In my own case, the most inflammatory statements I have ever made are ones that I have written and remain willing to defend.
Interpretation
The most provocative statements often stem from personal conviction and are worth defending.
Sam Harris emphasizes the idea that the most inflammatory or controversial statements he has made are those he has composed himself, highlighting a deep connection between personal beliefs and the willingness to stand behind one's written words. This suggests that true conviction can sometimes provoke strong reactions and that engaging with such thoughts can be an important part of intellectual discourse.
In practice
In a debate about freedom of speech, I quoted Sam Harris to illustrate that personal beliefs often provoke strong reactions.
Everything we do is for the purpose of altering consciousness. We form friendships so that we can feel certain emotions, like love, and avoid others, like loneliness. We eat specific foods to enjoy their fleeting presence on our tongues. We read for the pleasure of thinking another person's thoughts.
What I'm asking you to entertain is that there is nothing we need to believe on insufficient evidence in order to have deeply ethical and spiritual lives.
The core of science is not a mathematical modeling--it is intellectual honesty. It is a willingness to have our certainties about the world constrained by good evidence and good argument.
It is time that we admitted that faith is nothing more than the license religious people give one another to keep believing when reasons fail.
It is taboo in our society to criticize a persons religious faith... these taboos are offensive, deeply unreasonable, but worse than that, they are getting people killed. This is really my concern. My concern is that our religions, the diversity of our religious doctrines, is going to get us killed. I'm worried that our religious discourse- our religious beliefs are ultimately incompatible with civilization.
It is time that scientists and other public intellectuals observed that the contest between faith and reason is zero-sum.
A heathen philosopher once asked a Christian, 'Where is God'? The Christian answered, 'Let me first ask you, Where is He not?'
I am much inclined to live from my rucksack, and let my trousers fray as they like.
It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.
Goodness in words creates trust, goodness in thinking creates depth, goodness in giving creates love.
I don't blame the average seventeen-year-old punk-rock kid for calling me a sellout. I understand that. And maybe when they grow up a little bit, they'll realize there's more things to life than living out your rock & roll identity so righteously.
If we were to do the Second Coming of Christ in color for a full hour, there would be a considerable number of stations which would decline to carry it on the grounds that a Western or a quiz show would be more profitable.
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