Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Book Summary
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- Опубліковано 6 лип 2024
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Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
by Yuval Noah Harari
There is a question that follows us throughout our existence. “Who are we and what does it mean to be human?” The mechanism that pushes human knowledge forward is fuelled by curiosity. Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari brings insights from science and the humanities together to answer the curiosity of what means to be human with his book: “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind”.
As the book portrays, human history has been shaped by three major revolutions. Firstly, there was the Cognitive Revolution, which happened more than 70,000 years ago. The cognitive revolution allowed humans to maintain free will while creating common systems, such as money, that required only belief in order to be realized. When the Cognitive Revolution occurred, sapiens were able to imagine and describe things which do not exist in the real world.
Ultimately, the Scientific Revolution brought forward the period when humans made the transition to a scientific and factual approach towards life. According to the book, this period started 500 years ago and it is constantly improving. These revolutions serve as proof that humans were able to form ideas that no other life form was able to do, such as politics, religion and capitalism.
In contemporaneous times, ‘Sapiens’ represents the only remaining species of human. A very long time ago, 100,000 years ago to be more precise, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one - us, the Homo Sapiens. According to the book, Homo Sapiens rules the world because it is the only animal that can believe in things that exist purely in its own imagination, such as gods, states, money and human rights.
Most humans assume that we were always the ones in charge. Naturally, we feel entitled to everything given our superior knowledge and intelligence when compared to animals. However, Yuval Noah Harari and his book serve as a reminder to us that long before we built the pyramids, wrote symphonies, or walked on the moon, there was nothing special about us.
#sapiens #YuvalNoahHarari #ABriefHistoryofHumankind
It is important to note that other species also have big brains and certain intellectual capabilities, but the Homo Sapiens were successful due to their ability to cooperate on a large-scale. Humans have learnt how to organize as nations, companies and religions.
Apart from science and intellectual capabilities, capitalism is undoubtedly another force to which humans identify with. The author argues that capitalism is different from wealth. Capitalism is when you take earnings from a venture and re-invest into production by opening more factories, hiring more labourers, investing, etc.
The author also goes into discussing the notorious relation between money and happiness. Harari brings forward well-documented research that shows that a person’s happiness has little to do with material circumstances. But there is a catch: Money can certainly make a difference on a person’s happiness, but only when it lifts us out of poverty. Any more than that, it is proved that money has little to no influence on someone’s happiness and having more money after a certain point doesn’t mean anything. Money doesn’t bring happiness, but it can make the problems that make you unhappy to go away.
Happiness is a persistent theme in the book ‘Sapiens’. And that is only natural considering that it’s a book about humans and humans are obsessed with the idea of happiness. Harari is suggesting in the book that the lives lived by sapiens today may be worse than the lives humans lived 15,000 years ago. However, this argument seems absurd considering the comfort, technological capabilities, medical discoveries (only to name a few) that we can enjoy in our present times and which are facilitating an easier and happier life.
Towards the end of the book, the author starts asking some pertinent questions that are relevant to the destiny of our species. One of the main questions is: what is next chapter for sapiens, for us humans? This question is difficult to answer because no one can foresee the future, but a certain trajectory for humans can be anticipated, taking into consideration our journey so far. Humans are destined for great things and nothing less. Our complexities are what makes us special and we should be proud of that. Certainly, there are things that we can improve upon, but life is a process and a beautiful one that is. So, sit back and enjoy the ride.
‘Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind’ provides a wonderful framework and perspective for guiding and interpreting what we do and how we act as humans. Bold, wide-ranging and provocative, Sapiens challenges everything we thought we knew about being human: our thoughts, our actions, our challenges and our achievements, our past and most importantly our future.
Happiness is a theme of the book. I agree with the author that humans were most likely more "happy" 15,000 years ago then they are today. Although their lives were shorter and harder, they were undoubtedly more meaningful because their is meaning was found in the struggle to survive. A life without struggle is empty and hollow. Most people in the west have no struggle for basic survival they the human brain creates a struggle to survive with our own minds. Depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders are an expression that basic human need ,and millions of years of evolution, that guides us to struggle against something, even if it is only ourselves.
