Book by Yuval Noah Harari
I read this book as someone who was never taught the theory of evolution in school. I wasn’t taught about homo neanderthalensis, homo erectus or other species of human beings. I wasn’t taught about the probable time frame between matter the “Big Bang,” the formation of planet earth, the emergence of organisms, plants, animals and eventually homo sapiens. I wasn’t taught very much about the cognitive revolution, the agricultural revolution, the scientific revolution, the profound impact of religion and of money on humanity—bringing about the unification of humankind in the melting pot of various empires and culture.
This book was extremely educational and eye-opening. It has raised a lot of questions for me, since I have based most of my life on faith, not science. While I was never against science or evolution and thought it could be compatible with my faith, I was still naïve and oblivious to various scientific discoveries that should inform my faith (and interpretation of religious texts) differently.
I also found this book challenging because the author explains how religion, money, the constitution, law, businesses, organizations etc are all based on myths. We make agreements about what we are going to base out lives, our ethics and our societies on. People agreed to the “Declaration of Independence” and elevated it as a supreme ethic or principal, because… well no one really knows why. It’s subjective truth, not objective truth. The human race cannot prove that all human beings are “equal.” Biologically or scientifically, they are not all the same. Is sameness equality? And when we really get down to brass tacks, why do homo sapiens believe we are superior to Neanderthals, chimpanzees, pigs, chickens, plants, or atoms? What makes one thing superior to another: only belief. Or perhaps we can argue about consciousness and intelligence levels. But we are biased toward our own superiority.
Yuval Noah Harari reveals the futility of farming, the balancing act of the economy, and the extreme exploitation of animals and the environment by homo sapiens simply because we have agreed that we are superior to other animals and life forms. This is a heart wrenching book, if you let it get to you. It challenges why we believe the things that we believe. It reveals that we know far less about our own existence than we think we do.