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Top 300 Sam Harris Quotes (2025 Update)
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Sam Harris Quote: “We do not know what we intend to do until the intention itself arises. To understand this is to realize that we are not the authors of our thoughts and actions in the way that people generally suppose.”

151. “We do not know what we intend to do until the intention itself arises. To understand this is to realize that we are not the authors of our thoughts and actions in the way that people generally suppose.”

Sam Harris Quote: “In fact, we can directly experience that consciousness is never improved or harmed by what it knows. Making this discovery, again and again, is the basis of spiritual life.”

152. “In fact, we can directly experience that consciousness is never improved or harmed by what it knows. Making this discovery, again and again, is the basis of spiritual life.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Words like ‘God’ and ‘Allah’ must go the way of ‘Apollo’ and ‘Baal’ or they will unmake our world.”

153. “Words like ‘God’ and ‘Allah’ must go the way of ‘Apollo’ and ‘Baal’ or they will unmake our world.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Any conception of human well-being you could plausibly have, the Taliban patently fails to maximize it.”

154. “Any conception of human well-being you could plausibly have, the Taliban patently fails to maximize it.”

Sam Harris Quote: “This is not to say that external circumstances do not matter. But it is your mind, rather than circumstances themselves, that determines the quality of your life. Your mind is the basis of everything you experience.”

155. “This is not to say that external circumstances do not matter. But it is your mind, rather than circumstances themselves, that determines the quality of your life. Your mind is the basis of everything you experience.”

Sam Harris Quote: “I cannot take credit for the fact that I do not have the soul of a psychopath.”

156. “I cannot take credit for the fact that I do not have the soul of a psychopath.”

Sam Harris Quote: “The moral truth here is obvious: anyone who feels that the interests of a blastocyst just might supersede the interests of a child with a spinal cord injury has had his moral sense blinded by religious metaphysics.”

157. “The moral truth here is obvious: anyone who feels that the interests of a blastocyst just might supersede the interests of a child with a spinal cord injury has had his moral sense blinded by religious metaphysics.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Despite our attachment to notions of free will, most us know that disorders of the brain can trump the best intentions of the mind.”

158. “Despite our attachment to notions of free will, most us know that disorders of the brain can trump the best intentions of the mind.”

Sam Harris Quote: “The principal enemy of mindfulness – or of any meditative practice – is our deeply conditioned habit of being distracted by thoughts. The problem is not thoughts themselves but the state of thinking without knowing that we are thinking.”

159. “The principal enemy of mindfulness – or of any meditative practice – is our deeply conditioned habit of being distracted by thoughts. The problem is not thoughts themselves but the state of thinking without knowing that we are thinking.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Values reduce to facts about the well-being of conscious creatures.”

160. “Values reduce to facts about the well-being of conscious creatures.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Either our wills are determined by prior causes and we are not responsible for them, or they are the product of chance and we are not responsible for them.”

161. “Either our wills are determined by prior causes and we are not responsible for them, or they are the product of chance and we are not responsible for them.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Religion is nothing more than bad concepts held in place of good ones for all time. It is denial – at once full of hope and full of fear – of the vastitude of human ignorance.”

162. “Religion is nothing more than bad concepts held in place of good ones for all time. It is denial – at once full of hope and full of fear – of the vastitude of human ignorance.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Consciousness is already free of everything that remotely resembles a self”.”

163. “Consciousness is already free of everything that remotely resembles a self”.”

Sam Harris Quote: “The fact that the universe is illuminated where you stand – that your thoughts and moods and sensations have a qualitative character in this moment – is a mystery, exceeded only by the mystery that there should be something rather than nothing in the first place. Although science may ultimately show us how to truly maximize human well-being, it may still fail to dispel the fundamental mystery of our being itself.”

164. “The fact that the universe is illuminated where you stand – that your thoughts and moods and sensations have a qualitative character in this moment – is a mystery, exceeded only by the mystery that there should be something rather than nothing in the first place. Although science may ultimately show us how to truly maximize human well-being, it may still fail to dispel the fundamental mystery of our being itself.”

