Faking Sense: Unpacking Sam Harris' Attack on RFK Jr.
Is Sam Harris truly trying to make sense of RFK Jr's claims?
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Yesterday I had a conversation with my good friend Dr. Madhava Setty regarding an episode of Sam Harris’ podcast called Making Sense.
The episode was essentially an attack on Robert F. Kennedy Jr and suggested he shouldn’t be platformed. An aggressive claim coming from someone who has been seen to have controversial views of his own.
The video below contains a conversation between Madhava and I that breaks down the key points in Madhava’s essay and showcases where Sam Harris is faking sense. I believe there are a great deal of important things to consider here, and this piece does not attack Sam, it sheds light on the type of thinking that happens in many circles. In that sense, we can all reflect on our own sensemaking.
I am often reluctant to do content like this because I don’t want it to appear as though my intention is to defend RFK Jr. My goal is to get to the truth in all cases, even if that means people I like have to be wrong.
I’m not a US citizen and I don’t vote at the moment. I observe what is happening in our world through a lens of understanding what is driving our culture for the purposes of better identifying how to bring about solutions.
In that sense, Madhava’s essay intrigued me because it showcased how orthodox views are often dogmatic. Highly celebrated thinkers and voices are stuck in their thinking at times, yet are trying to claim de-platform those who would challenge their thinking.
No one is going to get everything right all the time, that’s impossible. But in what spirit are we approaching our sensemaking? Are we willing to be flexible? Are we truly trying to make sense? Are we open to changing our minds? These traits are usually found in someone truly engaged in understanding what’s going on in our reality from a place of playful curiosity.
Embodied sensemaking becomes key here as our connection to ourselves and our body is paramount in sensing the subtle resistances we can often have in our system. These resistances can lead us to avoid some facts while acknowledging others. To see only what is wrong with a person’s views and not where they get it right and where we overlap with them. Resistances also push us to employ double standards that reduce our capacity to make sense and truly connect.
If we can’t make sense together, we will be divided, and true societal solutions will be nearly impossible to bring about.
It’s easy to say an opposing political side is causing division or polarity, or that only the mainstream media is dividing us, but this isn’t entirely true. We do it to ourselves as a society as well because it’s built into our existing culture and consciousness.
I invite you to check out the conversation between Madhava and I below.
If nothing else, RFK Jr’s candidacy is helping to reveal more about how all of us are trying to make sense of our world, often bringing to the surface deeply held beliefs that may have been a bit less well-defined before.
Another case in point is someone whose work I have held in high regard for many years, and that is Daniel Pinchbeck. I see that, like me, Madhavva wrote a comment in what has been a very lively comment section on that article.
https://open.substack.com/pub/danielpinchbeck/p/the-conspirituality-candidate?r=1eibt&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
Anyway, I’m going to listen to your conversation but will say that unlike Pinchbeck, I’ve never thought much of Sam Harris.
This was a great breakdown, thanks to you both.