Thanks for commenting James. I think you nailed it with the struggle these days, and it is just getting worse. We are accustomed to so much pleasure in our lives, that we forgot how it is really to struggle to get something. Everything is instant these days.
I think homo deus, his second book, is the one with happiness as a theme
Isn't that his whole point though. Humans make up ideals that are imaginative order, that we have to have some purpose or direction, or that we are more special than other species. Saying things like "life is empty and hollow" are all imagined.
I find the premise RIDICULOUS because I have lived BOTH SCENARIOS.
The level of stupidity and believing of fairy tales from crazed authorities that is mere speculation and manipulation is out of control.
The very idea that extreme physical effort must be exerted to survive is so abhorrent to the modern self deluded human that one wonders what the hell they are thinking when they agree with the WEF human hating tyrannist control freak. He'll be happy to take away your mind, and make you part of the borg, as he has stated.
Humans were happier 15,000 years ago? I tell you that I and millions of others would strongly disagree. This is because we have chronic illnesses and rely on modern medicine in order to function. My illness was only discovered in the 1940s. My life would almost be not worth living without my medication. And I'm just one person with one chronic illness, think of how many millions have other illnesses.
Sapiens should be taught in schools as a mandatory to avoid shallow issues.
That is true. 🙏
Like the exclusion of the original appearance of 100% sapiens
To all who think white people are sapiens you are less sapiens and more neanderthal and you have been whipping out the real sapiens to take everything from Africa and claim neanderthals created but it's ok it's really sad your nothing without hurting someone else
@@TeeVill you are funny
Getting people to work together in a political group is like trying to feral cats. What is the unifying factor? In our times when there is a lot of polarization. First witness the mocking then at your conviene witnesses validations. It seems that we’re all sharing the same dream.We tend to feel better when we know we are ‘characters in the dream Mind is dreaming,’ and not the person we get to pretend to be! I see it in those who are pointing to the universe as a simulation. It’s not that we are a delusion or do not exist; it’s that our rudimentary minds cannot grok the wonder of the totality without imploding. That’s the problem with religions. They major in separation. Has it ever occurred to you that, in general, humanity has NO idea what the fuck it is doing? when something out there isn’t working for me, the I trying to fix the thing outside of me. That seems to be working for me very well. Which mean You don’t go into sheep’s head to label something crucify someone to satisfy your desire. What’s confusing to you? Which is a desire for things to be different. We attempt to make our life secure by accumulating and holding onto things, whether they be people, material possessions or ideas. It’s in every religion that does not evolve. Cling for dear life… "strange ..." Rather meaningless…
I am half way into the audio version of this book. This is an excellent summary. Wish I watched this before I started reading the book.
Thanks Moe, appreciate your kind words.
This channel is so underrated ..
Thank you for your kind words. Stay tuned for more.
Excellent review.
Thank you for a great Summary
May you live a long life 🙏 ❤
Stay blessed
Appreciate your kind words my friend 🙏 Wish you all the best ❣️
Read the book, but this video helped me understand it more and it also motivated to read it again.
What a wonderful book review!
Appreciate your kind words🙏
Great summary❤
Thanks for the summary.
Thank you for taking the time to comment. Please let me know if you have any recommendations you would like to see in the future here on the channel.
Nicely done. Compliments for the great job!
Appreciate kind words Sandro. Stay tuned for more.
You earned a new subscriber ❤
Good one
Good job
Sapiens is the best book n this decade
Thank you!
Your welcome. Let me know if you have sugesstions for future videos. Thanks
Thank you for the precise summary! We need more of these, especially for the massive books.
Thanks Ahmed. I’ve read 100 books last year so I try to do some of them as summaries, which is not always an easy task. Stay tuned for more, and if you have recommendations let me know. 🙏
@@inchbyinchstories For philosophy I think it would be interesting to have some summaries of great writers such as Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard. Also for spirituality books I would love to see videos about books like "I am that", "the power of now" etc, for health i'd recommend reading and summarizing : "How to be well_ the six keys to a happy and healthy life" and "- Breatheology_ The Art of Conscious Breathing ". Some of other books that you might find very enjoyable are : "George Leonard - Mastery" / "Ryan Holiday - Stillness Is the Key-" and "The Myth of Mental Illness".
