Lessons from Yuval Noah Harari

Yuval Noah Harari, a renowned historian, philosopher, and the bestselling author of "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind," "Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow," and "21 Lessons for the 21st Century," has captivated millions with his insightful and provocative explorations of our past, present, and future. His work challenges us to question the narratives we live by and to contemplate the profound changes on the horizon.

On Human Nature and Society

The Power of Fiction: "The truly unique trait of 'Sapiens' is our ability to create and believe fiction. All other animals use their communication system to describe reality." [1] This ability to believe in shared myths—like gods, nations, money, and human rights—is what allows for large-scale, flexible cooperation among strangers. [2][3]
Gossip as a Social Tool: "You don't gossip about clouds. You only gossip about other people. And once you do, you can keep track of many more people - this is the basis for forming larger communities." [1]
The Agricultural Revolution: A Luxury Trap: The shift to agriculture, often seen as a great leap forward, was in many ways a trap. It led to a population explosion but also to a decline in the quality of life for the average person, with harder work, a less varied diet, and increased susceptibility to disease and famine. [4][5] As Harari puts it, "We did not domesticate wheat. It domesticated us." [4]
Imagined Orders: "How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order is imagined." [4] These imagined orders are not conspiracies or mirages; they are inter-subjective realities that shape our desires and behaviors. [3]
The Pervasiveness of Stories: "Humans think in stories, and we try to make sense of the world by telling stories." [1][6] The simpler the story, the more effective it often is. [6][7]
The Nature of Happiness: "Happiness does not really depend on objective conditions of either wealth, health or even community. Rather, it depends on the correlation between objective conditions and subjective expectations." [3][5] This explains why significant achievements or windfalls often don't lead to lasting happiness; our expectations simply inflate. [4]
The Biological Basis of Happiness: "Lasting happiness comes only from serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin." [4] This biochemical perspective suggests that happiness is an internal state, not something to be found in external achievements or possessions. [8]
The Quest for More: "The most common reaction of the human mind to achievement is not satisfaction, but craving for more." [4] This endless pursuit is a fundamental aspect of the human condition.
The Fluidity of Culture: "Culture tends to argue that it forbids only that which is unnatural. But from a biological perspective, nothing is unnatural. Whatever is possible is by definition also natural." [4] This highlights the constructed nature of cultural norms and taboos.
The Insignificance of the Individual in the Grand Scheme: While humanism places the individual at the center, from a broader historical and biological perspective, the individual is part of a larger, evolving system. [9]

On the Present and the 21st Century

Clarity in an Age of Information Overload: "In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power." [6][7] The challenge of the 21st century is not accessing information, but discerning what is important.
The New Censorship: "Censorship no longer works by hiding information from you; censorship works by flooding you with immense amounts of misinformation, of irrelevant information, of funny cat videos, until you're just unable to focus." [1][4]
The Importance of Questioning: "Questions you cannot answer are usually far better for you than answers you cannot question." [6][7] A willingness to admit ignorance is a cornerstone of a secular and scientific worldview. [7]
The Need for Reinvention: "In order to keep up with the world of 2050, you will need not merely to invent new ideas and products but above all to reinvent yourself again and again." [6][10] The only constant is change, and adaptability will be the most crucial skill. [10]
The Rise of the "Useless Class": As artificial intelligence and automation improve, many jobs may become obsolete, potentially creating a new "useless class" of people who are not just unemployed, but unemployable. [11] "The most important question in twenty-first-century economics may well be what to do with all the superfluous people." [6]
Data as the New Source of Power: "Those who own the data own the future." [12] The concentration of data in the hands of a few corporations and governments is one of the most significant political and ethical challenges of our time.
The Threat to Liberalism: The liberal story, with its emphasis on individual freedom and choice, is under threat from the rise of big data algorithms that can "know us better than we know ourselves." [11][13] If our choices can be predicted and manipulated, the very idea of free will comes into question.
Global Problems Require Global Solutions: "Nationalism, in its current form, is not equipped to handle the major challenges of the 21st century, such as climate change, nuclear war, and technological disruption." [12][14] These are global problems that necessitate global cooperation.
The Reality of "Fake News": Harari argues that "Homo Sapiens is a post-truth species, whose power depends on creating and believing fictions." [15] The current concern over "fake news" is not a new phenomenon but a continuation of our species' reliance on shared stories.
The Role of Education: "Schools should downplay technical skills and emphasise general purpose life-skills." [10] The "four Cs" – critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity – are essential for navigating an uncertain future. [10]
On Terrorism: Harari points out that terrorism is a weapon of the weak that aims to create fear and provocation, and that overreaction to it often poses a greater danger than the act of terror itself.
The Future of Work: The confluence of infotech and biotech will revolutionize the job market. [12] We may need to redefine what constitutes a "job" and recognize the value of activities like caregiving. [15]
The Importance of Humility: "One potential remedy for human stupidity is a dose of humility." [7] Acknowledging the limitations of our own knowledge and the complexity of the world is crucial for progress.
Morality Beyond Divine Commands: "Morality doesn't mean 'following divine commands'. It means 'reducing suffering'." [7] A deep appreciation of suffering is the foundation of moral action.
Silence is Not Neutrality: "Silence isn't neutrality; it is supporting the status-quo." [7] In the face of injustice or significant global challenges, inaction is a form of complicity.

