14:15 When he talks about German history, as a German myself I have to comment on this. The point made here is that people are able to live under different myths and quickly exchange them basically without major difficulties, and.. it seems true, but something that is presupposed here is that stories and myths are sort of the driving elements of society when in fact you can argue against this confidently and instead point towards other human pressures being the real force and stories only a circumstantial thing on top of it all, an average German in the nazi regime may not have even bought into the nazi story but remains part of the system because of his more prevalent desire to fulfill human needs such as food, security and community. The story is almost secondary.
The story is a product of the will to be like(d by) everyone else. I think there is nothing circumstantially different about a story and basic human needs. They are intrinsically linked. What is a human need, without a narrative about satisfying a human desire?
So, what your'e saying is, if there was no post ww1 economic difficulties in Germany, nazis would still be able to raise to power? And that is just one thing.... economy. Don't forget my friend, when ww2 started brewing, there were still people alive who remembered the Reich. They were regarded as barbarians since Roman days untill then.. then they created an empire (and quite mighty one), only to see it getting demolished in their lifetime! -inseet economic depression here- Now this charizmatic guy comes and rekindles those Reich fires in hungry peoples eyes.. from then on... it's like taking a candy from a baby.. So i don't agree that "myths" are more important than "real world" circumstances.
Hitler's regime was based on propaganda. Now the question is, what is the purpose of propaganda? Why did he need it? This only fact is enough for me to agree with Harari. Another example that myths work is Trump's Make America Great Again. No need to say that it worked and still working in some parts of society not to mention the riot of Capitol. What was the reason, motivation for those people to do that?
Neuroception is the way autonomic nervous system drives us to harmonise with each other and the environment in order to ensure the survival of the species. It operates through feelings. We usurp it with ego, fears, and being reactionary and over emotional
Harari's overall future outlook (data as new existencial story, mainly biotek as new tool to realise the story) reminds me quite a bit on Houellebecq's novel "The Possibility of an Island". Thanks for this great talk!!!
I agree with that he says at 1:18:11 in the video where he states that humans can effectively operate in an environment of cognitive dissonance . We live in a world of contradiction out of necessity. George Santayana made the same observation about the contradictory world in which we live : The world is a perpetual caricature of itself; at every moment it is the mockery and the contradiction of what it is pretending to be. -George Santayana
"My son turned six yesterday. What advice would you give him as he prepares for a world of robotics and artificial intelligence?" "That nothing they teach him in the educational system today is really relevant to the world in which he will actually live. The most important capacity he will need to have is to, throughout life, learn. There will be no ending to learning and to reinventing ourselves again, and again, and again...The pace of change is so fast, that you'll have to learn all your life." Yuval Noah Harari on the myths we need to survive.
@Kam Y : It depends on how a "change" is defined. For example, in my area, a revolution happened when vacuum tube was first invented. An entire new science (called electronics) poped up almost overnight...and later when the transistor first appeared replacing tubes, nothing truly "revolutionary" happened. The fundamentals of Eletronics was already well established. BUT...in a long run, Transistor has impacted us in much more deep ways. From computers to sattelites...our behaviour has changed in slow but much more profound way. The "pace of change" is a bad measurement of how Scientific and Technological revolution is shaping the world (and ourselves).
Yes. This is why I am a firm believer that we need to encourage our society to pursue philosophical studies to develop a better understanding and have more insights about each topic.
Spot on with both - im an academic and ive never seen such a series of excellent audience questions, and a moderator that in control and cognizant of their many functions (guiding the audience to pertinence, staying out of the way, spurring on the speaker, etc.) Is rare..... Bravo to all involved!
The speaker has such a vivid insight into future and his knowledge seems to be very very vast. I am , ordinary person , incapable to comment. I enjoyed listening it nonstop.
Pain is mandatory, suffering is optional. Suffering is the human condition. Unnecessary suffering is widespread. I suffered through this talk. I embrace pain and suffering and make them my friends. I need an ice-cream and glass of wine now. 🍦🍷
''It's often said that you study history in order to ''predict'' the future and learn lessons from the mistakes of the past and so forth. I think that the main reason to study history is to free ourselves from the past. The past controls us through all these stories and institutions; the past controls our hopes, our thoughts, our dreams, our fears and shapes them. This really limits the horizon of possibilities which we can see before us. I see my job as a historian in trying, just a little bit, to relax this grip of the past and enable us to envision a wider horizon of possibilities.''
What kills me is class systems, is all based on English ideals of haves and have nots,imported to enslaved subjects, the religion of military and materisim
This statement really caught me "To know something is real, ask the question ' can it suffer?'" The concept of ethics obsessed me and he kind of cured that.
you have no idea of who I am...just hate talk. I have read his books and they are brilliant ...have you? Politics is tribal ...just look at the world today!
This: ~"You see a man wearing the same hat and suit as you do, and you know he most likely believes the same stories you do" That is the best description of a culture I've come across. We are subconciousely very good at recognising familiarity and foreignness in appearance and its correlations with mental traits and ideals, which we pickup through experience. I believe that dislike of cultural differences is often conflated with racism. I believe most people who don't like people of other ethnicities don't dislike them because of where they are from or how they look, but because of the mindset, believes and values they mostlikely hold, since those are prevalent at their origin place. Those things can bear a lot of conflict and danger. Therefor prejudice and preventive measures on its behalf aren't all that unreasonable imo.
Yeah, well now you're talking logic .... It seems that today, most people (perhaps it's just the media telling us that it's most people) rush to judgement and don't reason it out they way that you just did. Good job.
@@lisamontez9401 For me in particular frontal cortex for critical thinking shutting off when devout followers listen to a preacher & might not be gender in humans in 100 years or so (given crispr could wreak havoc on people/ make ideal people with ideal ratios of everything to minimize suffering, could happen)
check out how he uses meditation to be able to think the way he thinks; it is necessary to be able to see things as they are and not in the context of the fallacies that we are told and tell each other
We need explanatory stories to survive, we do not need myths. To the extent we use myths to fill in the gaps, our job as thinking persons it's to get rid of the myths and fill the space with knowledge.
It's interesting point Myths. I just listens to Mr Yuval about his biology analysis and all possibility of silicon valley. The world contributes he retreat. The human brain analytic impresses.
