Sam Harris

 Sam Harris’ dilemma is that how can we convey to others states of consciousness that one individual has experienced. One can attempt to explain and demonstrate an otherwise conscious experience but without that person actually experiencing that same situation the explanation will always fall short of the experience and interpretation can always change the understanding as well. For example, when a young girl first learns about how children come into the world and are taught that they can possibly bring children into the world later on in their life time, their first question is, “What does it feel like?” This situation I’m sure has been explained so many different ways and some young girls have even seen a birth take place, but even with the outer person observation of the occurrence the experience is very hard to convey to them. This will have to be experienced to understand what others go through, unless you have experienced what the other person has experienced you do not know or fully understand what took place. You can convey sympathy, love, and attempt to help the other person, but understanding of the situation could not be obtained. Psychologists who attempt to fix marriages, but yet have never been married cannot fully convey the mechanics that have brought a marriage to the point of seeking help. Just how I can be explained time and time again from one of my nephews what it feels to smoke weed, until I try it, which I don’t, I will not understand what he perceives. I really don’t care to either. I think Harris’ dilemma was to present that perception is individualized and cannot be demonstrated or explained no matter how hard we tried or how eloquent out vocabulary could be and I believe that is correct.