Sam Harris' conflicts with feminists ==
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[[File:Richard Dawkins - March 2005.jpg|alt=Richard Dawkins|thumbnail|225px|right|[[Richard Dawkins]] ]]
 
''See also:'' [[Atheism and women]] and [[Atheism and sexism]]  
 
''See also:'' [[Atheism and women]] and [[Atheism and sexism]]  
  
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Like his fellow [[New Atheism|new atheist]] [[Richard Dawkins]], Harris has raised the ire of [[feminism|feminists]].<ref>[http://www.salon.com/2014/10/03/new_atheisms_troubling_misogyny_the_pompous_sexism_of_richard_dawkins_and_sam_harris_partner/ Atheism’s shocking woman problem: What’s behind the misogyny of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris?] by Amanda Marcotte, ''Salon'' magazine, October 3, 2014</ref><ref>[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2014/09/is-sam-harris-sexist.html Is Sam Harris Sexist?] by Libby Anne at the blog ''Love, Joy, Feminism'', September 20, 2014</ref><ref>[http://www.christiantoday.com/article/atheist.writer.sam.harris.faces.backlash.over.estrogen.vibe.comments/40735.htm Atheist writer Sam Harris faces backlash over 'estrogen vibe' comments] by Heather Tomlinson, ''Christianity Today'', September 17, 2014</ref>  See also: [[Elevatorgate]]
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Like his fellow [[New Atheism|new atheist]] [[Richard Dawkins]], Harris has raised the ire of [[feminism|feminists]].<ref name="salon.com">[https://www.salon.com/2014/10/03/new_atheisms_troubling_misogyny_the_pompous_sexism_of_richard_dawkins_and_sam_harris_partner/ Atheism’s shocking woman problem: What’s behind the misogyny of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris?] by Amanda Marcotte, ''Salon'' magazine, October 3, 2014</ref><ref name="Is Sam Harris Sexist">[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2014/09/is-sam-harris-sexist.html Is Sam Harris Sexist?] by Libby Anne at the blog ''Love, Joy, Feminism'', September 20, 2014</ref><ref name="christiantoday.com">[http://www.christiantoday.com/article/atheist.writer.sam.harris.faces.backlash.over.estrogen.vibe.comments/40735.htm Atheist writer Sam Harris faces backlash over 'estrogen vibe' comments] by Heather Tomlinson, ''Christianity Today'', September 17, 2014</ref>  See also: [[Elevatorgate]]
  
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In 2014, Harris said that atheist activism lacks an “estrogen vibe” and was “to some degree intrinsically male”.<ref>[http://www.christiantoday.com/article/atheist.writer.sam.harris.faces.backlash.over.estrogen.vibe.comments/40735.htm Atheist writer Sam Harris faces backlash over 'estrogen vibe' comments] by Heather Tomlinson, ''Christianity Today'', September 17, 2014</ref>  
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In 2014, Harris said that atheist activism lacks an “estrogen vibe” and was “to some degree intrinsically male”.<ref name="christiantoday.com"/>  
  
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On October 3, 2014, ''Salon'' magazine published an online article titled, ''Atheism’s shocking woman problem: What’s behind the misogyny of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris?''<ref>[http://www.salon.com/2014/10/03/new_atheisms_troubling_misogyny_the_pompous_sexism_of_richard_dawkins_and_sam_harris_partner/ Atheism’s shocking woman problem: What’s behind the misogyny of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris?] by Amanda Marcotte, ''Salon'' magazine, October 3, 2014</ref> On September 20 2014, the feminist blogger Libby Anne wrote an article entitled ''Is Sam Harris Sexist?''<ref>[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2014/09/is-sam-harris-sexist.html Is Sam Harris Sexist?] by Libby Anne at the blog ''Love, Joy, Feminism'', September 20, 2014</ref> Atheist Sam Fincke wrote a piece entitled ''On Sam Harris’s Reply to Feminist Critics''.<ref>[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/camelswithhammers/2014/09/on-sam-harriss-reply-to-feminist-critics/ On Sam Harris’s Reply to Feminist Critics] by Daniel Fincke, September 16, 2014</ref>
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On October 3, 2014, ''Salon'' magazine published an online article titled, ''Atheism’s shocking woman problem: What’s behind the misogyny of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris?''<ref name="salon.com"/> On September 20, 2014, the feminist blogger Libby Anne wrote an article entitled ''Is Sam Harris Sexist?''<ref name="Is Sam Harris Sexist"/> Atheist Sam Fincke wrote a piece entitled ''On Sam Harris’s Reply to Feminist Critics''.<ref>[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/camelswithhammers/2014/09/on-sam-harriss-reply-to-feminist-critics/ On Sam Harris’s Reply to Feminist Critics] by Daniel Fincke, September 16, 2014</ref>
  
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In his defense, Harris published an article on his website titled, ''“I’m Not the Sexist Pig You’re Looking For”''<ref>[http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/im-not-the-sexist-pig-youre-looking-for “I’m Not the Sexist Pig You’re Looking For”] by Sam Harris, September 15, 2014</ref>
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In his defense, Harris published an article on his website titled, ''“I’m Not the Sexist Pig You’re Looking For”''.<ref>[http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/im-not-the-sexist-pig-youre-looking-for “I’m Not the Sexist Pig You’re Looking For”] by Sam Harris, September 15, 2014</ref>
  
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== Charges of Islamophobia ==
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== Accusations of Islamophobia ==
  
 
''See also:'' [[Atheism vs. Islam]]
 
''See also:'' [[Atheism vs. Islam]]
  
 
The new atheists Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and the late [[Christopher Hitchens]] have received multiple accusations of engaging in [[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]] behavior.<ref>
 
The new atheists Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and the late [[Christopher Hitchens]] have received multiple accusations of engaging in [[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]] behavior.<ref>
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*[http://www.salon.com/2013/03/30/dawkins_harris_hitchens_new_atheists_flirt_with_islamophobia/ Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens: New Atheists flirt with Islamophobia] by Nathan Lean, ''Salon'', March 30, 2013
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*[https://www.salon.com/2013/03/30/dawkins_harris_hitchens_new_atheists_flirt_with_islamophobia/ Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens: New Atheists flirt with Islamophobia] by Nathan Lean, ''Salon'', March 30, 2013
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*[http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/03/sam-harris-muslim-animus Sam Harris, the New Atheists, and anti-Muslim animus] by Glenn Greenwald, ''The Guardian'', April 3, 2013</ref> On the other hand, defenders of atheist criticisms of [[Islam]]/Muslims indicated that New Atheists should be able to criticize Islam without being accused of Islamophobia.<ref>[http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2013/04/new-atheism-should-be-able-criticise-islam-without-being-accused-islamophobia New Atheism should be able to criticise Islam without being accused of Islamophobia] by Andrew Zak Williams, ''New Statesman'', Published 19 April, 2013</ref>
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*[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/03/sam-harris-muslim-animus Sam Harris, the New Atheists, and anti-Muslim animus] by Glenn Greenwald, ''The Guardian'', April 3, 2013</ref> On the other hand, defenders of atheist criticisms of [[Islam]]/Muslims indicated that New Atheists should be able to criticize Islam without being accused of Islamophobia.<ref>[http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2013/04/new-atheism-should-be-able-criticise-islam-without-being-accused-islamophobia New Atheism should be able to criticise Islam without being accused of Islamophobia] by Andrew Zak Williams, ''New Statesman'', Published 19 April 2013</ref>
  