Sam Harris Quote: “We manage to avoid being happy while struggling to become happy, fulfilling one desire after the next, banishing our fears, grasping at pleasure, recoiling from pain – and thinking, interminably, about how best to keep the whole works up and running.”

165. “We manage to avoid being happy while struggling to become happy, fulfilling one desire after the next, banishing our fears, grasping at pleasure, recoiling from pain – and thinking, interminably, about how best to keep the whole works up and running.”

Sam Harris Quote: “It’s simply untrue that religion provides the only framework for a universal morality.”

166. “It’s simply untrue that religion provides the only framework for a universal morality.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Becoming a part of a movement doesn’t help anybody think clearly.”

167. “Becoming a part of a movement doesn’t help anybody think clearly.”

Sam Harris Quote: “The perpetrators of the Inquisition – the torturers, informers, and those who commanded their actions – were ecclesiastics of one rank or another. They were men of God – popes, bishops, friars, and priests.”

168. “The perpetrators of the Inquisition – the torturers, informers, and those who commanded their actions – were ecclesiastics of one rank or another. They were men of God – popes, bishops, friars, and priests.”

Sam Harris Quote: “To say that I would have done otherwise had I wanted to is simply to say that I would have lived in a different universe had I been in a different universe.”

169. “To say that I would have done otherwise had I wanted to is simply to say that I would have lived in a different universe had I been in a different universe.”

Sam Harris Quote: “You know, when you get to the New World and you develop your three branches of government and you have a civil society, you can just jettison all the barbarism I recommended in the first books.”

170. “You know, when you get to the New World and you develop your three branches of government and you have a civil society, you can just jettison all the barbarism I recommended in the first books.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Your principal concern appears to be that the creator of the universe will take offense at something people do while naked.”

171. “Your principal concern appears to be that the creator of the universe will take offense at something people do while naked.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Faith, if it is ever right about anything, is right by accident.”

172. “Faith, if it is ever right about anything, is right by accident.”

Sam Harris Quote: “There is no question but that nominally religious scientists like Francis Collins and Kenneth R. Miller are doing lasting harm to our discourse by the accommodations they have made to religious irrationality.”

173. “There is no question but that nominally religious scientists like Francis Collins and Kenneth R. Miller are doing lasting harm to our discourse by the accommodations they have made to religious irrationality.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Each of us is looking for a path back to the present:.”

174. “Each of us is looking for a path back to the present:.”

Sam Harris Quote: “There’s no way to reconcile Islam with Christianity. This difference of opinion admits of compromise as much as a coin toss does.”

175. “There’s no way to reconcile Islam with Christianity. This difference of opinion admits of compromise as much as a coin toss does.”

Sam Harris Quote: “If Jesus does come down out of the clouds like a superhero, Christianity will stand revealed as a science. That will be the science of Christianity.”

176. “If Jesus does come down out of the clouds like a superhero, Christianity will stand revealed as a science. That will be the science of Christianity.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Religious faith is the one species of human ignorance that will not admit of even the possibility of correction.”

177. “Religious faith is the one species of human ignorance that will not admit of even the possibility of correction.”

Sam Harris Quote: “When we presume to lie for the benefit of others, we have decided that we are the best judges of how much they should understand about their own lives – about how they appear, their reputations, or their prospects in the world.”

178. “When we presume to lie for the benefit of others, we have decided that we are the best judges of how much they should understand about their own lives – about how they appear, their reputations, or their prospects in the world.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Unlike statements of fact, which require no further work on our part, lies must be continually protected from collisions with reality.”

179. “Unlike statements of fact, which require no further work on our part, lies must be continually protected from collisions with reality.”

Sam Harris Quote: “One could surely argue that the Buddhist tradition, taken as a whole, represents the richest source of contemplative wisdom that any civilization has produced.”

