That’s weird to hear from Harris, considering that he is a very strong proponent of the idea that all of our actions are pre-determined by past conditions of our life and we can never know our own true reason for doing something. Yes, Islamic terrorists do say their motivations, but how can Harris claim they don’t have those motivations for geopolitical or whatever other reasons?
we can never know our own true reason for doing something
I read Sam Harris’s book on free will which I think is what you’re referring to, but I don’t recall him saying anything like that. If he did, I presume he meant something like “you don’t know which set of physical inputs to your neurons caused your neurons to fire in a way that caused your behavior”, which doesn’t mean you can’t have a belief about whether someone’s motivation is (say) religious or geopolitical.
That’s weird to hear from Harris, considering that he is a very strong proponent of the idea that all of our actions are pre-determined by past conditions of our life and we can never know our own true reason for doing something. Yes, Islamic terrorists do say their motivations, but how can Harris claim they don’t have those motivations for geopolitical or whatever other reasons?
I read Sam Harris’s book on free will which I think is what you’re referring to, but I don’t recall him saying anything like that. If he did, I presume he meant something like “you don’t know which set of physical inputs to your neurons caused your neurons to fire in a way that caused your behavior”, which doesn’t mean you can’t have a belief about whether someone’s motivation is (say) religious or geopolitical.