Looking forward to see some of these ! Thank you for your efforts
Thanks Ahmed, great list. I did a summary on the "The power of now", and will be on the channel soon. I heard some of good stuff for The Art of Conscious Breathing so I'll check it. I will add other stuff for my list. Thanks for your time and recommendations.
@@inchbyinchstories my pleasure
It’s not précis by any means; however its workable
Love the video, but your missing some very important key points; In particular
-The cognitive revolution it was communication that allowed us to cooperate with one another but I love that you mention other mammals having large brains like we do. I’m thinking of large aquatic mammals that have sophisticated communities that work together, travel in packs, help each other hunt and kill prey their entire life that have intricate languages that are unique to each pod! I think this is such an amazing point as we share the planet with so many other animals, microorganisms, and Ecosystems that we most def have begun to harm. With all of our “science” and sophistication and over population waste war and greed. It’s funny that we only favor verbal and written communication and can’t understand animals. A shame really. The clinical trauma world in particular has begun to study large mammals and their response to stress to understand how to help other humans heal from trauma. Anyone interested--> google Peter Levine Ph.D
-Secondly the author clearly points out that it made no logical sense that we shifted from a hunter gatherer society to agriculture. In a hunter gatherer society we only had to work 4 hours a day and had a lot of variety in our diet that we know is what enabled us to keep a healthy microbiome and therefore healthy immune system. Agriculture helped us feed more people but our quality of life was greatly lessened; we had to work a lot harder and our food now sucked. This could be called the roots of over population. Life became a lot more complicated for us after this. I found this to be a really important point!
-The emergence of empires and religion forced the world into global consciousness and global unification
-The scientific revolution helped save many peoples lives, solved problems. Placed some responsibility on the human instead of solely on God and Institutions
-He introduced us to the idea of future hybrid humans and AI and the potential dangers. Some scary predictions about the dangers of a lot of data and power falling into the same few hands of white man.
-explains how the quality of life a few today comes at the expense of women, indigenous community, black, brown, Asian communities.
Wow you have so much free time
@@ishkool8664 jealous?
It’s confronting to see the trophy, because my life sometimes really feels like living from achievement to achievement 🏆
This is great! Well done!
Thank you for kind words Magda. Stay tuned for more awesome content on the channel. 🙏
@@inchbyinchstories ❤️❤️will do!
The description of the agricultural revolution at the beginning is pretty misleading. The agricultural revolution that took place 10,000 years was not an improvement on farming techniques that took place mostly in Europe. Instead, it was the discovery of agricultural. Humans started growing crops and domesticating animals for the first time.
@Wajeeh Haider you are totally wrong
Huh? That's not what the book said.
Thanks so much
You're welcome!
Well done
Thanks..stay tuned for more.
Family member told me about this book and decided to buy me a copy
Beautiful review. very precise!!
Thank you very much. Stay tuned for more.
We are so insignificant that it mattes almost nothing for this universe, but with little resource that we got evolved, utilised and explored in very less amount of time this which makes us great and is of great significance to our own human history.
Does Easier means Happier life? This is his point about happiness, we can get used to anything like comfort, technology or medical safety. This is not where our true joy lays.
That is so true 🙏
Exactly Sophie ! Thats what Osho told over and over: Do not be IDENTIFIED (aka getting used to) with a n y t h i n g . . . "you" are the independent observer . . .
Thank you so much 🥰
I just finished this book after more than a year reading, and i remembered mostly the main point that we are all connected by legends and becoming ones
Do you think that point makes sense?
@@inchbyinchstories yeah it is equated to people in a company stay longer if they envision the same thing together, not just for the money
@@nhathoang4099 Good analogy. If you didn't you should read a book by Seth Godin called Tribes.
@@inchbyinchstories cool i'll consider your recommendation once i find the book
This is a book everyone needs to try to understand
Briefly turned a few pages and I need to sit with a dictionary and read this book
Yuval Noah Harari has taught us all a lesson and you have made it into a entertaining video. Thanks for all your effort, cheers from Australia
So true. Thank you William for kind words 🙏🙏
Harari is a sad example of a weak man trying to find purpose in life by creating a cult. The guy is weak sauce and really not a man.