 
On June 21, 2014 Harris published an article on his website entitled ''Response to Critics'' which was a response to his critics who accuse him of Islamophobia.<ref>[http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/response-to-controversy Response to Critics] by Sam Harris, June 21, 2014</ref>
 
On June 21, 2014 Harris published an article on his website entitled ''Response to Critics'' which was a response to his critics who accuse him of Islamophobia.<ref>[http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/response-to-controversy Response to Critics] by Sam Harris, June 21, 2014</ref>
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== Killing people for thought crimes and Harris' book The End of Faith ==
 
== Killing people for thought crimes and Harris' book The End of Faith ==
  
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In his book ''The End of Faith'', Harris wrote: “Some beliefs are so dangerous that it may be ethical to kill people for believing them”.<ref>[http://dangerousidea.blogspot.com/2011/06/sam-harris-on-killing-people-for-what.html Sam Harris on Killing People for What they Believe] by Victor Reppert</ref>  Harris was criticized by [[Christian apologetics|Christian apologist]] Victor Reppert and others for his promotion of the idea that killing people for thought crimes is morally acceptable.<ref>[http://voxday.blogspot.com/2014/10/sam-harris-is-still-genocidal-maniac.html Sam Harris: genocidal maniac or suicidal logician?] by [[Vox Day]], October 13, 2014</ref><ref>[http://dangerousidea.blogspot.com/2011/06/sam-harris-on-killing-people-for-what.html Sam Harris on Killing People for What they Believe] by Victor Reppert</ref>
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In his book ''The End of Faith'', Harris wrote: “Some beliefs are so dangerous that it may be ethical to kill people for believing them”.<ref name="dangerousidea.blogspot.com">[http://dangerousidea.blogspot.com/2011/06/sam-harris-on-killing-people-for-what.html Sam Harris on Killing People for What they Believe] by Victor Reppert</ref>  Harris was criticized by [[Christian apologetics|Christian apologist]] Victor Reppert and others for his promotion of the idea that killing people for thought crimes is morally acceptable.<ref name="dangerousidea.blogspot.com"/><ref name="voxday.blogspot.com">[https://voxday.net/2014/10/13/sam-harris-is-still-genocidal-maniac/ Sam Harris: genocidal maniac or suicidal logician?] by Vox Day, October 13, 2014</ref><ref>Madeleine Bunting, "[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/may/07/comment.religion The New Atheists loathe religion far too much to plausibly challenge it]," The Guardian, May 7, 2007</ref>
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[[File:Vox Day.jpg|thumbnail|right|150px|[[Vox Day|Theodore Beale]] ]]
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[[Vox Day|Theodore Beale]] wrote in response to Harris defending his statement:
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Theodore Beale wrote in response to Harris defending his statement:
 
{{cquote|[http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/on-the-mechanics-of-defamation whining] about the fact that people are still actively holding him accountable for the clear and obvious meaning of his written words, and he is still attempting to shade the truth while doing so.
 
{{cquote|[http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/on-the-mechanics-of-defamation whining] about the fact that people are still actively holding him accountable for the clear and obvious meaning of his written words, and he is still attempting to shade the truth while doing so.
  
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:''"I know one thing to a moral certainty, however: Both [[ Glenn Greenwald|Greenwald]] and [[Reza Aslan|Aslan]] know that those words do not mean what they appear to mean. Given the amount of correspondence we’ve had on these topics, and given that I have repeatedly bored audiences by clarifying that statement (in response to this kind of treatment), the chance that either writer thinks he is exposing the truth about my views—or that I’m really a “genocidal fascist maniac”—is zero. Aslan and Greenwald—a famous “scholar” and a famous “journalist”—are engaged in a campaign of pure defamation. They are consciously misleading their readers and increasing my security concerns in the process."''
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:''"I know one thing to a moral certainty, however: Both [[Glenn Greenwald|Greenwald]] and [[Reza Aslan|Aslan]] know that those words do not mean what they appear to mean. Given the amount of correspondence we’ve had on these topics, and given that I have repeatedly bored audiences by clarifying that statement (in response to this kind of treatment), the chance that either writer thinks he is exposing the truth about my views—or that I’m really a “genocidal fascist maniac”—is zero. Aslan and Greenwald—a famous “scholar” and a famous “journalist”—are engaged in a campaign of pure defamation. They are consciously misleading their readers and increasing my security concerns in the process."''
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What a load of utter codswollop. Sam Harris clearly and openly and unmistakably wrote that it MAY be ethical to kill people for believing dangerous beliefs. Not for doing anything, not for harming anyone, but for simply BELIEVING CERTAIN BELIEFS. His repeated "clarifications" and obfuscations don't change that established fact and he has never recanted his statement. Nor, I note, has he ever come right out and declared specifically WHAT beliefs are so dangerous that it is ethical to kill people for nothing more than holding them.<ref name="voxday.blogspot.com">[https://voxday.net/2014/10/13/sam-harris-is-still-genocidal-maniac/ Sam Harris: genocidal maniac or suicidal logician?] by Vox Day, October 13, 2014</ref>}}
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== Sam Harris on race and IQs ==
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Sam Harris agrees with much of the work of Richard J. Herrnstein and [[Charles Murray]] who co-wrote the book ''[[The Bell Curve]]: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life''. 
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''The Bell Curve'' explored the relationship between intelligence and success in American life.
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Below are Sam Harris interviews relating the topic of race and IQs:
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*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YfEoxU82us Race and IQ — Sam Harris and Charles Murray]
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*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FexD4g3JptU Sam Harris & Josh Zepps on Race & IQ]
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*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1lEPQYQk8s Sam Harris speaks with Charles Murray about the controversy over his book The Bell Curve]
  
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What a load of utter codswollop. Sam Harris clearly and openly and unmistakably wrote that it MAY be ethical to kill people for believing dangerous beliefs. Not for doing anything, not for harming anyone, but for simply BELIEVING CERTAIN BELIEFS. His repeated "clarifications" and obfuscations don't change that established fact and he has never recanted his statement. Nor, I note, has he ever come right out and declared specifically WHAT beliefs are so dangerous that it is ethical to kill people for nothing more than holding them.<ref>[http://voxday.blogspot.com/2014/10/sam-harris-is-still-genocidal-maniac.html Sam Harris: genocidal maniac or suicidal logician?] by [[Vox Day]], October 13, 2014</ref>}}
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== Building a Civilization of Ignorance ==
  
