Sam Harris

American neuroscientist, philosopher, and meditation teacher, one of the most influential voices on contemplative practice for the secular, scientifically-minded reader of the early twenty-first century. Born in 1967 in Los Angeles, he holds a PhD in cognitive neuroscience from UCLA and has trained in Theravada Vipassana, Tibetan Dzogchen, and Advaita Vedanta with teachers including Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and Poonja-ji. His 2014 book Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion and the meditation app of the same name have introduced contemplative practice — particularly the recognition of selflessness — to a generation of readers who would never enter a Buddhist monastery or a yoga studio. His earlier books, including The End of Faith and Free Will, established him as a public intellectual on consciousness, ethics, and the contemplative dimensions of human experience.