I have the same thought lol and at the same time hearing all his stories in all his past interviews as a speaker, watching all his talk and videos here on UA-cam, would it make me believe his story😅?
I think this book is extremely backwards looking and written from the lens of mainstream corporate-imperial ideology. You should try Raymond Pierotti's Indigenous Knowledge, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology for a much more insightful and grounded decription of human and cultural evolution.
*Because humans have been "improved & upgraded" by Allah SWT with a more attractive form, COMMON SENSE & given LIFE GUIDELINES from the Koran, humans must be responsible for their actions & cannot be free like animals. Atheists will not be able to win debates with religious people, especially with true Muslims. THE GOOD NEWS is that there is eternal life & happiness in the afterlife for those who truly obediently submit to Allah SWT*. .
They call him the prophet and is strangely referred to in the Bible. (Revelation 13) So many here are being deceived by this creep. His end is also prophesied (Rev. 19:11-20)
@@55k3v1n *In terms of funding, maybe Christians are stronger because of tithing funds, but sorry, in terms of authenticity, the Islamic holy book wins absolutely because the validity period of your bible has already ended for the Israelites only & when the Prophet Isa AS was sent, the bible is currently the same It doesn't apply at all, since there is a noble Qur'an and its purity is maintained... In terms of visits to the holy land, Christians are also far behind... Allah SWT deliberately chose the Prophet Muhammad SAW as the last Prophet & His Book (AL QUR'AN) is in Arabic because of the prayers of Prophet Ibrahim AS, whose love & obedience to Allah SWT was so extraordinary that he was willing to sacrifice his only child whom he had been waiting for for 80 years: Ismail*
His point that Science is more about power than about truth is very interesting. That's what i have obseved too in my experience dealing with the scientific establishment, although I've always had an idealized view of science.
YNH is such a large intelligence I'm pleased there was no-one also on the stage presenting counter positions. In this format he Is connectrd to his audience . Brilliant minds, beautiful minds Thank you.
Walking us strategically into an abyss. It's good to listen to new myth makers providing you listen carefully to the underbelly of what's been proffered.
If you actually think logically and critically you see he is full of circular logic, and self-contradicting statements often the logic he applies is very selective and flawed. For example, his claims about religion are too broad and sweeping. Also what he says about why men were typically more powerful and respected in society than a woman and is puzzled by how in modern society often the physically weak ones have more power but neglects the difference in needs of the present compared to the past, in the past life was essentially more physical more based on hunting, fighting, building etc, therefore this was an essential trait often while now life is far more social and mental, however old ways of thinking persist in culture so can carry through .
If we elect people in power who aren't afraid of nuclear war then we are a bunch of damn fools! I'd rather a president like Obama who is intelligently cautious than someone like Trump who is erratic. This guy is not to be considered an authority! He spews out provocative ideas while few people use their critical thinking skills!
So, basically, many of us; perhaps most of us, we are forced to live the way we do, and limited or controlled by our own stories regardless our physicality and not quite "convinced" that this is the way it could be. And yet, we are clearly forced by all possible violent means, symbocally or not and our major threats are not a fantasy anymore and they are indeed very physical.
Even the other means that control us are just based on stories which also makes it clear nothing would have to be as it is if enough people would join to change the story
Myths are 'Maya' or 'Mythak' in indic vedas. One needs 'Maya' to survive, yet one has to transcend it, to realize one's self and see the reality. Meditation is one of the ways one can do that. YNH's approach is in line with this ancient practice. 👍
Actually you can, you just need to not apply it to scriptures. I've seen enough people that live in complete cognitive dissonance. They re-interprete their scriptures to fit their current beliefs.
@@rafoot3099 Not unlike a liberal interpretation of law. Society is all inclined to re-interpret the past to draw a new correlation. Whether ‘learning the mistakes from the past, using the ‘spirit of the law, or a new interpretation of scripture; every one of us does this in their own ‘metaphorical space ie in their root value system.
The woman makes a very good question, "is love a myth?" which he jugdes and dismisses. He exclude what he fears, and becomes a slave of it, revealing a weak spot by excluding his own image. The projection is annoying as a moderator.
Saying love is a myth is a cliche as much as saying it is a heaven ..Man needs myths just as much he /she needs grounded realities ..love is a necessary illusion
I agree with you. interesting observation. there are so many mythologies related or involving Love. Likewise love is connection, connection is meaning, meaning and myths are intertwined
Who judged and dismissed what? He clearly replied that it wasn't a myth, but that it was weighed down by a whole mountain of myths. The Matrix story is an example of the Hollywood cliché of what love is, that is a myth. A better answer could have been given to be sure: love is a quite well-understood chemical process which inspires social enshrinement/standardisation and mythical representations. This highlights one issue with this talk and the exposition in his book - the almost total lack of linkage of culture to evolutionary biology. Thinking about that Matrix example, another problem comes to mind - there's no discussion of how stories that underlie societies relate to humans' artistic activity. I have no idea what fear and exclusion of image you're talking about.
Stories as stories (traditional myths, fiction), are often ways to concretize values. Yuval tends to overlook this in focusing on the factual basis of the explicit narrative. His genius, though, is in expanding the concept of myth to aspects of shared social reality, and looking at these in a creative way shorn of old assumptions.
There really is a God behind all this. He's an "unjust judge" and also a big gambler jo like to roll the dice. Look at this solar system -- doesn't it resemble a roullete wheel? (You are here by chance--so take care your creator doesn't discard you and send you back to the animal kingdom -- where ticks and fleas never stop biting--some even howl at the moon with crimson blood smeared on their faces (OMG read Psalm 49 perceptively and see-- HELL IS REAL--and those who dono't ascend to heaven will stay below and be born again as animals -- here only one law exists -- the "law of the jungle" (ask Donald Trump, who subscibes to that type of thing-- i.e., "winners" and "losers"--get it? That's COMMUNISM!