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== Harris claims the label atheist is right next to child molester as a designation ==
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{| class="infobox bordered" style="font-size:95%; width:25em;"
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! style="font-size:120%; background:lightgreen; text-align:center; padding:5px 0;" | The core of science: intellectual honesty
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|-
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| style="padding:15px;" |''"The core of [[science]] is not controlled [[experiment]] or [[mathematical]] modeling; it is intellectual honesty. It is time we acknowledged a basic feature of human discourse: when considering the [[truth]] of a proposition, one is either engaged in an honest appraisal of the [[evidence]] and [[logic]]al arguments, or one isn't."'' 
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<div style="padding-left:40px;">&mdash; Sam Harris<ref name="Harris2006"/>
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</div>
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|}
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In his ''Letter to a Christian Nation'', Harris complains about people who ''"can obtain a [[PhD|Ph.D.]] in any branch of science for no other purpose than to make cynical use of scientific language in an effort to rationalize the glaring inadequacies of the [[Bible]]"'' and then he continues: ''"While such people are technically "scientists," they are not behaving like scientists. They simply are not engaged in an honest inquiry into the nature of the universe."''<ref name="Harris2006">{{cite book |title=Letter to a Christian Nation |author=Sam Harris |publisher=http://www.samharris.org
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|year=2006 |place=New York |pages=23+ |url=https://luptaanticapitalista.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/sam-harris-letter-to-a-christian-nation.pdf}}</ref> However, while being harshly judgmental of others without care of factual accuracy, he fails to evaluate this criterion of an honest inquiry against his own views. If he would be an ''"intellectually honest person"'' as he requires of others, he would had to admit not only that he does not know ''"why the universe exists,"'' but also that his resistance to patterns of "optimal design" in "the natural world" is, at best, uninformed. Despite his claim: ''"When we look at the natural world, we see extraordinary complexity, but we do not see optimal design,"'' scientific research brings exactly opposite [[Scientific observation|observations]] as has been shown by G. Cullmann and J. M. Laboygues already in 1985: ''"The genetic code is an instantaneous code absolutely optimal"'' (In French: ''"Le code génétique, code instantané absolument optimal"'').<ref name="CULLMANN1985">{{Cite journal
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|title = Le code génétique, code instantané absolument optimal
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|author = CULLMANN G.; LABOUYGUES J. M.
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|journal=Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences. Série 3, Sciences de la vie 
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|publisher = Elsevier
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|place = Paris, FRANCE
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|year = 1985
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|issue=301
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|volume=5
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|pages = 157 – 160
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|accessdate = 3.5.2013
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|issn= 0764-4469
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|url= http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=9265098
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|quote = The genetic code is an instantaneous code absolutely optimal 
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|language = French
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}}</ref><ref name="DeniableDarwin">{{cite book
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|author=David Berlinski
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|title=The Deniable Darwin
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|publisher=Discovery Institute Press (reprinted from ''Commentary'' February 1998 by permission)
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|location=Seattle, USA
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|year=2009
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|pages=124
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|chapter=Denying Darwin: David Berlinski & Critics
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|isbn=978-0-9790141-2-3
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|url=http://www.davidberlinski.org/deniable-darwin/about.php
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|quote=...the genetic code is „optimal“, a fact demonstrated by Cullmann and Labouygues („Le Code genetique, instantane et absolument optimal,“ Compte Rendue 301, 1985).}}</ref>
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This is a fact that no longer admits of intelligent dispute. Thus, Harris himself is contributing to the very same thing he is afraid of: ''"These data are unequivocal: we are building a civilization of ignorance,"'' let alone to mention that his [[behavior]] exhibits the traits of [[Psychological manipulation#Techniques of manipulation|Selective Inattention]], typical for [[Disturbed character|character disturbance]] advisably subject of treatment by [[psychologist]]s. If an honest inquiry is the declared thing to be after, then, after finding Harris possibly having attention deficiences, one has to be also inevitably afraid that he may seriously suffer from [[Evolutionary schizophrenia]]. The fact that nearly half of the [[American]] population apparently believes the proposition "we do not see optimal design when we look at the natural world", purely on the basis of pseudo-religious [[Evolution of the gaps|evolutionary dogma]], should be considered a moral and intellectual emergency.
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== Social science research on Sam Harris and his fellow new atheists ==
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[[File:Sam Harris-2010.jpg|thumbnail|200px|right|Sam Harris speaking in 2010.]]
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Using special text analysis software, the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt found that new atheists very often wrote in dogmatic terms in their major works using words such as  “always,” “never,” “certainly,” “every,” and “undeniable.”<ref name="thisviewoflife.com">[http://www.thisviewoflife.com/index.php/magazine/articles/why-sam-harris-is-unlikely-to-change-his-mind10 Why Sam Harris is Unlikely to Change his Mind] by JONATHAN HAIDT, February 3, 2014 8:36 pm</ref>  Of the 75,000 words in Sam Harris's ''The End of Faith'', 2.24% of them connote or are associated with certainty.<ref name="thisviewoflife.com"/> 
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Despite the frequent expressions of certainty by new atheists, the movement has a reputation for shallow arguments. A frequent occurrence is that the works of new atheists often betray an amateurish knowledge of philosophy/religion.<ref>''The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Philosophy of Religion'' edited by Graham Oppy, Chapter 4, ''New Atheist Approaches to Religion'' by Trent Dougherty and Logan Paul Cage, page 52, see: [https://books.google.com/books?id=XXdKCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=new+atheism+amateur+philosophy+religion&source=bl&ots=1aheNZ4o2E&sig=ncZcNcpoGnUgWYmW3wEUXCp08MQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDgQ6AEwBGoVChMI2d39yrDkyAIVhDI-Ch35fAdR#v=onepage&q=new%20atheism%20amateur%20philosophy%20religion&f=false Google books excerpt]</ref><ref name="alternet.org">http://www.alternet.org/media/47052?page=entire</ref>  For example, atheist philosopher Dr. [[Michael Ruse]] declared concerning new atheist [[Richard Dawkins]]' book ''The God Delusion'': "''The God Delusion'' makes me embarrassed to be an atheist."<ref name="alternet.org"/>  Theodore Beale's book ''[http://www.voxday.net/mart/TIA_free.pdf The Irrational atheist]'' found multiple errors in reasoning and factual errors when it came to the works of new atheist authors.<ref>[https://creation.com/review-irrational-atheist-by-vox-day Excellent refutation of ‘new atheists’ flawed by heterodox open theism],  A review of The Irrational Atheist: Dissecting the Unholy Trinity of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens by Vox Day (Theodore Beale), Benbella Books, Dallas, TX, 2008, reviewed by Lita Cosner</ref> See also: [[Atheism and irrationality]]
  
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see also: [[Atheism, pederasty and NAMBLA]] and [[Views on Atheists]]
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== Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig debate ==
  
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Dr. Sam Harris is a founder of the [[New Atheism]] movement. He is quite aware of the stigma surrounding atheism and has even advocated that atheists no longer call themselves atheists.<ref name="Harris">Roberts, Jessica, et al. (June 19, 2007).  [http://news21.com/story/2007/06/19/interview_with_an_atheist "Interview with an atheist"].  News21.  Retrieved on July 30, 2014.</ref> In fact, Dr. Harris has said concerning the label of atheist, "It's right next to child molester as a designation."<ref name="Harris">Roberts, Jessica, et al. (June 19, 2007).  [http://news21.com/story/2007/06/19/interview_with_an_atheist "Interview with an atheist"].  News21.  Retrieved on July 30, 2014.</ref>
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''See also:'' [[Atheism debates]] and [[Atheism and morality]] and [[Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig debate]]
  