180. “One could surely argue that the Buddhist tradition, taken as a whole, represents the richest source of contemplative wisdom that any civilization has produced.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Your mind is the basis of everything you experience and of every contribution you make to the lives of others. Given this fact, it makes sense to train it.”

181. “Your mind is the basis of everything you experience and of every contribution you make to the lives of others. Given this fact, it makes sense to train it.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Merely accepting that we are lazy, distracted, petty, easily provoked to anger, and inclined to waste our time in ways that we will later regret is not a path to happiness.”

182. “Merely accepting that we are lazy, distracted, petty, easily provoked to anger, and inclined to waste our time in ways that we will later regret is not a path to happiness.”

Sam Harris Quote: “The only thing that guarantees an open-ended collaboration among human beings, the only thing that guarantees that this project is truly open-ended, is a willingness to have our beliefs and behaviors modified by the power of conversation.”

183. “The only thing that guarantees an open-ended collaboration among human beings, the only thing that guarantees that this project is truly open-ended, is a willingness to have our beliefs and behaviors modified by the power of conversation.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Of course, the liar often imagines that he does no harm as long as his lies go undetected. But the one lied to almost never shares this view. The moment we consider our dishonesty from the point of view of those we lie to, we recognize that we would feel betrayed if the roles were reversed.”

184. “Of course, the liar often imagines that he does no harm as long as his lies go undetected. But the one lied to almost never shares this view. The moment we consider our dishonesty from the point of view of those we lie to, we recognize that we would feel betrayed if the roles were reversed.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Could there be any doubt that the Jews would seek to harm the Son of God again, knowing that his body was now readily accessible in the form of defenseless crackers?”

185. “Could there be any doubt that the Jews would seek to harm the Son of God again, knowing that his body was now readily accessible in the form of defenseless crackers?”

Sam Harris Quote: “Tell a devout Christian that his wife is cheating on him, or that frozen yogurt can make a man invisible, 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 what so ever.”

186. “Tell a devout Christian that his wife is cheating on him, or that frozen yogurt can make a man invisible, 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 what so ever.”

Sam Harris Quote: “We are now in the 21st century: all books, including the Koran, should be fair game for flushing down the toilet without fear of violent reprisal.”

187. “We are now in the 21st century: all books, including the Koran, should be fair game for flushing down the toilet without fear of violent reprisal.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Some people are content in the midst of deprivation and danger, while others are miserable despite having all the luck in the world. This is not to say that external circumstances do not matter. But it is your mind, rather than circumstances themselves, that determines the quality of your life. Your mind is the basis of everything you experience and of every contribution you make to the lives of others. Given this fact, it makes sense to train it.”

188. “Some people are content in the midst of deprivation and danger, while others are miserable despite having all the luck in the world. This is not to say that external circumstances do not matter. But it is your mind, rather than circumstances themselves, that determines the quality of your life. Your mind is the basis of everything you experience and of every contribution you make to the lives of others. Given this fact, it makes sense to train it.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Each increment of knowledge imparted in this way is so satisfying-and one’s ignorance at every stage so consequential-that the process of learning BJJ can become remarkably addictive. I have never experienced anything quite like it.”

189. “Each increment of knowledge imparted in this way is so satisfying-and one’s ignorance at every stage so consequential-that the process of learning BJJ can become remarkably addictive. I have never experienced anything quite like it.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Long before reaching this kind of stability in meditation, however, one can discover that the sense of self – the sense that there is a thinker behind one’s thoughts, an experiencer amid the flow of experience – is an illusion. The feeling that we call “I” is itself the product of thought. Having an ego is what it feels like to be thinking without knowing that you are thinking. Consider.”