Our LORD, GOD and SAVIOUR did create the simplest fabric (H²O) to sustain all of life here on earth. Just as the Jordan and the Euphrates are made of this fabric, so to also are the Bow and the Elbow. 🌱LIFE IS BUT A VAPOUR (H²O)🌹 HOLY BIBLE Habakkuk 3:9 Thy bow was made quite naked (bare), according to the oaths of the tribes (oaths were sworn over your arrows), even thy word, Selah. Thou didst cleave (divided) the earth with rivers. 🙌ALLELUIA🙌 A-men' 🌿
What is so amazing is that now thru the internet we can listen to and observe enlightened human beings like yuval on their various viewpoints and solutions to the vexing problems of humankind to help solve these problems evolving toward a coherent enlightened world civilization !
The religions are the best stories and have succeeded through the indoctrination of the young, the weak, the poor, the desperate, the hopeful and the desire to comfort us in death.
You mentioned “ story” and it reminded me of the Hollywood perspective on existence as in The Greatest Story Ever Told ( which I find was one of the worst movies ever made). Yuval might have a nice thin slice of reality or, more probably, another story. If you have his book does it have breadth and depth of footnotes? For me that’s a tell that I need to know before I buy anymore books.
Yuval is a good intermediary in the topic of consciousness. it is important to understand that our believes are models caused by fears. the nature of fear is vulnerability. To gain consciousness the first step is to recognize that we are all vulnerable. the second is the loose the fear of getting hurt.
I really enjoy his work. It seems like Jared Diamond's style of work is catching on. I'm glad to see it. Although I must say I still prefer Guns, Germs and Steel.
You gotta be kidding me! I don't think you are part of this world. You should read something - assuming you can read - of what has happened in the last 4,000 years here on planet earth. And that's just for starters. Nunc est bibendum, as one might say. Cheers "The more you wander, the greater the wonder The more you quench your thirst for wonder The more you drink from the cup of life..."
roger le phoque No. I’m not kidding. Not at all. I am familiar with many aspects and periods of world history. History is so vast and dispersed that no human mind can contain and comprehend even the tiniest fraction of the original texts, art, architecture, tools, implements, mythology and archeology that exist in libraries, archives and museums. The practice of historical analysis is theoretical and interpretative. The further back we probe in time, the foggier and foggier the picture becomes as to what really happened. Historians have always filled in the gaps in their knowledge with speculation. Harari is no different. Harari is a brilliant compelling communicator. He offers us reasonable theories and interpretations and not so reasonable ones. This is true for all historians. No one is an all-knowing expert on the history of humankind. Why ever did you write what you have written, with your insults? You have no idea who I am or what I know. You have no need to defend Harari to me. You can be impressed with him and enjoy him, regardless of what I think. Cheers.
@@reallythere Well, I am of the opposite opinion. Please could you give some specifics as to what it is that Harari fails to understand at the macro level. Thanks.
I'm always troubled by "theories" that ground society in biology and assert a "necessity" of mythology and lies - from Plato to Nietzsche - as a mask for power and politics.
"The cognitive leap, do you have any idea why that happened? And how aware are you of the myths that you are propagating yourself?" That guy was the most intelligent questioner in the audience, by several strides.
@@corporateraider9766 the reason I agree that the questioner was intelligent is because we often fail to recognize those criticisms in ourselves that we readily level at others. It was a great question!
I listened to this debate/ interview some year ago for the first time. I found it very interesting. Now I'm reading Harari's book, Sapiens. I think this video should be translated into other languages.
Diamond is a great thinker. But he is marred by two things (in my opinion: 1. His refusal to state that religion is a myth that holds societies together. 2. That IQ is one factor of many determining the success or failure of a society. I think that he avoids these two issues because he does not want to face an angry crowd. I've seen him skirt direct questions about these two things. But he is smart enough to know that they are important. Harari is not afraid to call out religion as a myth. The great thinkers who speak their minds, regardless of whether people like it or not, are the ones who gain the most fame..
Yes, this! That was where he got the whole "I'm the leader because of geography a d my grandpa had a horse" argument. A must read to understand the world.
I had the strong need to condemn the host because of his too long own remarks. But then everything changed. He lectured very wisely and appropriately on some of the most important films of our time. He mentioned the Matrix and he mentioned Back to the Future. Everything was forgiven.
Someone asked if he was aware of the myths he holds or tells (not exact words) I had to pause here. I think he is very aware about how we mentally form information, abstractions and narratives. If more people did, we might as a species not be at the mercy of the few and how benevolent they choose to be.
You can be too. Humans only use about 10% if the human brain. Look up Monroe Institute and hemi-sync as a start. Use knowledge for good and share your finds with others. He enjoys the attention, but he has much work to do within. It's not that he knows so much, its that he knows what information has been hidden from humans by people like him. It's fear based.
I'm not one to put words into anyone's mouths, but is seems to me that 10:55 in the video explains very well how Religions begun and thrived, with no need to actually be based in reality.
I question the fundamental bias on what power is, and patriarchal rule. This discussion is seen with a certain pair of glasses which does not question wether or not the frame work itself is correct. You are looking at a history written by those in charge. I appreciate the opening up of discussion on may levels. But still always we assume certain frameworks.
"Homo sapiens is basically a bunch of sheep that got nuclear weapons, atomic power and sheep with nuclear weapons are far more dangerous than wolves with nuclear weapons because they aren't accustomed to such kind of power, they are much more frightened. And to have somebody who is afraid with nuclear weapons is much more dangerous than to have somebody who feels secure with nuclear weapons." ~ Yuval Noah Harari
It’s not about being “afraid“ though. It comes down to the simple fact that out of around 1,000 humans at least 1 human at any given time will be absolutely unstable, depressed, resentful, and simply filled with revenge against the world and existence itself! Often such people take their own lives, but sometimes they also kill their wife or children, or they go on a rampage with no regard for what happens to them or the human species afterwards. It is the existence of such people - no matter how well off we all are on average - that makes the presence of nuclear weapons so insanely dangerous.
19:06 the interviewer quotes an interesting study, whose conclusion was that the prefrontal cortex is turned off when listening to a charismatic speaker. It would be exceptionally interesting to find out how this was documented. Most congregations don't have access to functional MRI that would be needed to prove his conclusion.
