Freak Out on Free Will with Sam Harris

In the second episode of the Broadcast Monologues, neuroscientist Sam Harris collects his controversial and influential ideas on free will in one beautiful meditative narrative. Harris argues that there is no self and therefore no free will. He reasons that there is not even an illusion of free will. The illusion is itself an illusion. He coaxes the listener to appreciate that morality is not undermined and the importance of political and social freedoms are not diminished. Instead there is power in the freedom from freedom, and that can change the way we think about some of the most important questions in life. Accompanied by a mesmerizing video from artist and filmmaker Annapurna Kumar, Harris posits that we are not “on the riverbank of consciousness” but rather are a continuous part of the universe.