Head to head
Buddhism vs Sam Harris
Buddhism’s Empty, Illusory Phenomenal Consciousness and S. Harris’s Mystery of Consciousness, compared field by field from their entries in the Atlas.
At a glance
- Buddhism belongs to the Idealism family in Kuhn's Landscape of Consciousness, Sam Harris to Challenge.
- On AI consciousness, Buddhism says “Uncertain” and Sam Harris says “No”.
- On life after death, Buddhism says “Yes” and Sam Harris says “No”.
- On mind uploading, Buddhism says “Not needed” and Sam Harris says “No”.
- On meaning and purpose, Buddhism says “Cosmic/Ultimate” and Sam Harris says “Humanistic only”.
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The claim
In brief
BuddhismThis theory suggests that the sense of phenomenal consciousness or 'what-it-is-like-ness' is an instance of cognitive illusion, rejecting the existence of a permanent, inner 'self' or 'soul'. It posits that consciousness, like all phenomena, is ultimately empty of intrinsic nature, and is better understood as a network of relational processes.
Sam HarrisThis perspective, offered as a challenge rather than a prescriptive theory, frames consciousness as an unbridgeable mystery that cannot be solved by purely physical means. Harris argues that physical descriptions are 'mute' regarding subjective experience; the only thing attesting to sentience is consciousness itself, creating a fundamental explanatory gap. He remains pessimistic that science can dispel this mystery.
What consciousness is
BuddhismConsciousness (in the phenomenal sense) is identified as a cognitive illusion or conventional reality constituted by a network of processes/relations (Madhyamaka) or as an inner subjective substrate of representations (Yogācāra).
Sam HarrisConsciousness is identified as subjectivity or sentience, which is fundamentally mysterious and unexplainable by purely physical processes.
Big questions
Can AI be conscious?Differ
BuddhismUncertainIf consciousness is fundamentally an illusion arising from a network of processes, it is unclear whether advanced computation (AI) can replicate the complex conventional reality or the specific non-self processes that generate this illusion, even though computation is not fundamentally ruled out.
Sam HarrisNoIf consciousness is irreducible subjectivity missing from physical descriptions, then advanced computation (AI, which is purely physical complexity) will fail to generate genuine sentience.
BuddhismYesThe eighth (store-house) consciousness persists after death, carrying karmic energy through cycles of reincarnation. However, survival often entails expansion back into cosmic consciousness, blurring or banishing individual first-person identity ('being sugar').
Sam HarrisNoAs a naturalist, Harris implicitly aligns with the view that consciousness is tied to the physical organism, meaning its termination results in permanent non-existence, despite the mystery of its nature while alive.
BuddhismNot neededThe theory already provides a mechanism for persistence (the eighth consciousness) or transcendence (ninth consciousness), making artificial, digital duplication (virtual immortality) philosophically moot.
Sam HarrisNoIf consciousness cannot be explained by purely physical processes, then duplication or uploading of the physical substrate will fail to capture or recreate the essential subjective self.
BuddhismCosmic/UltimateThe ultimate goal is spiritual attainment (reaching the ninth consciousness or Buddha nature), which serves as the core source of energy and ultimate fulfillment, moving beyond merely humanistic purpose.
Sam HarrisHumanistic onlyThe mystery does not imply cosmic purpose, but Harris advocates finding personal truths through introspection, aligning with self-discovered (naturalized) spirituality and meaning.
Nature of mind
Ontology
BuddhismIdealism (specifically the Yogācāra school) or Deflationary Relationalism (specifically the Madhyamaka school), where all things are conventionally real but ultimately empty of intrinsic nature.
Sam HarrisSkeptical/Mysterianism (Justified: The view asserts the philosophical intractability and unbridgeable nature of the mind-body problem, aligning with core tenets of mysterianism, though without adopting a specific alternative ontology.)
Mind and body
BuddhismThe relationship is understood as interdependent and relational, lacking intrinsic self/substance. The illusion of a centralized mind or self is rejected.
Sam HarrisUnbridgeable Gap / Non-reductive Correlation (Justified: Harris asserts that while physical processes correlate with consciousness, no analysis of these processes can logically yield a picture of consciousness, leaving an unbridgeable gap.)
Fundamental or emergent
BuddhismConventional reality constituted by relations. It is neither a primitive substance nor an emergent property in the typical Western sense, as the phenomenal self it describes is fundamentally illusory.
Sam HarrisMystery (Justified: Harris declines to fully endorse emergence, stating that while consciousness may be the lawful product of unconscious processing, he does not find that sentence meaningful in explaining sentience.)
Qualia
BuddhismQualia ('what-it-is-like-ness') are rejected as real, intrinsic properties and are instead viewed as illusory, dissolving away in favor of a network of underlying processes.
Sam HarrisQualia (what it is 'like something' to be) are the phenomenon that physical events are 'mute' about, thus creating the unbridgeable mystery.
How it works
Mechanism
BuddhismThe principle of emptiness (lack of intrinsic nature) applied to all phenomena, resulting in the realization that phenomenal consciousness is a cognitive illusion.
Sam HarrisNone (Justified: The core premise is the failure of all current and foreseeable physical/mechanistic principles to explain subjectivity.)
Where it is
BuddhismNon-localized. Consciousness is often understood relationally. The ninth consciousness (Buddha nature) is the fundamental, purest core.
Sam HarrisUnknown/Mysterious (Justified: While consciousness correlates with the brain, the theory explicitly rejects confining the explanation of consciousness to physical location or distribution because the physical world yields no evidence of consciousness.)
What it does
BuddhismThe inward-directed seventh consciousness causes the concept of self, which is the source of deception. The eighth consciousness stores karmic energy and persists across death, thus enabling rebirth.
Sam HarrisUnknown/Irreducible (Justified: Causal power is not explained by unconscious complexity. The presence of sentience is an ultimate mystery rather than a functional adaptation that can be described reductively.)
Evidence and criticism
Testability
BuddhismLargely conceptual, based on internal philosophical coherence and phenomenological insights gained via meditative practices. Empirical studies sometimes correlate high-level meditation states (nirodha-samāpatti) with measurable brain changes (reduced synchronization).
Sam HarrisConceptually Untestable (Justified: If the gap is unbridgeable, as Harris claims, the mystery cannot be dispelled by empirical science as currently practiced.)
Tests so far
BuddhismStudy of high meditative states (nirodha-samāpatti) showing reduced overall brain synchronization.
Sam HarrisNone (Justified: The framework is a diagnosis of science's failure to address the hard problem and does not propose empirical tests for the mystery itself.)
Criticisms
BuddhismWestern philosophers often find the core claim—that phenomenal consciousness is illusory—counter-intuitive and untenable. Internally, tension exists between the idealistic Yogācāra school and the relational Madhyamaka school.
Sam HarrisIt functions primarily as a critique against reductionism and scientific optimism regarding consciousness, classifying the issue as an ultimate mystery, which reductionists reject as pessimism (mysterianism).
Sources
Key sources
Buddhism
- Engaging Buddhism, Jay L. Garfield (2015)
- Illusionism and givenness, Jay Garfield (2016)
- The Nine Consciousness (2022)
Sam Harris
- The mystery of consciousness (Part I & II), Sam Harris (2011)
- Explorations in Consciousness: Death Psychedelics and Mystical Experience (2023)