Critically brilliant. Many, many thanks to Yuval Noah Harari. You have altered my entire conception of our currently extremely problematic reality. I'm currently spreading this hopeful insight as quickly as I can. It has so many extremely positive recommendations to divert us from our, otherwise, tragic future.
So you are all for your mind being hacked and you controlled like a robot? Sounds like your brain has already been hacked. The only thing that will be saving this world is JESUS!!!!
Harari,s explanation that myth evolves into religion by sharing a common story and repeating it to hone it, as if to forge its truth, is missing the beginning. In fact, the Torah of Judaism and the recognition of the existence of the one G0d comes from one precocious human child, Avraham, who observed that all that he saw was connected into one consistent set of repeating patterns, what we now call our Universe And he felt the blessing of it as a whole, And was the first human being to acknowledge God as the integrated force and the force itself. something that the idol worshipers never had conveyed, as if each of the individual idols actually represented unrelated sources yet totally connected to each other in life as we observe it By space and time. In return, The one G0d of the one universe turn to little Avraham and lBlessed him back, and thus began the connection, Ad Infinitum. Since then, And the connection between approaching the universe from observation of the creation, And the creator. That seems far more cogent to me then making up stories the Novo and repeating them. Although that is how made up stories to replicate. As opposed to stories that are based on observation the sin qua non of science.
![Would We Be Better Off Without Religion? - Christopher Hitchens [2007] ✝️ | Intelligence Squared](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DIR7_X-ahy4/mqdefault.jpg)
14:15 When he talks about German history, as a German myself I have to comment on this. The point made here is that people are able to live under different myths and quickly exchange them basically without major difficulties, and.. it seems true, but something that is presupposed here is that stories and myths are sort of the driving elements of society when in fact you can argue against this confidently and instead point towards other human pressures being the real force and stories only a circumstantial thing on top of it all, an average German in the nazi regime may not have even bought into the nazi story but remains part of the system because of his more prevalent desire to fulfill human needs such as food, security and community. The story is almost secondary.
The story is a product of the will to be like(d by) everyone else.
I think there is nothing circumstantially different about a story and basic human needs. They are intrinsically linked. What is a human need, without a narrative about satisfying a human desire?
They are except the stories have NEVER changed
So, what your'e saying is, if there was no post ww1 economic difficulties in Germany, nazis would still be able to raise to power? And that is just one thing.... economy. Don't forget my friend, when ww2 started brewing, there were still people alive who remembered the Reich. They were regarded as barbarians since Roman days untill then.. then they created an empire (and quite mighty one), only to see it getting demolished in their lifetime! -inseet economic depression here- Now this charizmatic guy comes and rekindles those Reich fires in hungry peoples eyes.. from then on... it's like taking a candy from a baby..
So i don't agree that "myths" are more important than "real world" circumstances.
Hitler's regime was based on propaganda. Now the question is, what is the purpose of propaganda? Why did he need it? This only fact is enough for me to agree with Harari.
Another example that myths work is Trump's Make America Great Again. No need to say that it worked and still working in some parts of society not to mention the riot of Capitol. What was the reason, motivation for those people to do that?
@@valentinann7823 That is a good point. Well argued.
If people are switching stories so easily, they are not relying on truth, but on feelings.
Mythology is not equal to truth
Truth is subjective
The problem is there is no truth outside of scientific observations
@thomasburkhart5078 Truth exists in and of it's own, and it is absolute in it's entirety. Science is the attempt to understand how it works.
Neuroception is the way autonomic nervous system drives us to harmonise with each other and the environment in order to ensure the survival of the species. It operates through feelings. We usurp it with ego, fears, and being reactionary and over emotional
Harari's overall future outlook (data as new existencial story, mainly biotek as new tool to realise the story) reminds me quite a bit on Houellebecq's novel "The Possibility of an Island".
Thanks for this great talk!!!
Time to download it
Two favourite quotes from him ignorance was the greatest scientific discovery ,
Gossip is what hold some myths and stories together.
I can be thankful for others for contributing for the betterment of all.
I agree with that he says at 1:18:11 in the video where he states that humans can effectively operate in an environment of cognitive dissonance . We live in a world of contradiction out of necessity. George Santayana made the same observation about the contradictory world in which we live :
The world is a perpetual caricature of itself; at every moment it is the mockery and the contradiction of what it is pretending to be.
-George Santayana
You speak as if this is not a useful evolutionary trait.
Great quote, thanks for sharing.
"My son turned six yesterday. What advice would you give him as he prepares for a world of robotics and artificial intelligence?"
"That nothing they teach him in the educational system today is really relevant to the world in which he will actually live. The most important capacity he will need to have is to, throughout life, learn. There will be no ending to learning and to reinventing ourselves again, and again, and again...The pace of change is so fast, that you'll have to learn all your life." Yuval Noah Harari on the myths we need to survive.
Thank you for posting this.
In other words, living life in constant uncertainty, precarity and insecurity.
I think this guy is not conclusive
@Kam Y
You sound old and out of touch.
It was true when he said it in 2015 and it’s eve more true now
@Kam Y : It depends on how a "change" is defined. For example, in my area, a revolution happened when vacuum tube was first invented. An entire new science (called electronics) poped up almost overnight...and later when the transistor first appeared replacing tubes, nothing truly "revolutionary" happened. The fundamentals of Eletronics was already well established.
BUT...in a long run, Transistor has impacted us in much more deep ways. From computers to sattelites...our behaviour has changed in slow but much more profound way.
The "pace of change" is a bad measurement of how Scientific and Technological revolution is shaping the world (and ourselves).
My most product activity today was listening to and being inspired by my favorite two voices in the wilderness.
Yes. This is why I am a firm believer that we need to encourage our society to pursue philosophical studies to develop a better understanding and have more insights about each topic.
*most productive
Thanks!
Life on this planet will not exist without love. You will understand this when you hold your own child in your arms.
It's obvious we don't love our children, why would we poke holes in the life raft that carries our children of the next generation to the future?
Who's the interviewer? He's excellent. And so are the questions of the audience. I love a smart audience.
IKR!!
He's better than most on I2. I just wish the Brits would shut up and stop strutting their "daddy's proud" personalities. No one cares.