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== Gender and racial demographics of Sam Harris' audience ==
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In 2011, Sam Harris debated the [[Christian apologetics|Christian apologist]] and philosopher [[William Lane Craig]] at the [[University of Notre Dame]] on the topic of morality and the debate was the proposition "Is Good From God?".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqaHXKLRKzg The God Debate II: Harris vs. Craig], Notre Dame University YouTube channel, Uploaded on Apr 12, 2011</ref><ref name="thinkingmatters.org.nz">[http://thinkingmatters.org.nz/2011/04/how-william-lane-craig-thrashed-sam-harris-like-a-naughty-puppy/ How William Lane Craig thrashed Sam Harris like a naughty puppy], Thinking Matters (New Zealand Christian Apologetics Ministry), April 9, 2011</ref>
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[[File:2404429188 ea8f1fc48b.jpg|thumbnail|right|255px|Studies and web traffic data appear to indicate that women in the Western World tend to be more religious than men.<ref>Multiple references:
 
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*Kosmin, Barry A., et al. (2008).  [http://web.archive.org/web/20110904110346/http://www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.org/reports/NONES_08.pdf "American nones:  Profile of the no religion population"].  American Religion Survey website [Trinity College, Hartford, CT]. Retrieved from Internet Archive.
 
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*Britt, Robert Roy (February 28, 2009).  [http://www.livescience.com/7689-women-religious-men.html "Women more religious than men"].  Live Science website.</ref> See: [[Atheism and women]] ]]
 
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''See also:'' [[Gender and racial demographics of Sam Harris' audience]]
 
  
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According to the web traffic tracking company Quantcast, white males appear to be the group of individuals who are most receptive to Richard Dawkins' message.<ref>http://www.quantcast.com/richarddawkins.net#demographics</ref><ref>http://www.quantcast.com/samharris.org</ref> Survey data and website tracking data of prominent [[atheism|atheists]]' websites indicate that in the [[Western World]], atheism is [[Atheism and women|significantly less appealing to women]].<ref>
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=== Reviews of the debate ===
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*[http://www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.org/reports/NONES_08.pdf American Religion Survey]
 
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*[http://www.livescience.com/culture/090227-religion-men-women.html Religion: Women and men - Livescience.com]
 
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*Khan, Razib (November 18, 2010).  [http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2010/11/sex-differences-in-global-atheism-part-n/ "Gene expression; Sex differences in global atheism, part N"].  Discover magazine website
 
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*[https://www.quantcast.com/richarddawkins.net#!demo Richard Dawkins' website - Quantcast data - Demographics]
 
−
*[https://www.quantcast.com/freethoughtblogs.com#!demo Freethoughtblogs.com: Quancast - Demographics]
 
−
*[http://www.conservapedia.com/Atheism_and_women Atheism and women]</ref>  According to the web traffic company Alexa, Harris receives the majority of his web traffic from North America and European countries.<ref>[http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/www.samharris.org Alexa data for Sam Harris' website]</ref>
 
  
−
In 2015, ''BloombergView'' reported concerning the [[United States]]:
+
==== Review by the New Zealand Christian apologetics ministry Thinking Matters ====
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{{cquote|According to a much-discussed 2012 report from the Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life, only 3 percent of U.S. atheists and agnostics are black, 6 percent are Hispanic, and 4 percent are Asian. Some 82 percent are white. (The relevant figures for the population at large at the time of the survey were 66 percent white, 11 percent black, 15 percent Hispanic, 5 percent Asian.)
+
[[Image:Billcraig_czvx.jpg‎‎|thumb|150px|[[William Lane Craig]] ]]
 +
The New Zealand Christian apologetics ministry Thinking Matters said of the Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig debate:
 +
{{cquote|Craig brought a great many cogent objections to bear against Harris’s view...
  
−
...Craig Keener, in his huge review of claims of miracles in a wide variety of cultures, concludes that routine rejection of the possibility of the [[supernatural]] represents an impulse that is [[Secular Europe|deeply Eurocentric]].<ref>[http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-03-27/the-atheism-gap The Atheism Gap] By Stephen L. Carter, ''BloombergView'', Mar 27, 2015 4:26 PM EDT</ref>}}
+
Craig started by drawing the audience’s attention to how Harris was confusing moral [[ontology]] with moral [[semantics]]: confusing the basis or the foundation for moral values with the meaning of moral terms.
  
−
At the same time, due to immigration, [[Europe]] is expected to become [[desecularization|more desecularized]] in the 21st century (See also: [[Global atheism]] and [[Atheist population|Atheist population]]).  
+
...Craig brought down the hammer and completely crushed Harris for the rest of the debate, by not only showing that Harris wasn’t engaging with the topic (he was [[equivocation|equivocating]] between moral [[epistemology]] and ontology) but that his entire ethical system was necessarily false, by his own admission...
  
−
These findings and Harris'/Dawkins' above cited problems with feminists, suggest that [[New Atheism]] movement is significant more appealing to white males. See also: [[Western atheism and race]] and [[Atheism and women]]
+
“A less moral framework is atheism,” started Craig with an exasperated laugh, and then went on to point out that Harris had said nothing to defend an atheistic foundation for morality, nor to refute Craig’s own arguments. To demonstrate how poorly Harris understood Christianity, and how irrelevant his “arguments” were, Craig quipped, in regards to Harris’s claim that the goal on theism is to avoid hell, “Belief in God isn’t some kind of fire insurance.” He then went on to list a number of other ways in which the red herrings that Harris had laid across the path were irrelevant—which was fair enough since there wasn’t much else to say.<ref name="thinkingmatters.org.nz">[http://thinkingmatters.org.nz/2011/04/how-william-lane-craig-thrashed-sam-harris-like-a-naughty-puppy/ How William Lane Craig thrashed Sam Harris like a naughty puppy], Thinking Matters (New Zealand Christian Apologetics Ministry), April 9, 2011</ref>}}
  
−
For more information, please see: [[Gender and racial demographics of Sam Harris' audience]]
+
To see the full review of the debate by the Christian ministry Thinking Matters, please see: [http://thinkingmatters.org.nz/2011/04/how-william-lane-craig-thrashed-sam-harris-like-a-naughty-puppy/ Review of Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig debate]
  
−
=== Harris' and Western atheist outreach contrasted with Christian outreach ===
+
Other reviews by Christians:
  
−
[[File:African open air Christian meeting.jpg|thumbnail|right|320px|[[Africa]]n Christians clapping at an open air meeting. In recent years, Christianity has seen a rapid growth in Africa.<ref>[http://gratefultothedead.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/the-african-apostles-how-christianity-exploded-in-20th-century-africa/ The African apostles: How Christianity exploded in 20th-century Africa]</ref>
+
*[http://rightreason.org/2011/debate-review-william-lane-craig-and-sam-harris/ Debate Review: William Lane Craig and Sam Harris]
−
<br />
 
−
<br />
 
−
In 2005, there were four times as many non-[[Western World]] Christians as there were Western World Christians.<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=30077 Is Christianity taking over the planet?]</ref>
 
−
<br /><br />
 
−
Western World atheists have not engaged in a significant amount of global outreach.]]
 
