I was reluctant to purchase this book because it sounded absurd - an entire history of our species in one edition? Hah! It would be easier to write a history of the universe, I'm sure. Yet I sit here typing this review and am tempted to say that it is one of the best books I've encountered in a long time. Moreover, it's an important book. I feel confident in saying that the world would become a better place if children and adolescents the world over were encouraged to read this in school.
Why?
Well, a lot of the problems in the world - human problems, that is - stem from ignorance. There are many kinds of ignorance, of course, but some of them cause more problems than others. Humans (I'm going to use this term to refer to us - homo sapiens - although humans could well refer to any of the other genus homo creates who've walked the planet) tend to think they're special. We believe in absurd things like gods and nations and corporations. This book would put these notions to death and immediately free us of some of the most troubling problems facing us.
Yet, one of Harari's key arguments in Sapiens is that it is precisely our believe in "fictions," as he refers to these creations, that separated us from the other animals on planet earth. Prior to the cognitive revolution (70,000 years ago) humans were just another animal. We viewed ourselves as such. Then we began to band together in groups larger than other animals could form. This was due to a creation of fictions that allowed us to unite.
Harari doesn't make any claims about abandoning our beliefs, but his story of the origins and development of our species certainly shines a light on our stupidity, if you could call the inventions that have made us so powerful "stupidity."
He takes us from the beginning of the world to the cognitive and agricultural revolutions, depicting the changes we experienced or affected as unnatural. He makes strong arguments for the fact that humans have not gained happiness in spite of everything we've accrued. Today's over-worked and over-fed humans are not, he says, any more happy than the hunter-gatherers we once were. "We did not domesticate wheat," he says. "It domesticated us." He explains how the switch to agriculture made us weaker, less healthy, and at risk of starvation.
But there is no turning back.
As his story indicates, humans are changing constantly and it's not really a matter of choice. We are basically evolving. Yet there is no way to stop it or revert to better times. We move and change and pretty soon we will cease to be. His book begins before us and ends after us. It could be viewed as bleak, but I suppose that depends on your perspective. After reading this book, you might well be tempted to think of humans as a virus.
One last point: Harari depicts the domestication of farm animals and their treatment today as the worst crime in the history of our world, and he makes a compelling case. Viewed this way, while there are now more humans than ever, we are seriously lacking in humanity.
Why?
Well, a lot of the problems in the world - human problems, that is - stem from ignorance. There are many kinds of ignorance, of course, but some of them cause more problems than others. Humans (I'm going to use this term to refer to us - homo sapiens - although humans could well refer to any of the other genus homo creates who've walked the planet) tend to think they're special. We believe in absurd things like gods and nations and corporations. This book would put these notions to death and immediately free us of some of the most troubling problems facing us.
Yet, one of Harari's key arguments in Sapiens is that it is precisely our believe in "fictions," as he refers to these creations, that separated us from the other animals on planet earth. Prior to the cognitive revolution (70,000 years ago) humans were just another animal. We viewed ourselves as such. Then we began to band together in groups larger than other animals could form. This was due to a creation of fictions that allowed us to unite.
Harari doesn't make any claims about abandoning our beliefs, but his story of the origins and development of our species certainly shines a light on our stupidity, if you could call the inventions that have made us so powerful "stupidity."
He takes us from the beginning of the world to the cognitive and agricultural revolutions, depicting the changes we experienced or affected as unnatural. He makes strong arguments for the fact that humans have not gained happiness in spite of everything we've accrued. Today's over-worked and over-fed humans are not, he says, any more happy than the hunter-gatherers we once were. "We did not domesticate wheat," he says. "It domesticated us." He explains how the switch to agriculture made us weaker, less healthy, and at risk of starvation.
But there is no turning back.
As his story indicates, humans are changing constantly and it's not really a matter of choice. We are basically evolving. Yet there is no way to stop it or revert to better times. We move and change and pretty soon we will cease to be. His book begins before us and ends after us. It could be viewed as bleak, but I suppose that depends on your perspective. After reading this book, you might well be tempted to think of humans as a virus.
One last point: Harari depicts the domestication of farm animals and their treatment today as the worst crime in the history of our world, and he makes a compelling case. Viewed this way, while there are now more humans than ever, we are seriously lacking in humanity.
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