Spot on with both - im an academic and ive never seen such a series of excellent audience questions, and a moderator that in control and cognizant of their many functions (guiding the audience to pertinence, staying out of the way, spurring on the speaker, etc.) Is rare..... Bravo to all involved!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Scott_(author) ;)
He is good at karate.
The speaker has such a vivid insight into future and his knowledge seems to be very very vast. I am , ordinary person , incapable to comment. I enjoyed listening it nonstop.
Are you okay?
Its infuriating me.
I already know we wouldn’t be friends.
Pain is mandatory, suffering is optional.
Suffering is the human condition.
Unnecessary suffering is widespread.
I suffered through this talk.
I embrace pain and suffering and make them my friends.
I need an ice-cream and glass of wine now. 🍦🍷
Narrari gives me shivers when he sats everything is an algorythm
Like love...
''It's often said that you study history in order to ''predict'' the future and learn lessons from the mistakes of the past and so forth.
I think that the main reason to study history is to free ourselves from the past. The past controls us through all these stories and institutions; the past controls our hopes, our thoughts, our dreams, our fears and shapes them. This really limits the horizon of possibilities which we can see before us. I see my job as a historian in trying, just a little bit, to relax this grip of the past and enable us to envision a wider horizon of possibilities.''
Harari is a genius ,but the intelligence of interviewer and the way this interview is done should be learn by every talk show
Thank you 🙏
Harari is a fool. "Genius" lol you don't have any idea what a genius is.
What kills me is class systems, is all based on English ideals of haves and have nots,imported to enslaved subjects, the religion of military and materisim
This is quite possibly my favorite video I've ever watched on the Internet.
Kraig Ward please watch his lecture series The brief History of Humankind available on UA-cam...It will change your perspective how you view the world
+Ankit Singh Can you link to this lecture series?
Toke Knudsen ua-cam.com/play/PLE-kxvSEhkzDEmLQx3RE09aKO4WS-M84t.html
Then you have surely not watched Christopher Hitchens...haha.
Watch the psychological interpretation of the bible series by peterson; breathtaking
This statement really caught me
"To know something is real, ask the question ' can it suffer?'"
The concept of ethics obsessed me and he kind of cured that.
it doesn't fit the inanimate things like wood, chair, stone, sand etc
@@rameezrather5385 A chair suffers. as a chair, if you cut it's legs off.
That’s just nonsensical razzle dazzle. Illogical and irrational.
@@pogwigginsprod.7702 On what grounds, is it illogical and irrational?
@@hariprasathp1930 there are things that are very much real that do not “suffer.”
This is quality of the first order !
A privilege to hear.
Thank You Intelligence Squared.
A brilliant mind and a more logical person I have ever heard before.
TRY THIS: ua-cam.com/video/ZIV1Uw2VyF8/v-deo.html
he is the type of a man who would not seek politics ...yet his intelligence and clear way of seeing is what is really needed .
The most brilliant and intelligent people never go into politics.
Fudge!
You'd be a perfect SS soldier.
you have no idea of who I am...just hate talk. I have read his books and they are brilliant ...have you? Politics is tribal ...just look at the world today!
and what are you other than a waste of oxygen?@@IUSTITA
This:
~"You see a man wearing the same hat and suit as you do, and you know he most likely believes the same stories you do"
That is the best description of a culture I've come across. We are subconciousely very good at recognising familiarity and foreignness in appearance and its correlations with mental traits and ideals, which we pickup through experience.
I believe that dislike of cultural differences is often conflated with racism. I believe most people who don't like people of other ethnicities don't dislike them because of where they are from or how they look, but because of the mindset, believes and values they mostlikely hold, since those are prevalent at their origin place. Those things can bear a lot of conflict and danger. Therefor prejudice and preventive measures on its behalf aren't all that unreasonable imo.
Conflict is basic to human Nature as is survival..
Conflict becomes competition in the real World... Resourse is limited by imagination
Yeah, well now you're talking logic .... It seems that today, most people (perhaps it's just the media telling us that it's most people) rush to judgement and don't reason it out they way that you just did. Good job.
Got some "Brave New World" vibes from this talk.
Yes, I particularly got a cold chill when he said that science is not really about truth, it's about power. What!!!???
@@lisamontez9401 For me in particular frontal cortex for critical thinking shutting off when devout followers listen to a preacher & might not be gender in humans in 100 years or so (given crispr could wreak havoc on people/ make ideal people with ideal ratios of everything to minimize suffering, could happen)
@@Dman9fp imagine equating marginalized groups recently gaining a voice to share their truth with a conspiracy about gender terrorism lmao
``Creating and spreading fiction`` is exactly what you do, and you are very good at it
Best historian/philosopher of the 21st century!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
check out how he uses meditation to be able to think the way he thinks; it is necessary to be able to see things as they are and not in the context of the fallacies that we are told and tell each other
I’m a therapist, people actively avoid meditation to not have the deal with the real answers only found in meditation.
Great discussion, best I've seen for a while..
thank you mister. u are a pleasure to listen to.
... so, massive thanx Sir Harari ...
We need explanatory stories to survive, we do not need myths. To the extent we use myths to fill in the gaps, our job as thinking persons it's to get rid of the myths and fill the space with knowledge.
As one listens to Yuval or any speaker they admire, one must question whether YOUR frontal cortex has shut down!
haha exactly I thought the same
It's interesting point Myths. I just listens to Mr Yuval about his biology analysis and all possibility of silicon valley.
The world contributes he retreat. The human brain analytic impresses.
You are paying attention
😜
How is that?
I have the same thought lol and at the same time hearing all his stories in all his past interviews as a speaker, watching all his talk and videos here on UA-cam, would it make me believe his story😅?
BEAUTIFUL &INTELLIGENT SPEAKER. I ENJOY HIS HONESTY.
He's a good story teller.
The Questions from the Audience are on point! What an amazing video!
He is such a clear thinker. So many new ideas to chew on after hearing you Yuval Harari. Thanks for the new insights 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
I think this book is extremely backwards looking and written from the lens of mainstream corporate-imperial ideology. You should try Raymond Pierotti's Indigenous Knowledge, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology for a much more insightful and grounded decription of human and cultural evolution.
Really? His ideology is ANTI-HUMAN. This man is for the destruction of the humankind.