190. “Long before reaching this kind of stability in meditation, however, one can discover that the sense of self – the sense that there is a thinker behind one’s thoughts, an experiencer amid the flow of experience – is an illusion. The feeling that we call “I” is itself the product of thought. Having an ego is what it feels like to be thinking without knowing that you are thinking. Consider.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Critiquing Islam, critiquing any idea, is not bigotry. “Islamophobia” is a troubled and inherently unhelpful term. Yes, hatred of Muslims by neo-Nazi-style groups does exist, and it is a form of cultural intolerance, but that must never be conflated with the free-speech right to critique Islam. Islam is, after all, an idea; we cannot expect its merits or demerits to be accepted if we cannot openly debate it.”

191. “Critiquing Islam, critiquing any idea, is not bigotry. “Islamophobia” is a troubled and inherently unhelpful term. Yes, hatred of Muslims by neo-Nazi-style groups does exist, and it is a form of cultural intolerance, but that must never be conflated with the free-speech right to critique Islam. Islam is, after all, an idea; we cannot expect its merits or demerits to be accepted if we cannot openly debate it.”

Sam Harris Quote: “You can’t take credit for your talents, but it matters that you use them. You can’t really be blamed for your weaknesses, but it matters that you correct them. So pride and shame don’t make a lot of sense, in the final analysis, but they weren’t much fun anyway.”

192. “You can’t take credit for your talents, but it matters that you use them. You can’t really be blamed for your weaknesses, but it matters that you correct them. So pride and shame don’t make a lot of sense, in the final analysis, but they weren’t much fun anyway.”

Sam Harris Quote: “How would your relationships change if you resolved never to lie again? What truths about yourself might suddenly come into view? What kind of person would you become? And how might you change the people around you? It is worth finding out.”

193. “How would your relationships change if you resolved never to lie again? What truths about yourself might suddenly come into view? What kind of person would you become? And how might you change the people around you? It is worth finding out.”

Sam Harris Quote: “The problem with religion, because it’s been sheltered from criticism, is that it allows people to believe en masse what only idiots or lunatics could believe in isolation.”

194. “The problem with religion, because it’s been sheltered from criticism, is that it allows people to believe en masse what only idiots or lunatics could believe in isolation.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Honest people are a refuge: You know they mean what they say; you know they will not say one thing to your face and another behind your back; you know they will tell you when they think you have failed – and for this reason their praise cannot be mistaken for mere flattery.”

195. “Honest people are a refuge: You know they mean what they say; you know they will not say one thing to your face and another behind your back; you know they will tell you when they think you have failed – and for this reason their praise cannot be mistaken for mere flattery.”

Sam Harris Quote: “There is no reason whatsoever to think that Buddhism can compete successfully with the relentless evangelizing of Christianity and Islam. Nor should it try to.”

196. “There is no reason whatsoever to think that Buddhism can compete successfully with the relentless evangelizing of Christianity and Islam. Nor should it try to.”

Sam Harris Quote: “I don’t always communicate the truth in the way that I want to – but one of the strengths of telling the truth is that it remains open for elaboration. If what you say in the heat of the moment isn’t quite right, you can amend it. I have learned that I would rather be maladroit, or even rude, than dishonest.”

197. “I don’t always communicate the truth in the way that I want to – but one of the strengths of telling the truth is that it remains open for elaboration. If what you say in the heat of the moment isn’t quite right, you can amend it. I have learned that I would rather be maladroit, or even rude, than dishonest.”

Sam Harris Quote: “Lies are the social equivalent of toxic waste: Everyone is potentially harmed by their spread.”

198. “Lies are the social equivalent of toxic waste: Everyone is potentially harmed by their spread.”

Sam Harris Quote: “As human being, we live in a perpetual conversation between conversation and violence; what apart from fundamental willingness to be reasonable, can guarantee that we will keep talking to one another?”

199. “As human being, we live in a perpetual conversation between conversation and violence; what apart from fundamental willingness to be reasonable, can guarantee that we will keep talking to one another?”

Sam Harris Quote: “The intention to do one thing and not another does not originate in consciousness – rather, it appears in consciousness, as does any thought or impulse that might oppose it.”

200. “The intention to do one thing and not another does not originate in consciousness – rather, it appears in consciousness, as does any thought or impulse that might oppose it.”

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