Sam Harris seeks to instruct humanity with regards to morality. Is it moral, one may ask, to puff up your book sales?
Well, according to Sam Harris the answer is “Yes,” or is it “No,” or perhaps a definite “Maybe.”
Sam Harris sent out the following spam-email:
While I would never presume to recommend that you buy a copy of my new book, please know that IF you intend to do so, you could help it come to the attention of many more readers by making your purchase between now and October 10th.
Timing is important because the first week's sales of a book can now determine its future (i.e., how many copies book stores order, whether it appears on best seller lists, etc.)
And please know that taking a moment to review the book on Amazon is also a genuine help.
So, Sam Harris would never presume to recommend that you buy a copy of his new book…by October 10th.
This is all in keeping with his media manipulation savviness—whereby he and his fellow New Atheistshave become instant celebrities—Sam Harris sent out an email stating:
And if you act now, he will throw in nose-hair clippers for only 5 easy payments of…well, you get the idea.
Keep in mind that this is the same Sam Harris who engaged in a behind the scenes media campaign to encourage people involved in various media forms to besmirch theism (perhaps the anti-Christian show The Office—hereand here—took him up on his offer as it is, after all, produced by the atheist Ricky Gervais—see hereand here).
See our previous reports:
Sam Harris “The Moral Landscape” — will science prescribe morals?, part 1
Sam Harris “The Moral Landscape” — will science prescribe morals?, part 2
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Comments
Why is self-promotion immoral again? Is there I Bible verse I missed on that, lol?
Again, Harris didn't tell people to buy his book. He told people on his e-mail mailing list (those are people who have already signed up for e-mails from him) that IF they are planning on buying his book, the most helpful time for him and the message of the book would be x. He didn't spam anyone. The e-mail went out to his fans. Fans are people who like him and his message and want him to be successful in getting his message out. So where is the immorality?
-Staks
Philly Atheist Examiner
oh, and how is this any different from you asking that those who like your article subscribe? There is nothing wrong with that, I do it too... and so did Sam.
"If you enjoyed this article Examiner can keep up to date with this Examiner page by subscribing (for free) at this link."
Now if your article would like to actually talk about what he has to say in his book, that would be different.
lol all these guys care about is popularity and money *sigh*
I think it is about getting the ideas out there to a wider audience.
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