*Because humans have been "improved & upgraded" by Allah SWT with a more attractive form, COMMON SENSE & given LIFE GUIDELINES from the Koran, humans must be responsible for their actions & cannot be free like animals. Atheists will not be able to win debates with religious people, especially with true Muslims. THE GOOD NEWS is that there is eternal life & happiness in the afterlife for those who truly obediently submit to Allah SWT*. .
They call him the prophet and is strangely referred to in the Bible. (Revelation 13) So many here are being deceived by this creep. His end is also prophesied (Rev. 19:11-20)
@@55k3v1n *In terms of funding, maybe Christians are stronger because of tithing funds, but sorry, in terms of authenticity, the Islamic holy book wins absolutely because the validity period of your bible has already ended for the Israelites only & when the Prophet Isa AS was sent, the bible is currently the same It doesn't apply at all, since there is a noble Qur'an and its purity is maintained... In terms of visits to the holy land, Christians are also far behind... Allah SWT deliberately chose the Prophet Muhammad SAW as the last Prophet & His Book (AL QUR'AN) is in Arabic because of the prayers of Prophet Ibrahim AS, whose love & obedience to Allah SWT was so extraordinary that he was willing to sacrifice his only child whom he had been waiting for for 80 years: Ismail*
Courage of speaking out against injustice saves lives.
He is an Israeli that lives on land they took by force. I hope you respect justice in all cases equally. Be careful to not mock god's justice
@@javedyusufzai363 All Justice cases. I don't mock anyone.
I loved this, Fascinating and insightful.
FOOL
Exceptional moderator!
His point that Science is more about power than about truth is very interesting. That's what i have obseved too in my experience dealing with the scientific establishment, although I've always had an idealized view of science.
YNH is such a large intelligence I'm pleased there was no-one also on the stage presenting counter positions. In this format he Is connectrd to his audience .
Brilliant minds, beautiful minds
Thank you.
Eu queria antes ler a totalidade de. Sua opinião.
Yuval rocks!
Walking us strategically into an abyss. It's good to listen to new myth makers providing you listen carefully to the underbelly of what's been proffered.
Wow, you are some one with logic.
Rearly seen anymore.
Peace.
Thank you for helping dissipate lies
One hundred percent. A wise man once said to truly understand the world you have to understand the opposing idealism. This guy is perfect for that
Thank you... I didnt know how to write
what I was thinking constructively. But this is perfect👍🏿
If you actually think logically and critically you see he is full of circular logic, and self-contradicting statements often the logic he applies is very selective and flawed. For example, his claims about religion are too broad and sweeping. Also what he says about why men were typically more powerful and respected in society than a woman and is puzzled by how in modern society often the physically weak ones have more power but neglects the difference in needs of the present compared to the past, in the past life was essentially more physical more based on hunting, fighting, building etc, therefore this was an essential trait often while now life is far more social and mental, however old ways of thinking persist in culture so can carry through .
"sheep with nuclear weapons are far more dangerous than wolves with nuclear weapons." because the sheep are afraid and the wolves are not.
Isn't that an awesome insight?!
what does it mean
It means that humans are most afraid and confused so they can easily be made to do things out of fear and paranoia not facts imo
I am not afraid
If we elect people in power who aren't afraid of nuclear war then we are a bunch of damn fools! I'd rather a president like Obama who is intelligently cautious than someone like Trump who is erratic. This guy is not to be considered an authority! He spews out provocative ideas while few people use their critical thinking skills!
So, basically, many of us; perhaps most of us, we are forced to live the way we do, and limited or controlled by our own stories regardless our physicality and not quite "convinced" that this is the way it could be. And yet, we are clearly forced by all possible violent means, symbocally or not and our major threats are not a fantasy anymore and they are indeed very physical.
Even the other means that control us are just based on stories which also makes it clear nothing would have to be as it is if enough people would join to change the story
“Science is essentially power”
Myths are 'Maya' or 'Mythak' in indic vedas. One needs 'Maya' to survive, yet one has to transcend it, to realize one's self and see the reality. Meditation is one of the ways one can do that. YNH's approach is in line with this ancient practice. 👍
He was mentored by SN Goenka and still practices Vipassana meditation to this day.
Uh....not exactly....
What a mind! He's such a beautiful man!
I am from Brazil and I am happy to meet Yuval Noah Harari, his contribution to our future is of great importance.
Anogoya Dagaati he is a technoutopian
He only contributed to the destruction of the world
You like him?
A.D. et vou ad infinitum broski! Hayranim!
If one is discouraged to question from childhood their scriptures, elders or teacher the ability for critical thinking cannot develop.
Actually you can, you just need to not apply it to scriptures. I've seen enough people that live in complete cognitive dissonance. They re-interprete their scriptures to fit their current beliefs.
@@rafoot3099 Not unlike a liberal interpretation of law. Society is all inclined to re-interpret the past to draw a new correlation. Whether ‘learning the mistakes from the past, using the ‘spirit of the law, or a new interpretation of scripture; every one of us does this in their own ‘metaphorical space ie in their root value system.
Greatly appreciated the knowledge of magazine and the illustrations of the global aliveness
The woman makes a very good question, "is love a myth?" which he jugdes and dismisses. He exclude what he fears, and becomes a slave of it, revealing a weak spot by excluding his own image. The projection is annoying as a moderator.
Saying love is a myth is a cliche as much as saying it is a heaven ..Man needs myths just as much he /she needs grounded realities ..love is a necessary illusion
I agree with you. interesting observation. there are so many mythologies related or involving Love. Likewise love is connection, connection is meaning, meaning and myths are intertwined
Who judged and dismissed what? He clearly replied that it wasn't a myth, but that it was weighed down by a whole mountain of myths. The Matrix story is an example of the Hollywood cliché of what love is, that is a myth. A better answer could have been given to be sure: love is a quite well-understood chemical process which inspires social enshrinement/standardisation and mythical representations. This highlights one issue with this talk and the exposition in his book - the almost total lack of linkage of culture to evolutionary biology. Thinking about that Matrix example, another problem comes to mind - there's no discussion of how stories that underlie societies relate to humans' artistic activity.
I have no idea what fear and exclusion of image you're talking about.
