Making Sense audiobook cover - Conversations on Consciousness, Morality, and the Future of Humanity

Making Sense

Conversations on Consciousness, Morality, and the Future of Humanity

Sam Harris

★ 4.2 / 5(343 ratings)
Start ListeningDownload App
Categories:
Society & CultureSciencePhilosophy

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

Listen to Making Sense — Free Audiobook

Loading player...

Key Takeaways from Making Sense

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Making Sense

Mind Map

Making Sense
Consciousness+
Artificial Intelligence+
The Self & Free Will+
Society & Politics+
Existential Threats+
Physics & The Universe+
Knowledge & Potential+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 10
How does philosopher Thomas Nagel best characterize the concept of consciousness?
  • A. As the neurological translation of sensory input into behavioral output
  • B. As the idea that there is 'something it is like to be' a given organism
  • C. As a byproduct of massive brain processing that serves no evolutionary purpose
  • D. As an illusion created by the DMN-plus network in the brain
Question 2 of 10
According to integrated information theory (IIT), what could theoretically possess consciousness if its mathematical measure of information processing (phi) is high enough?
  • A. A simple system like a thermostat
  • B. A glass of water sitting on a desk
  • C. A single biological cell
  • D. Any object with a physical mass
Question 3 of 10
What does the author consider the worst possible scenario regarding the future of artificial intelligence?
  • A. Creating a conscious AI that demands equal rights and ethical concern
  • B. Creating a theme park where humans can abuse conscious robots for fun
  • C. Creating a superintelligent, self-improving AI that is not conscious but destroys the world while completing its goals
  • D. Creating an AI that refuses to improve itself because it perceives human existence as suffering
Question 4 of 10
What does philosopher Thomas Metzinger's 'self-model theory of subjectivity' propose about human identity?
  • A. The self is divided into three distinct, physical regions of the brain.
  • B. The self is an illusion created entirely by shifting societal expectations.
  • C. Humans have no actual self, but rather a persistent 'self-model' in the brain that we mistakenly identify with.
  • D. The true self can only be accessed when we are lost in thought.
Question 5 of 10
How does the case of Charles Whitman, the 'Texas Tower Sniper,' challenge the traditional concept of free will?
  • A. It proves that violent behavior is strictly learned from a person's immediate environment.
  • B. It suggests that murderous impulses can be driven by biological factors, like a brain tumor, rather than conscious choice.
  • C. It demonstrates that sensory cues, such as smells, are the primary drivers of criminal behavior.
  • D. It shows that the criminal justice system is already perfectly equipped to handle neurobiological differences.
Question 6 of 10
Why does economics professor Glenn Loury find the narrative of structural racism inadequate for describing all racial disparities?
  • A. He believes that structural racism no longer exists in modern American society.
  • B. He argues that the American justice system is actually statistically favorable to Black people.
  • C. He feels it denies Black people agency by suggesting they must wait for white people to bestow better outcomes on them.
  • D. He claims that unconscious biases only exist in white populations, making the structural argument too broad.
Question 7 of 10
What is the main lesson of Vaclav Havel's parable about the greengrocer who puts up a communist sign?
  • A. Economic prosperity is impossible under an authoritarian regime.
  • B. Tyrants are usually elected by a minority of the population.
  • C. Small business owners are the most vulnerable to political propaganda.
  • D. Engaging in external signs of loyalty to avoid trouble paves the way for tyranny by making resistance unthinkable.
Question 8 of 10
In Nick Bostrom's 'urn of invention' analogy, what would be the necessary response to pulling a 'black ball' (a highly destructive, easily accessible technology)?
  • A. Extreme preventive policing ('turnkey totalitarianism') or highly effective global governance
  • B. Halting all technological development and reverting to an agrarian society
  • C. Colonizing an infinite number of other universes using inflationary matter
  • D. Developing a superintelligent AI to police human behavior and eliminate free will
Question 9 of 10
How does the theory of inflationary matter alter our understanding of the universe?
  • A. It proves that the universe is a finite, shrinking sphere of mathematical properties.
  • B. It predicts an infinite universe where everything that is possible must exist and happen an infinite number of times.
  • C. It suggests that the fundamental laws of physics are strictly identical in every possible region of space.
  • D. It demonstrates that human beings are the only conscious observers in the cosmos.
Question 10 of 10
According to David Deutsch's 'momentous dichotomy,' what is true about the future of human achievement?
  • A. Human capabilities are strictly limited by our biological brain capacity.
  • B. Either something is precluded by the laws of nature, or it is achievable with knowledge.
  • C. True knowledge can only exist if there is a conscious subject actively thinking about it.
  • D. Technological augmentation will eventually cause humanity to lose its creativity.

Making Sense — Full Chapter Overview

Making Sense Summary & Overview

Making Sense (2020) consists of conversations about some of life’s biggest questions: the nature of consciousness, the progression of tyranny, the history of racism, the mysteries of the universe, and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence. Though the topics it covers are wide-ranging, its ultimate goal is to explore the ways in which we can understand our minds and harness their power to build the best possible world for everyone.

Who Should Listen to Making Sense?

  • Open-minded thinkers, ponderers, and questioners
  • Fans of psychology, neuroscience, history, and technology
  • Gazers into the past and future

About the Author: Sam Harris

Sam Harris is a neuroscientist, philosopher, and host of the popular Making Sense podcast. His app, Waking Up, aims to teach meditation through a modern, scientific lens. He has written several best-selling and award-winning books, including The End of Faith, The Moral Landscape, and Waking Up. 

🎧
Listen in the AppOffline playback & background play
Get App