−
[[Wikipedia]] is a [[wiki]] founded by an atheist [[Jimbo Wales]] and the agnostic [[Larry Sanger]]. Wikipedia's article on Sam Harris' book ''The End of Faith'' does not list any reviews either negative or positive from Africans, Latin Americans or South Americans.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_Faith The End of Faith]</ref>
 
  
−
The atheist population in the [[Western World]] has not had significant outreaches to spread atheism outside the Western World. Historically, Christians have made great evangelism efforts to reach every people group across the earth. In 2005, there were four times as many non-[[Western World]] Christians as there were Western World Christians.<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=30077 Is Christianity taking over the planet?]</ref>  Doing overseas evangelism/outreaches, often requires significant hardships/persecution and Western atheists have been unwilling to endure such hardships in order to spread atheistic ideology (see: [[Atheism and hedonism]]).
+
*[http://www.randyeverist.com/2011/04/review-of-craig-vs-harris-debate.html Review of Craig vs. Harris Debate] by Randy Ecerest
  
−
In terms of its geographic distribution, [[Christianity]] is a much more a [[Global Christianity|global religion]] than most, if not all, religions (See also: [[Global Christianity]]).<ref>[http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/08/27/many-religions-heavily-concentrated-in-one-or-two-countries/ Many religions heavily concentrated in one or two countries]</ref><ref>[http://wwwgordonconwell.com/netcommunity/CSGCResources/ChristianityinitsGlobalContext.pdf Christianity in its global context]</ref>  The [[Bible]] has been translated into 518 languages and 2,798 languages have at least some portion of the Bible.<ref>[http://www.audiobiblesdownload.com/bible-translations/ Bible translations]</ref> [[Charles Darwin]]'s book ''The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life'' has been translated into 35 languages. <ref>[http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/valentinedarwin/vanwyhe Darwin in translation]</ref>
+
*[http://jwwartick.com/2011/04/08/harris-craig/ Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig: Thoughts and Links] by J.W. Wartick
  
−
Collectively speaking, the Christian community has a much greater degree of linguistic and cultural diversity than the atheist community (see: [[Atheist community and verbal–linguistic intelligence]]).
+
==== Review of the debate by the atheist Luke Muehlhauser at Common Sense Atheism ====
  
−
See also:  
+
The atheist [[Luke Muehlhauser]] reviewed the debate at the atheist blog ''Common Sense Atheism''. Muehlhauser said of the debate, "As usual, Craig’s superior framing, scholarship and debate skills ‘won’ the debate for him."<ref>[http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=15243 Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig debate review (part 3)] by Luke Muehlhauser, Common Sense Atheism,  oApril 17, 2011</ref>
  
−
*[[Atheist Population|Atheist population]]
+
== Harris claims the label atheist is right next to child molester as a designation ==
  
−
*[[Social Darwinism]]
+
see also: [[Atheism, pederasty and NAMBLA]] and [[Views on Atheists]]
  
−
== Project Reason ==
+
Dr. Sam Harris is a founder of the [[New Atheism]] movement. He is quite aware of the stigma surrounding atheism and has even advocated that atheists no longer call themselves atheists.<ref name="Harris">Roberts, Jessica, et al. (June 19, 2007).  [http://news21.com/story/2007/06/19/interview_with_an_atheist "Interview with an atheist"].  News21.  Retrieved on July 30, 2014.</ref><ref name="NEWSWEEK Poll: 90% Believe in God">[http://www.newsweek.com/newsweek-poll-90-believe-god-97611 NEWSWEEK Poll: 90% Believe in God], ''Newsweek'' 2007</ref> In fact, Harris has said concerning the label of atheist, "It's right next to child molester as a designation."<ref name="Harris"/><ref name="NEWSWEEK Poll: 90% Believe in God"/>
  
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''See also:'' [[Project Reason]]
+
== Sam Harris angrily quits Twitter in a fit of rage after being criticized by many people at Twitter ==
  
−
An article published by an advocate of the [[Question evolution! campaign]] entitled ''Sam Harris, Project Reason failed'' quotes Sam Harris's [[Project Reason]] website thusly in terms of a description and aims of the project:
+
The comedian and social commentator Jimmy Dore, who indicates that Sam Harris is an immoral, narcissist, says that he helped cause Harris to angrily quit [[Twitter]] in a fit of rage.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksAg8KtiorU Jimmy Dore Makes Sam Harris Rage Quit Twitter]</ref> Since Harris' anti [[free speech]] comments and his immoral, political tribalism (For example, as noted above, Sam Harris said, "[[Hunter Biden]] could have had the corpses of children in his basement - I would not have cared."<ref>[https://news.grabien.com/story-sam-harris-hunter-biden-literally-could-have-had-corpses-chi SAM HARRIS: ‘HUNTER BIDEN LITERALLY COULD HAVE HAD THE CORPSES OF CHILDREN IN HIS BASEMENT - I WOULD NOT HAVE CARED’]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPuU89j2GL8 Sam Harris ENDS His Career with DERANGED Rant over Trump!!!], [[Steve Turley]] video</ref>), a lot of people have lost respect for Harris and called him out on his ill-behavior. Harris blocked them on Twitter before quitting the platform. See also: [[Atheism and morality]] and [[Atheism and narcissism]] and [[Atheism and anger]] and [[Atheism and social/interpersonal intelligence|Atheism and social skills]]
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{{cquote|Project Reason is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge and secular values in society. The foundation draws on the talents of prominent and creative thinkers in a wide range of disciplines to encourage critical thinking and erode the influence of dogmatism, superstition, and bigotry in our world.
 
  
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One immediate need is to build an archive of the best secular resources on the Internet. Registered users can submit their favorite articles, videos, interviews, etc."<ref>[http://questionevolution.blogspot.com/2012/06/sam-harris-project-reason-failed.html Sam Harris, Project Reason failed!]</ref>}}
+
Dore also indicated that Harris recently lost a number of debates and now refuses to debate various people.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksAg8KtiorU Jimmy Dore Makes Sam Harris Rage Quit Twitter]</ref>
  
−
In addition, the article [http://questionevolution.blogspot.com/2012/06/sam-harris-project-reason-failed.html''Sam Harris, Project Reason failed''] offers this web traffic graph from the web traffic tracking company Alexa:
+
== New Atheism and vegetarianism ==
  
−
[[File:Project Reason 6-26-2012 alexa.png|thumbnail|600px|center|An Alexa web traffic tracking graph for Project Reason taken from the article ''Sam Harris, Project Reason failed''<ref>[http://questionevolution.blogspot.com/2012/06/sam-harris-project-reason-failed.html Sam Harris, Project Reason failed!]</ref>]]
+
''See also:'' [[Dietary practices of atheists]] and [[New Atheism and veganism]] and [[Atheism and veganism]] and [[Atheist hypocrisy]]
  
 +
In 2015, the new atheist Sam Harris said:
 +
{{Cquote|“…the fact that I participate in a system that does this knowingly (animal factory farming) more or less condemns me as a hypocrite… We are two people who have admitted to participating in a system that is not only in some sense objectively bad, but perhaps so bad as to be the kind of thing that would be on the short list as to be an embarrassment to our descendants.”<ref name="salonvegan">[https://www.salon.com/2016/01/09/new_atheists_must_become_new_vegans_sam_harris_richard_dawkins_and_the_extra_burden_on_moral_leaders/ New atheists must become new vegans: Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and the extra burden on moral leaders], ''Salon'', 2016</ref>}}
  