Touche' 👊
It is a construct and therefore a myth, yes
A: "Hey, check this, I created a new Data processing system."
B: "What, you mean like a giraffe or tomato?"
His ending is always awesome 😊 👍
Stories as stories (traditional myths, fiction), are often ways to concretize values. Yuval tends to overlook this in focusing on the factual basis of the explicit narrative. His genius, though, is in expanding the concept of myth to aspects of shared social reality, and looking at these in a creative way shorn of old assumptions.
1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”
I dont think he answered the guy in in 53:03 or he didnt understand the question completely
Pratchett - "Maybe they'll get it now."
Death - "Maybe. " [silence] "tea?"
Quoting Pratchett? Instant affection, Joao. 💖
What a wonderful host. And handsome,too!
A book that helped my journey from agnostic to atheism. Thank you.
There really is a God behind all this. He's an "unjust judge" and also a big gambler jo like to roll the dice. Look at this solar system -- doesn't it resemble a roullete wheel? (You are here by chance--so take care your creator doesn't discard you and send you back to the animal kingdom -- where ticks and fleas never stop biting--some even howl at the moon with crimson blood smeared on their faces (OMG read Psalm 49 perceptively and see-- HELL IS REAL--and those who dono't ascend to heaven will stay below and be born again as animals -- here only one law exists -- the "law of the jungle" (ask Donald Trump, who subscibes to that type of thing-- i.e., "winners" and "losers"--get it? That's COMMUNISM!
@@thotslayer9914 , why should I doubt it now?
@@thotslayer9914 ,do you know what atheism is? You got internet. Google it.
@@thotslayer9914 no. I don't. I thought that was evident in my comment.
@@thotslayer9914 , you wanna live your life on a maybe that's your choice. Don't preach others to do it.
It's incredible how Yuval talks about myths needed to survive given the experts who critique his pop-history work as just shy of being mythical.
Our LORD, GOD and SAVIOUR did create the simplest fabric (H²O) to sustain all of life here on earth.
Just as the Jordan and the Euphrates are made of this fabric, so to also are the Bow and the Elbow.
🌱LIFE IS BUT A VAPOUR (H²O)🌹
HOLY BIBLE
Habakkuk 3:9
Thy bow was made quite naked (bare),
according to the oaths of the tribes
(oaths were sworn over your arrows),
even thy word, Selah.
Thou didst cleave (divided) the earth
with rivers.
🙌ALLELUIA🙌
A-men' 🌿
What is so amazing is that now thru the internet we can listen to and observe enlightened human beings like yuval on their various viewpoints and solutions to the vexing problems of humankind to help solve these problems evolving toward a coherent enlightened world civilization !
@24:53. "You don't become pope by beating up all the other cardinals." His wit blows me away! Love this guy.
Opened my eyes!
Amazing public discourse! 👽♥️♥️♥️
How so?
I absolutely love this
In 2020, this talk is more relevant than 5 years ago. thank you!
I read your book a few years ago and continue to ponder. Now with this very important interview, for which many of us are extremely grateful
The religions are the best stories and have succeeded through the indoctrination of the young, the weak, the poor, the desperate, the hopeful and the desire to comfort us in death.
You mentioned “ story” and it reminded me of the Hollywood perspective on existence as in The Greatest Story Ever Told ( which I find was one of the worst movies ever made). Yuval might have a nice thin slice of reality or, more probably, another story. If you have his book does it have breadth and depth of footnotes? For me that’s a tell that I need to know before I buy anymore books.
Where is comfort in me knowing that my dead body will be resurrected and tortured for eternity?
Should be transmitted to all Educational authorities as.... LESSON NUMBER ONE... Brilliant ..
26:08 And I'm already on my 3rd "wow you know he's right I hadn't thought of it that way "
Yuval is a good intermediary in the topic of consciousness. it is important to understand that our believes are models caused by fears. the nature of fear is vulnerability. To gain consciousness the first step is to recognize that we are all vulnerable. the second is the loose the fear of getting hurt.
K.
I really enjoy his work. It seems like Jared Diamond's style of work is catching on. I'm glad to see it. Although I must say I still prefer Guns, Germs and Steel.
The more I listen to Harari, the less I am impressed with his understanding of the world. I would enjoy debating him on many of his conclusions.
You gotta be kidding me! I don't think you are part of this world. You should read something - assuming you can read - of what has happened in the last 4,000 years here on planet earth. And that's just for starters. Nunc est bibendum, as one might say. Cheers
"The more you wander, the greater the wonder
The more you quench your thirst for wonder
The more you drink from the cup of life..."
roger le phoque No. I’m not kidding. Not at all.
I am familiar with many aspects and periods of world history. History is so vast and dispersed that no human mind can contain and comprehend even the tiniest fraction of the original texts, art, architecture, tools, implements, mythology and archeology that exist in libraries, archives and museums.
The practice of historical analysis is theoretical and interpretative. The further back we probe in time, the foggier and foggier the picture becomes as to what really happened.
Historians have always filled in the gaps in their knowledge with speculation. Harari is no different. Harari is a brilliant compelling communicator. He offers us reasonable theories and interpretations and not so reasonable ones. This is true for all historians.
No one is an all-knowing expert on the history of humankind.
Why ever did you write what you have written, with your insults? You have no idea who I am or what I know.
You have no need to defend Harari to me. You can be impressed with him and enjoy him, regardless of what I think. Cheers.
Totally the same and hence I would love to hear you!
@@reallythere Well, I am of the opposite opinion. Please could you give some specifics as to what it is that Harari fails to understand at the macro level. Thanks.
@@rogerlephoque3704 I would like to listen to verum est prius amore do his own video.
Who is the interviewer here ?
I'm always troubled by "theories" that ground society in biology and assert a "necessity" of mythology and lies - from Plato to Nietzsche - as a mask for power and politics.
"The cognitive leap, do you have any idea why that happened? And how aware are you of the myths that you are propagating yourself?" That guy was the most intelligent questioner in the audience, by several strides.
How was he intelligent? I find it rude and arrogant
@@corporateraider9766 Fair enough. But I thought they were very important questions. We disagree on this, and that's OK
@@corporateraider9766 the reason I agree that the questioner was intelligent is because we often fail to recognize those criticisms in ourselves that we readily level at others.