The vid's so nice!!! helped me with the hw loool
Fantastic debrief of a complex book, very well done..!! 👏🏼👏🏼
Thanks Pavan. Appreciate your kind words 🙏🙏🙏
Complicated ? Barack Obama describes it as a highly simplified high level 40,000 view summary of how Homo sapiens became the dominant species what events led to this and a simplified understanding of how civilizations began. It answers basic questions as; why did humans create money and religion and science. What does the future look like. It’s not that complicated.
@WLN I might sound arrogant but this is the truth. Majority people are dumb!
@@FedupwithbullshitsI used to think so, but there is something to be said about ignorance. Supposedly it makes one happier. I’ve never had the luxury of blissful idiocy I sometimes admire them.
@WLN haha yeah "Ignorance is Bliss" I used to say this but nobody gets me. It's so surprising to see someone with same mindset.
which video software do you use for your videos pls tell
Doodly or Animaker
I have to read this book now. 😩😭
謝謝
thank you for this
I'm not sure you should mix a critique of a book with a synopsis, esp if you aren't giving the syllogism for which the author provides in his book explaining his position
Maybe you are right. I will keep that in mind for the future. Thank you.
Great book, except the part about morality as a invented, not discovered. We should make differentiation between what is discovered, which is what is law of the universe, what is real and experimental like science. And something that is invented like way we interact, language, way in which we speak, write, symbols and organize. So math is discovered, but a way in which we will put it on paper is invented. Same as morality, it is discovered but the way in which we interpret it is invented.
The difference with the 'discovery of mathematics' and 'discovery of morality' is that the former will continue to exist even thought there is no human thought given to it, as it is the natural phenomena on earth that manifests itself, whereas morality is subjective and is a derivate from collective thought process of human kind. If there would be no human species in the world, there would be no existence of morality. I think animals would not hold the idea of morality really well. Therefore, morality is an invention because it would not exist without human brain whereas mathematics would, moreover we can say it was a 'collective humankind invention'.
@@VyomSharma I cannot agree that "morality is subjective" interpretation of morality.
What we call morality, what we define as morality can be and often is subjective, but morality itself in not subjective at all. Morality is subjective, same as mathematics is subjective. Mathematics has objective rules based on natural laws - Morality has objective rules based on natural laws.
My response would be to experiment on that, is morality subjective or not. Mathematics is something you will understand with your intellect, so it is an intellectual thing. Morality is something you will feel, so it is an emotional thing.
Same as Universal law governs principles of mathematics, it governs principles of morality.
My experience is that morality is directly connected with emotions, specifically with the emotion of love.
I am not talking about "false morality" like when we invent that women should wear scarf or dress in certain way or something similar - we have also that part we falsely call morality, but it is not.
I'm talking about part of morality when you see one animal killing another you emotionally do not find it appealing (if you are not indoctrinated, desensitized)
If you look at nature that way, you will notice the discrepancy between things that happen in nature and our emotional response to it.
"If physical nature is all there is, then humans are completely in harmony with nature in everything they do" - and obviously that is not the case. You do not take example in nature to how to behave - if you do - then you will justify all kinds of violence, murder, rape and similar.
What I'm saying is that by noticing this discrepancy, thought comes to mind that in human there must be something more than only physical - what is it?
When we talk about mathematics, Kurt Gödel has an interesting outlook on the exact thing we talk about here:
www.perrymarshall.com/10043/godels-incompleteness-theorem-the-universe-mathematics-and-god/
or here
www.perrymarshall.com/articles/religion/godels-incompleteness-theorem/
^_^
what's the age raiting?
Заходите послушать подкаст, где социологи беседуют об идеях поднятых в книге и её влиянии. Будет интересно! 😸
Cпасибо проверю. :)
I am here before this video goes viral.
🙏🙏🙏
Cheers
Sending greetings back to a fellow diver.
"All is mental" 🤔
Great video, but could you possibly use different bgm than this.. feels like it is intruding the audio
Thanks for feedback, i’ll have that in mind in the future.
I hope this form of book review encourages more reading. I would give this review higher marks if the graphics were more in line with the book's words. For example the old overused sketch of the monkey's direct ascent to sapiens isn't an accurate reflection of the book.