−
An updated Alexa web traffic tracking graph on January 31, 2014:
+
At the present time, despite a 2016 ''Salon'' article entitled ''New atheists must become new vegans: Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and the extra burden on moral leaders'', the new atheist Sam Harris is the only notable new atheist who has become a vegetarian.<ref name="salonvegan"/> Harris said he "aspires" to be a vegan.<ref name="salonvegan"/>
  
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[[File:Project reason 1-31-2013.png|thumbnail|center|600px|A January 31, 2014 Alexa web traffic tracking graph for the website Project Reason]]
+
== Sam Harris' website ==
  
−
Also, the article ''Sam Harris, Project Reason failed'' adds:
+
''See also:'' [[Internet atheism]] and [[Internet atheism and the coronavirus pandemic]]
−
{{cquote|...it is extremely hard to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. No doubt the "best" secular material on the internet is extremely poor in quality. In addition, material which promotes atheism is very much like evolutionary pseudoscience material in that it is extremely dull, stale and boring. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been an atheism revival!
 
  
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See: [http://questionevolution.blogspot.com/2012/05/is-public-tiring-of-hearing.html How stale and boring is evolutionary indoctrination? Is the public fooled or are they suspicious? What is the trend?]
+
=== Sam Harris' websites loss of Google referral web traffic ===
 +
<br />
 +
[[File:Sam Harris website SEMRush data September 2025.png|center|thumbnail|1200px|According to the leading web marketing company SEMRush, Sam Harris' website lost a significant amount of its referral traffic from Google as of it peak in January 2022.  
 +
<br />
 +
<br />
 +
Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.]]
 +
{{Clear}}
 +
 
 +
=== Sam Harris' website and its drop in global ranking to leading web marketing company SimilarWeb.com ===
 +
 
 +
''See also:'' [[Internet atheism]] and [[Internet evangelism: Christians vs. atheists]]
  
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'''Questions for Sam Harris and his anemic fan base'''
+
[[File:Sam Harris similarweb 12-2-2022.jpg|1500px|thumbnail|center|According to the leading web marketing website SimilarWeb.com, the website SamHarris.org was losing its current SimilarWeb.com ranking. In September of 2022, Similarweb.com indicated that SamHarris.org was the 105,639th most popular website in the world.
 +
<br />
 +
<br />
 +
On August 19, 2019, according to [[Alexa]], the website of Samharris.org was the 66,776th most popular website in the world and its global market share was dropping.]]
 +
{{Clear}}
  
−
Sam, what happened? By the way, what are your thoughts about [http://questionevolution.blogspot.com/2012/05/globally-worldviews-of-atheism-and-non.html global atheism shrinking]? I do hope you know that this is expected to affect Western World atheism.
+
=== Demographics of web visitors to the website of Sam Harris ===
  
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The Birbeck, University of London professor Eric Kaufmann declared to a secular audience in a lecture titled [http://fora.tv/2010/09/05/Eric_Kaufmann_Shall_the_Religious_Inherit_the_Earth Shall the religious inherit the earth]: "The trends that are happening worldwide inevitably in an age of globalization are going to affect us."<ref>[http://questionevolution.blogspot.com/2012/06/sam-harris-project-reason-failed.html Sam Harris, Project Reason failed!]</ref>}}
+
''See also:'' [[Demographics of web visitors to the website of Sam Harris]] and [[Atheist websites appear to receive significantly less traffic from women]]
  
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According to website traffic tracking company Alexa, as of July 3, 2015, Project Reason is the 774,804 most popular website on the internet and it recently dropped 48,642 places in terms of its ranking.<ref>[http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/www.project-reason.org Project Reason - Alexa ranking]</ref>
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[[File:Demographics of web visitors to SamHarris.org according to SimilarWeb.com as of January 14, 2023.jpg|thumbnail|center|1600px|According to SimilarWeb.com, the website of [[Sam Harris]]  receives a majority of its web traffic from men.<ref>[https://www.similarweb.com/website/samharris.org/#demographics Demographics of web visitors to Sam Harris' website - Similarweb.com]</ref> ]]
 +
{{Clear}}
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
  
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*[[Essay: Where was Sam Harris when the New Atheists needed him?| Where was Sam Harris when the New Atheists needed him?]] - [[satire]]
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*[[Evangelical atheism]]
 
*[[Richard Dawkins and women]]
 
*[[Richard Dawkins and women]]
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
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{{reflist|3}}
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{{reflist|2}}
  
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==External Links==
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==External links==
 
*[http://www.tektonics.org/gk/harrisletter.html Letter to a Maladjusted Misotheist]
 
*[http://www.tektonics.org/gk/harrisletter.html Letter to a Maladjusted Misotheist]
 
*[http://www.truefreethinker.com/sam-harris Sam Harrris] by [[True Free Thinker]]
 
*[http://www.truefreethinker.com/sam-harris Sam Harrris] by [[True Free Thinker]]
  
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[[Category: Sam Harris]]
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[[Category:Sam Harris]]
 
[[Category:Atheists|Harris, Sam]]
 
[[Category:Atheists|Harris, Sam]]
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[[Category: New Atheism]]
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[[Category:New Atheism]]
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[[Category:Liberals]]
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[[Category:Corruption]]
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[[Category:Censorship]]
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[[Category:Anti First Amendment]]
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[[Category:Psychologists]]

Latest revision as of 09:28, September 18, 2025

Sam Harris

Sam Harris is an American author and atheist. Harris is one of the founders of the New Atheism movement which is a type of dogmatic, militant atheism in terms of its rhetoric (see: New Atheism, dogmatism and Jonathon Haidt's study). Dr. Harris received a Ph.D. in neuroscience from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is also a graduate in philosophy from Stanford University. He wrote two controversial, but New York Times best seller books, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. He has written essays such as "Science must destroy religion".[1]

In 2022, Sam Harris said, "Hunter Biden could have had the corpses of children in his basement - I would not have cared."[2][3] In response, Theodore Beale wrote: "Atheists have no moral anchor. There’s literally nothing there. Their much-vaunted, self-constructed value systems revolve around nothing more than whatever happens to trigger their emotions at any given moment. They are simple creatures of pure appetite and rhetoric. Remember, Sam Harris is supposed to be among the finest, smartest, most highly-refined philosophers that the atheist community has on offer."[4]

Sam Harris' conflicts with feminists

Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins

See also: Atheism and women and Atheism and sexism

Like his fellow new atheist Richard Dawkins, Harris has raised the ire of feminists.[5][6][7] See also: Elevatorgate

In 2014, Harris said that atheist activism lacks an “estrogen vibe” and was “to some degree intrinsically male”.[7]

On October 3, 2014, Salon magazine published an online article titled, Atheism’s shocking woman problem: What’s behind the misogyny of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris?[5] On September 20, 2014, the feminist blogger Libby Anne wrote an article entitled Is Sam Harris Sexist?[6] Atheist Sam Fincke wrote a piece entitled On Sam Harris’s Reply to Feminist Critics.[8]

