[close] Sam Harris is an American author, philosopher and neuroscientist, as well as the co-founder and current CEO of Project Reason. He received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Stanford University, before receiving a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA (2009). He is a proponent of scientific skepticism and is the author ofThe End of Faith (2004), which won the 2005 PEN/Martha Albrand Award;Letter to a Christian Nation (2006), a rejoinder to criticism of his first book; andThe Moral Landscape (2010).

He is a well-known contemporary critic of religion and a member of the New Atheism movement. Harris calls for separation of church and state, civil rights for the non-religious as well as freedom to criticize religion. Harris has also written numerous articles forThe Huffington Post,Los Angeles Times,The Washington Post,The New York Times andNewsweek, as well as scientific journals such asNature. He has written articles on Islam, Christianity, and religion in general.

InThe Moral Landscape, he posits that science can shed light on questions regarding moral values and facilitate human well-being. He has given numerous talks at institutions such as the University of Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge, Caltech, UCSD, Stanford University, Tufts University as well as TED, where he proposed an expansion of the scientific method and the possible implications of its contribution to human morality. Harris has also made an appearance in the 2005 filmThe God Who Wasn't There, as well as numerous television appearances for Bill Maher and Bill O'Reilly.