Thank you Emily for your comment. The main idea for people who watch these videos, is to wish to read a book later. It is a hard work to make it exiting in a way to encourage people to read more, but I try my best. Let me know if you have any suggestions 🙏
this is more of a review than a summary.
Some things don't seem to match up in the time-line.
Unless you omit Egypt.
Why did you put repetitive tropical moombahton behind this explanation? Did it add anything?
is this different from the first two volumes of sapiens? or original?
original 🙏
DANG YUVAL
AFRICAN IMAGES
ARE AVAILABLE FOR USE TOO
Millimeter by Millimeter Memetics!
No insect bugs for food. The human body can't not digest bugs!
Nature goes on forever for everyone and everything to return as everyone and everything an infinite number of times through evolutionary processes.
Exactly!
❤❤❤
Great
Thanks, subscribe for more 🙌
This is a very useful video, but the background music is ugly and very distracting.
the music choice for the background is just not it. Thought I'd leave you that feedback before watching a different version of this video.
Thanks for feedback, appreciate it. 🙏
This is not a good summary, you've missed many of the key explanatory steps!
9:50 "We must admit that sometimes there is more to life than simply what walks the Earth's surface" - Is this a claim by the author or your own opinion? Because we have no proof of something like this as of now.
I’ll have to check in my books, but you’re right. No proof of something like that.
I am pelasgian and my type of human came from water just like our body is full of water
Such a good book got the graphic novel we are all manipulated by someone's imagination if true would love to of know what it was like for the first time someone set their eyes on massive army when people had only been in groups of 150 ish people to see 10s of thousands
this music💀💀
I believe this book as much as I believe the Bible and I'm reading it for the 3rd time. NOW
😂😂
Lmao
😂
This comment so ambiguous lol
Difference is, the Bible is true, Sapiens isn’t. Well, at least some parts…
If human beings doesn't remove evil thoughts from their life then soon humans will extinct from this universe
👍❤🙋♀️
🙌🙌
hmm ... y call fiction .. cognition 🙄❤️
vaguely described.
In what way?
Cognitive abilities made human beings achieve great things! What great things? I only see people setting themselves up with stupid dreams and ambitions to escape from life.
Exactly 🙏
Hey man i never comment on youtube. but your comment caught my attention. What you wrote seems to be very deep but i don't understand what you mean. Do you think it's stupid that people use their cognitive ability to chase dreams? What do you mean?
the entirety of civilizaiton. Just because some people, or a lot of people, do these things youve mentioned doesnt mean humans havent accomplished great things.
Humans are far more intelligent then the Animals or bugs.
Why is it that the only African/African American animation is the poor person? Animations of successful people are all Caucasian, Asian or Arab. This side of the presentation could have been done much better.
well the narrator's voice in this video I did another policy logic bring up the whole thing about us having big brains and their other animals have big brains. an animal could have a pea-sized brain and be ten times more intelligent than we are is matter the size of the brain on your cognitive capabilities or your intelligence level. now some I beg to differ but it's literally been proven scientific fact
Bus hes Right that humans had Better lifes 15.000 years ago. Ted Kaczynski also talked About it and eh was kinda right
The book is one dudes current opinion. Chill.
U have a good point on that I agree, but the book the dude wrote also makes lots of sense and with that u can build and create a belief of your own
@hellengamimg_2655 true. Then you'll have your opinion. Yay 😄
Challenge: agriculture is a good thing. Response: animal husbandry and fat-adapted nutrition is better.
I tried audiobook for sapiens.. But used to fall asleep.. No offense to anyobe, I really want to read the book so if someone has tips then please let me know
Do you want to read or listen audio book?
@@inchbyinchstories I meant, I want to listen. I have heard it's a great book but I used to fall asleep when I tried it couple of years back. So wanted tips to listen to this book
@@inchbyinchstories also, thank you for responding
I prefer reading over listening, but usually when i listen I do it when i’m in gym or driving, or walking...so during some activity. You just need to focus little bit on it, and it will be okay.
@@inchbyinchstories thanks 😊
Yuval strikes me as evil on steroids
I’ve just started to read this book and just about to start on the 6th chapter. I already believe that sapiens are such a deadly scourge on nature that we are forced to do more to develop ourselves so that we can coexist with nature in more mutually beneficial ways. To continue the way we have been going is completely unsustainable and quite insane. We owe it to ourselves and the planet to be better and pay back our debts by exploring space which is truly limitless in terms of sentient beings though many will perish in the challenge. Isn’t that in keeping with our ultimate fate?