In his defense, Harris published an article on his website titled, “I’m Not the Sexist Pig You’re Looking For”.[9]

Accusations of Islamophobia

See also: Atheism vs. Islam

The new atheists Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens have received multiple accusations of engaging in Islamophobic behavior.[10] On the other hand, defenders of atheist criticisms of Islam/Muslims indicated that New Atheists should be able to criticize Islam without being accused of Islamophobia.[11]

On June 21, 2014 Harris published an article on his website entitled Response to Critics which was a response to his critics who accuse him of Islamophobia.[12]

Killing people for thought crimes and Harris' book The End of Faith

In his book The End of Faith, Harris wrote: “Some beliefs are so dangerous that it may be ethical to kill people for believing them”.[13] Harris was criticized by Christian apologist Victor Reppert and others for his promotion of the idea that killing people for thought crimes is morally acceptable.[13][14][15]

Theodore Beale wrote in response to Harris defending his statement:

“ whining about the fact that people are still actively holding him accountable for the clear and obvious meaning of his written words, and he is still attempting to shade the truth while doing so.
"I know one thing to a moral certainty, however: Both Greenwald and Aslan know that those words do not mean what they appear to mean. Given the amount of correspondence we’ve had on these topics, and given that I have repeatedly bored audiences by clarifying that statement (in response to this kind of treatment), the chance that either writer thinks he is exposing the truth about my views—or that I’m really a “genocidal fascist maniac”—is zero. Aslan and Greenwald—a famous “scholar” and a famous “journalist”—are engaged in a campaign of pure defamation. They are consciously misleading their readers and increasing my security concerns in the process."

What a load of utter codswollop. Sam Harris clearly and openly and unmistakably wrote that it MAY be ethical to kill people for believing dangerous beliefs. Not for doing anything, not for harming anyone, but for simply BELIEVING CERTAIN BELIEFS. His repeated "clarifications" and obfuscations don't change that established fact and he has never recanted his statement. Nor, I note, has he ever come right out and declared specifically WHAT beliefs are so dangerous that it is ethical to kill people for nothing more than holding them.[14]

”

Sam Harris on race and IQs

Sam Harris agrees with much of the work of Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray who co-wrote the book The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life.

The Bell Curve explored the relationship between intelligence and success in American life.

Below are Sam Harris interviews relating the topic of race and IQs:

Building a Civilization of Ignorance

The core of science: intellectual honesty
"The core of science is not controlled experiment or mathematical modeling; it is intellectual honesty. It is time we acknowledged a basic feature of human discourse: when considering the truth of a proposition, one is either engaged in an honest appraisal of the evidence and logical arguments, or one isn't."
— Sam Harris[16]

In his Letter to a Christian Nation, Harris complains about people who "can obtain a Ph.D. in any branch of science for no other purpose than to make cynical use of scientific language in an effort to rationalize the glaring inadequacies of the Bible" and then he continues: "While such people are technically "scientists," they are not behaving like scientists. They simply are not engaged in an honest inquiry into the nature of the universe."[16] However, while being harshly judgmental of others without care of factual accuracy, he fails to evaluate this criterion of an honest inquiry against his own views. If he would be an "intellectually honest person" as he requires of others, he would had to admit not only that he does not know "why the universe exists," but also that his resistance to patterns of "optimal design" in "the natural world" is, at best, uninformed. Despite his claim: "When we look at the natural world, we see extraordinary complexity, but we do not see optimal design," scientific research brings exactly opposite observations as has been shown by G. Cullmann and J. M. Laboygues already in 1985: "The genetic code is an instantaneous code absolutely optimal" (In French: "Le code génétique, code instantané absolument optimal").[17][18]

This is a fact that no longer admits of intelligent dispute. Thus, Harris himself is contributing to the very same thing he is afraid of: "These data are unequivocal: we are building a civilization of ignorance," let alone to mention that his behavior exhibits the traits of Selective Inattention, typical for character disturbance advisably subject of treatment by psychologists. If an honest inquiry is the declared thing to be after, then, after finding Harris possibly having attention deficiences, one has to be also inevitably afraid that he may seriously suffer from Evolutionary schizophrenia. The fact that nearly half of the American population apparently believes the proposition "we do not see optimal design when we look at the natural world", purely on the basis of pseudo-religious evolutionary dogma, should be considered a moral and intellectual emergency.

Social science research on Sam Harris and his fellow new atheists

Sam Harris speaking in 2010.

Using special text analysis software, the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt found that new atheists very often wrote in dogmatic terms in their major works using words such as “always,” “never,” “certainly,” “every,” and “undeniable.”[19] Of the 75,000 words in Sam Harris's The End of Faith, 2.24% of them connote or are associated with certainty.[19]

Despite the frequent expressions of certainty by new atheists, the movement has a reputation for shallow arguments. A frequent occurrence is that the works of new atheists often betray an amateurish knowledge of philosophy/religion.[20][21] For example, atheist philosopher Dr. Michael Ruse declared concerning new atheist Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion: "The God Delusion makes me embarrassed to be an atheist."[21] Theodore Beale's book The Irrational atheist found multiple errors in reasoning and factual errors when it came to the works of new atheist authors.[22] See also: Atheism and irrationality

Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig debate

See also: Atheism debates and Atheism and morality and Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig debate

In 2011, Sam Harris debated the Christian apologist and philosopher William Lane Craig at the University of Notre Dame on the topic of morality and the debate was the proposition "Is Good From God?".[23][24]

Reviews of the debate

Review by the New Zealand Christian apologetics ministry Thinking Matters

William Lane Craig

The New Zealand Christian apologetics ministry Thinking Matters said of the Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig debate:

“ Craig brought a great many cogent objections to bear against Harris’s view...

Craig started by drawing the audience’s attention to how Harris was confusing moral ontology with moral semantics: confusing the basis or the foundation for moral values with the meaning of moral terms.

...Craig brought down the hammer and completely crushed Harris for the rest of the debate, by not only showing that Harris wasn’t engaging with the topic (he was equivocating between moral epistemology and ontology) but that his entire ethical system was necessarily false, by his own admission...

“A less moral framework is atheism,” started Craig with an exasperated laugh, and then went on to point out that Harris had said nothing to defend an atheistic foundation for morality, nor to refute Craig’s own arguments. To demonstrate how poorly Harris understood Christianity, and how irrelevant his “arguments” were, Craig quipped, in regards to Harris’s claim that the goal on theism is to avoid hell, “Belief in God isn’t some kind of fire insurance.” He then went on to list a number of other ways in which the red herrings that Harris had laid across the path were irrelevant—which was fair enough since there wasn’t much else to say.[24]

”

To see the full review of the debate by the Christian ministry Thinking Matters, please see: Review of Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig debate

Other reviews by Christians:

Review of the debate by the atheist Luke Muehlhauser at Common Sense Atheism

The atheist Luke Muehlhauser reviewed the debate at the atheist blog Common Sense Atheism. Muehlhauser said of the debate, "As usual, Craig’s superior framing, scholarship and debate skills ‘won’ the debate for him."[25]

