This is truly a big idea, and I think Sam Harris makes a good argument that YES, one day science might be able to help us answer moral questions. This talk is fascinating in its implication, and contains a lot of ideas. If you find yourself saying “But what about…” I would also encourage you to read his follow up on the article here.

He makes a good point, if we refuse to acknowledge that science can play a part in the well being of humans, that is if we continue to insist that science exists in a moral vacuum, we run the risk of destroying ourselves. Or at the very least we run the risk of dooming a lot of people to a lifetime of unhappy suffering. I have been thinking about this talk all day and frankly it is opening all sorts of new avenues of thought. I am not sure if I agree fully with what he is saying. Some of the things he proposes, could be easy misconstrued or be manipulated to justify all sorts of horrible things. I do think he might be on to something, I will continue to think about it and would welcome other opinions.