In some way I guess. It seems like we are cancer of this planet. We just hope it will go better, but time showed the opposite.
i'm sorry, but did you actually read the book? if so, please re-read it. i don't mean to be rude, but i think you missed the seminal thesis. by like, a lot.
Of course I’ve read the book. Can you let me know what I missed? I’m preparing another video, 10 things I learned reading Sapiens, so it might be good to get you feedback before that to understand what i’m missing. Thanks a lot. 🙏
Great summary but I thought it was rather inappropriate to input your opinion towards happiness now vs 15,000 years ago. I dont things any of those things directly “make you happy” those are just fruits of inequality
Agriculture ruined humans - our hunting and gathering ancestors lived a happier and healthier life. Living in the comfort of the natural environment and all it has to offer without the spread of diseases that came from animals, stronger teeth & bones (no sugary foods and greater physical activity), more leisure time, happier family/tribal habitations, a magnificent view and appreciation for the natural world, no modern day conflicts associated with religion, politics and socioeconomics - no need for money, so no wealth or class system that the rich can exploit; a more egalitarian society with no racism, sexism or radicalism. Now people just stare at iphones, eat junk food that causes obesity and tooth decay with limited physical activity, buy useless and pointless stuff (over consumption) to impress a bunch of fools they don't even know, and became politically divided on constant ignorance on societal issues (get the covid vaccine people)- wow we really screwed this up.
informative but damn you have a boring voice. you gotta work on that bro. other than that bravo very great overall.
Thanks Andrew. Also thanks for the voice feedback, we’ll do somethig about it.
Great review, but disliked the music.
Sorry about that, will have that in mind for future videos. Thanks Freddo 🥰
You review is incredibly simplistic and sometimes inaccurate….
Thank you for you feedback 🙏
In Russia modern objects like screws and doorknobs are found in rocks that are supposedly billions of years old.
Also on some other places too.
@@inchbyinchstories so why do you talk about 70, 000 or millions of years then?
I know you don’t make the cartoon art, however be cognizant of using fair skin to represent humans and then using a dark skin character to represent poverty…. Unless that’s what you think of dark skinned people.
Nah that was not my intention. It’s just cooncidence that I’ll try to avoid in future. Thanks for noticing this, I’ll try to improve in future. All the best 🙏
The agricultural revolution 10 thousand years ago started in Europe hahahahaaaaaa
The historic time period described are nonsense..
that money that was saved up from whatever business you were narrating there that was created guess what that money sitting there that's a capital you took that capital from the business that you earned in the form of that money and you took that capital and used it on something else you just literally oxymoron yourself in that one
Your added “meat is bad for you” is nonsense.
Hes vegan
@@sigitrock That’s even worse.
He's mixed opinion with book summary, pretty annoying.
compare to animals yeah we're so confidently aware that everybody's running around thinking they're different races when they're not they're all the sapient races of the genus homo species life people like this narrator in this video here which is completely insane and it is completely impossible you will never see a horse give birth to a different species other than its own species that be same species different breed we're mammals just like they are but again the narrator's voice in this video. literally label us as something else other than a mammal there's a second thing wrong with this video. talk about being cogley functional in the aspect of comprehensible capabilities.
The String theory of human history and evolution.
Too simplistic and overgeneralisation.
Good book. Slightly spoiled by the way he bends over backwards to avoid offending the feminists out there. Common these days.
ouch
mid summary
Performing service or worshiping deities is not in imaginary order...
The concept is good. The science is all wrong. Those dates are Way off!
You are serving lies of human origin…when it comes money and religion you are serving half truth!!! Be ashamed!!!
Never heared the latin motto "sine ira et studio ? ABD: . . . . please v e r i f y your accusations !
Shit book with no footnores
Really Leif ? Well . . . I think this is indeed would be v e r y arrogant. . . since nothing doesn ´t come from n o t h i n g . . .
Hmmmm..
We did not come from ape. They can't prove it. Missing link??? We were made in God image with FREE WILL!
Weak drivel