Harris claims the label atheist is right next to child molester as a designation

see also: Atheism, pederasty and NAMBLA and Views on Atheists

Dr. Sam Harris is a founder of the New Atheism movement. He is quite aware of the stigma surrounding atheism and has even advocated that atheists no longer call themselves atheists.[26][27] In fact, Harris has said concerning the label of atheist, "It's right next to child molester as a designation."[26][27]

Sam Harris angrily quits Twitter in a fit of rage after being criticized by many people at Twitter

The comedian and social commentator Jimmy Dore, who indicates that Sam Harris is an immoral, narcissist, says that he helped cause Harris to angrily quit Twitter in a fit of rage.[28] Since Harris' anti free speech comments and his immoral, political tribalism (For example, as noted above, Sam Harris said, "Hunter Biden could have had the corpses of children in his basement - I would not have cared."[29][30]), a lot of people have lost respect for Harris and called him out on his ill-behavior. Harris blocked them on Twitter before quitting the platform. See also: Atheism and morality and Atheism and narcissism and Atheism and anger and Atheism and social skills

Dore also indicated that Harris recently lost a number of debates and now refuses to debate various people.[31]

New Atheism and vegetarianism

See also: Dietary practices of atheists and New Atheism and veganism and Atheism and veganism and Atheist hypocrisy

In 2015, the new atheist Sam Harris said:

“ “…the fact that I participate in a system that does this knowingly (animal factory farming) more or less condemns me as a hypocrite… We are two people who have admitted to participating in a system that is not only in some sense objectively bad, but perhaps so bad as to be the kind of thing that would be on the short list as to be an embarrassment to our descendants.”[32] ”

At the present time, despite a 2016 Salon article entitled New atheists must become new vegans: Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and the extra burden on moral leaders, the new atheist Sam Harris is the only notable new atheist who has become a vegetarian.[32] Harris said he "aspires" to be a vegan.[32]

Sam Harris' website

See also: Internet atheism and Internet atheism and the coronavirus pandemic

Sam Harris' websites loss of Google referral web traffic


According to the leading web marketing company SEMRush, Sam Harris' website lost a significant amount of its referral traffic from Google as of it peak in January 2022.

Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.

Sam Harris' website and its drop in global ranking to leading web marketing company SimilarWeb.com

See also: Internet atheism and Internet evangelism: Christians vs. atheists

According to the leading web marketing website SimilarWeb.com, the website SamHarris.org was losing its current SimilarWeb.com ranking. In September of 2022, Similarweb.com indicated that SamHarris.org was the 105,639th most popular website in the world.

On August 19, 2019, according to Alexa, the website of Samharris.org was the 66,776th most popular website in the world and its global market share was dropping.

Demographics of web visitors to the website of Sam Harris

See also: Demographics of web visitors to the website of Sam Harris and Atheist websites appear to receive significantly less traffic from women

According to SimilarWeb.com, the website of Sam Harris receives a majority of its web traffic from men.[33]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Huffington Post article
  2. ↑ SAM HARRIS: ‘HUNTER BIDEN LITERALLY COULD HAVE HAD THE CORPSES OF CHILDREN IN HIS BASEMENT - I WOULD NOT HAVE CARED’
  3. ↑ Sam Harris ENDS His Career with DERANGED Rant over Trump!!!, Steve Turley video
  4. ↑ Atheist Morality, Vox Day, August 19, 2022
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Atheism’s shocking woman problem: What’s behind the misogyny of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris? by Amanda Marcotte, Salon magazine, October 3, 2014
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Is Sam Harris Sexist? by Libby Anne at the blog Love, Joy, Feminism, September 20, 2014
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Atheist writer Sam Harris faces backlash over 'estrogen vibe' comments by Heather Tomlinson, Christianity Today, September 17, 2014
  8. ↑ On Sam Harris’s Reply to Feminist Critics by Daniel Fincke, September 16, 2014
  9. ↑ “I’m Not the Sexist Pig You’re Looking For” by Sam Harris, September 15, 2014
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ New Atheism should be able to criticise Islam without being accused of Islamophobia by Andrew Zak Williams, New Statesman, Published 19 April 2013
  12. ↑ Response to Critics by Sam Harris, June 21, 2014
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Sam Harris on Killing People for What they Believe by Victor Reppert
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Sam Harris: genocidal maniac or suicidal logician? by Vox Day, October 13, 2014
  15. ↑ Madeleine Bunting, "The New Atheists loathe religion far too much to plausibly challenge it," The Guardian, May 7, 2007
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Sam Harris (2006). Letter to a Christian Nation. http://www.samharris.org,+23+. 
  17. ↑ CULLMANN G.; LABOUYGUES J. M. (1985). "Le code génétique, code instantané absolument optimal" (in French). Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences. Série 3, Sciences de la vie (Paris, FRANCE: Elsevier) 5 (301): 157 – 160. ISSN 0764-4469. http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=9265098. Retrieved 3.5.2013. "The genetic code is an instantaneous code absolutely optimal". 
  18. ↑ David Berlinski (2009). "Denying Darwin: David Berlinski & Critics", The Deniable Darwin. Seattle, USA: Discovery Institute Press (reprinted from Commentary February 1998 by permission), 124. ISBN 978-0-9790141-2-3. “...the genetic code is „optimal“, a fact demonstrated by Cullmann and Labouygues („Le Code genetique, instantane et absolument optimal,“ Compte Rendue 301, 1985).” 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Why Sam Harris is Unlikely to Change his Mind by JONATHAN HAIDT, February 3, 2014 8:36 pm
  20. ↑ The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Philosophy of Religion edited by Graham Oppy, Chapter 4, New Atheist Approaches to Religion by Trent Dougherty and Logan Paul Cage, page 52, see: Google books excerpt
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 http://www.alternet.org/media/47052?page=entire
  22. ↑ Excellent refutation of ‘new atheists’ flawed by heterodox open theism, A review of The Irrational Atheist: Dissecting the Unholy Trinity of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens by Vox Day (Theodore Beale), Benbella Books, Dallas, TX, 2008, reviewed by Lita Cosner
  23. ↑ The God Debate II: Harris vs. Craig, Notre Dame University YouTube channel, Uploaded on Apr 12, 2011
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 How William Lane Craig thrashed Sam Harris like a naughty puppy, Thinking Matters (New Zealand Christian Apologetics Ministry), April 9, 2011
  25. ↑ Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig debate review (part 3) by Luke Muehlhauser, Common Sense Atheism, oApril 17, 2011
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Roberts, Jessica, et al. (June 19, 2007). "Interview with an atheist". News21. Retrieved on July 30, 2014.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 NEWSWEEK Poll: 90% Believe in God, Newsweek 2007
  28. ↑ Jimmy Dore Makes Sam Harris Rage Quit Twitter
  29. ↑ SAM HARRIS: ‘HUNTER BIDEN LITERALLY COULD HAVE HAD THE CORPSES OF CHILDREN IN HIS BASEMENT - I WOULD NOT HAVE CARED’
  30. ↑ Sam Harris ENDS His Career with DERANGED Rant over Trump!!!, Steve Turley video
  31. ↑ Jimmy Dore Makes Sam Harris Rage Quit Twitter
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 New atheists must become new vegans: Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and the extra burden on moral leaders, Salon, 2016
  33. ↑ Demographics of web visitors to Sam Harris' website - Similarweb.com

External links

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