It was a great question!
section starts at 51:30
@@corporateraider9766 but the same token, he is rude and arrogant as well.
What a great Interview, not to mention the audience was excellent, great questions, and the professor that conducted this interview was phenomenal.
I listened to this debate/ interview some year ago for the first time. I found it very interesting. Now I'm reading Harari's book, Sapiens. I think this video should be translated into other languages.
never learned, revisited gratifyinly, REALLY THOUGHT so much in such a short space of time ...
Fight between entropy and reality, a mighty struggle is both realities, Yoval your knight to defeat entropy!
Fantastic. I can also recommend Jared Diamond Guns Germs and Steel
How so?
Diamond is a great thinker. But he is marred by two things (in my opinion:
1. His refusal to state that religion is a myth that holds societies together.
2. That IQ is one factor of many determining the success or failure of a society.
I think that he avoids these two issues because he does not want to face an angry crowd. I've seen him skirt direct questions about these two things. But he is smart enough to know that they are important.
Harari is not afraid to call out religion as a myth. The great thinkers who speak their minds, regardless of whether people like it or not, are the ones who gain the most fame..
Ancestors Tale - Richard Dawkins should be added to the atheist "Bible" as well.
Yes, this! That was where he got the whole "I'm the leader because of geography a d my grandpa had a horse" argument. A must read to understand the world.
@@The22on Religions hold societies together like they cause devastation between societies.
I had the strong need to condemn the host because of his too long own remarks.
But then everything changed.
He lectured very wisely and appropriately on some of the most important films of our time.
He mentioned the Matrix and he mentioned Back to the Future.
Everything was forgiven.
I felt the same as Yuval about the dumbass ending of The Matrix. Love and a Savior beats the evil computer! What a cop out!
Talk with Richard Dawkins will be greatest of this era.
Someone asked if he was aware of the myths he holds or tells (not exact words) I had to pause here. I think he is very aware about how we mentally form information, abstractions and narratives. If more people did, we might as a species not be at the mercy of the few and how benevolent they choose to be.
You can be too. Humans only use about 10% if the human brain. Look up Monroe Institute and hemi-sync as a start. Use knowledge for good and share your finds with others. He enjoys the attention, but he has much work to do within. It's not that he knows so much, its that he knows what information has been hidden from humans by people like him. It's fear based.
I'm not one to put words into anyone's mouths, but is seems to me that 10:55 in the video explains very well how Religions begun and thrived, with no need to actually be based in reality.
Is it just me or do I think we sapiens are the "bad" guys in any sci-fi horror movie? Except we are real.
"We have met the Enemy, and the Enemy is Us"
This is just Brilliant food for mind. Thank you for uploading this Marvelous interview.
Always a pleasure to accompany the reflections made by Yuval.
he wants to destroy the human race!!!!!
thanks a lot
I absolutely love the concluding comment urging us to look forward not bavward😍
Good answers to good questions.
I question the fundamental bias on what power is, and patriarchal rule. This discussion is seen with a certain pair of glasses which does not question wether or not the frame work itself is correct. You are looking at a history written by those in charge. I appreciate the opening up of discussion on may levels. But still always we assume certain frameworks.
You dont work half as hard as your grandfather did, not even close.
"Homo sapiens is basically a bunch of sheep that got nuclear weapons, atomic power and sheep with nuclear weapons are far more dangerous than wolves with nuclear weapons because they aren't accustomed to such kind of power, they are much more frightened. And to have somebody who is afraid with nuclear weapons is much more dangerous than to have somebody who feels secure with nuclear weapons." ~ Yuval Noah Harari
It’s not about being “afraid“ though.
It comes down to the simple fact that out of around 1,000 humans at least 1 human at any given time will be absolutely unstable, depressed, resentful, and simply filled with revenge against the world and existence itself! Often such people take their own lives, but sometimes they also kill their wife or children, or they go on a rampage with no regard for what happens to them or the human species afterwards. It is the existence of such people - no matter how well off we all are on average - that makes the presence of nuclear weapons so insanely dangerous.
19:06 the interviewer quotes an interesting study, whose conclusion was that the prefrontal cortex is turned off when listening to a charismatic speaker. It would be exceptionally interesting to find out how this was documented. Most congregations don't have access to functional MRI that would be needed to prove his conclusion.
One truth is we will struggle with our reason for being alive
Buy land, grow food.
Tank you, Yuval Harari. Very interesting ,useful opinion on the meaning of life and human being.
He's a ghoul
Critically brilliant. Many, many thanks to Yuval Noah Harari. You have altered my entire conception of our currently extremely problematic reality. I'm currently spreading this hopeful insight as quickly as I can. It has so many extremely positive recommendations to divert us from our, otherwise, tragic future.
So you are all for your mind being hacked and you controlled like a robot? Sounds like your brain has already been hacked. The only thing that will be saving this world is JESUS!!!!
God created the world perfect. Man destroyed it in about 200 years... and you are putting your faith in man?
@@kizziah7777 the people in these comments are so blind. It's kind of scary.
This man has done his research! Great job
Thanks for sharing. You're the best.
Your explanation of myth that happens by sharing aas identical to religion reveals a man of brilliance and imagination.
Harari,s explanation that myth evolves into religion by sharing a common story and repeating it to hone it, as if to forge its truth, is missing the beginning. In fact, the Torah of Judaism and the recognition of the existence of the one G0d comes from one precocious human child, Avraham, who observed that all that he saw was connected into one consistent set of repeating patterns, what we now call our Universe And he felt the blessing of it as a whole, And was the first human being to acknowledge God as the integrated force and the force itself. something that the idol worshipers never had conveyed, as if each of the individual idols actually represented unrelated sources yet totally connected to each other in life as we observe it By space and time.
In return, The one G0d of the one universe turn to little Avraham and lBlessed him back,
and thus began the connection, Ad Infinitum.
Since then,
And the connection between approaching the universe from observation of the creation, And the creator.
That seems far more cogent to me then making up stories the Novo and repeating them. Although that is how made up stories to replicate. As opposed to stories that are based on observation the sin qua non of science.