On the Future and "Homo Deus"

The New Human Agenda: Having made significant progress in overcoming famine, plague, and war, humanity's new goals in the 21st century are likely to be immortality, happiness, and divinity. [11][16]
From Natural Selection to Intelligent Design: "The principal force of evolution – natural selection – is replaced by intelligent design." [13] Humans are increasingly taking control of their own biological evolution through genetic engineering and other technologies.
The Rise of Dataism: A new worldview is emerging that sees the universe as a flow of data and organisms as algorithms. [17] This "religion of data" could come to see human experience as secondary to the processing of information.
Merging with Machines: "Humans won't fight machines; they will merge with them. We are heading towards marriage rather than war." [13] The future may not be a conflict between humans and AI, but a fusion of the two.
The Downgrading of Humanity: As algorithms become more sophisticated, they may make better decisions than humans in an increasing number of domains, leading to a shift in authority from individuals to networked algorithms. [9][13]
The End of Humanism?: The humanist belief in the unique value and authority of human experience is challenged by a scientific worldview that sees humans as biochemical algorithms. [16]
The Treatment of Animals as a Precedent: "The way humans have treated animals is a good indicator for how upgraded humans will treat the rest of us." [13] Our historical exploitation of other species serves as a sobering warning for a future with "upgraded" humans.
The Future of Religion: "The truly impactful religions will now emerge from Silicon Valley rather than the Middle East." [13] Technology companies are creating the new myths and tools that will shape the future of humanity.
The Price of Immortality: The pursuit of overcoming death will likely be available only to the wealthy, creating an unprecedented biological gap between the rich and the poor.
The Collapse of the Free Market and Democracy: "Democracy and the free market will both collapse once Google and Facebook know us better than we know ourselves, and authority shifts from individual humans to networked algorithms." [13]

On History and Knowledge

The Purpose of Studying History: "We study history not to know the future but to widen our horizons, to understand that our present situation is neither natural nor inevitable, and that we consequently have many more possibilities before us than we imagine." [8]
History's Iron Law of Luxury: "One of history's few iron laws is that luxuries tend to become necessities and to spawn new obligations." [6] Once a luxury is taken for granted, it becomes a new baseline from which we cannot easily retreat. [8]
The Unpredictability of History: "The better we understand history, the faster history alters its course, and the faster our knowledge becomes outdated." [6] History is a chaotic system that reacts to our predictions about it.
The Few Who Make History: "History is something that very few people have been doing while everyone else was ploughing fields and carrying water buckets." [4]
The Subjectivity of Human Rights: "There are no gods in the universe, no nations, no money, no human rights, no laws, and no justice outside the common imagination of human beings." [3][6] These concepts have no objective reality but are powerful inter-subjective creations.

On Personal Philosophy and Wisdom

The Dangers of Ignorance and Power: "Ignorance is not too dangerous. If you combine it with power, then this is a toxic mix." [1]
The Wisdom of Inventing and Using Tools: "Humans were always far better at inventing tools than using them wisely." [6][7]
On Veganism: "While writing 'Sapiens,' I became familiar with how we treat animals in the meat and dairy industries. I was so horrified that I didn't want to be a part of it anymore." [1]
The Illusion of Consumerism: "Consumerism has worked very hard... to convince people that indulgence is good for you, whereas frugality is self-oppression." [8]
The Value of Suffering: "Suffering arises from craving; the only way to be fully liberated from suffering is to be fully liberated from craving; and the only way to be liberated from craving is to train the mind to experience reality as it is." [2]
The Myth of Harmony with Nature: "Don't believe tree-huggers who claim that our ancestors lived in harmony with nature." [8] Early Homo sapiens were responsible for the extinction of a significant portion of the planet's large animals. [1]
The Power of Money: "Money is the probably the most successful story ever told. It has no objective value... but then you have these master storytellers: the big bankers, the finance ministers... and they come, and they tell a very convincing story." [1] It is the most universal and efficient system of mutual trust ever devised. [4]
The Dangers of Stupidity: "We should never underestimate human stupidity. Both on the personal and on the collective level, humans are prone to engage in self-destructive activities." [6]
The Simplicity of Storytelling: "You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven." [4][6] This illustrates the unique human capacity to be motivated by abstract stories.
The Challenge of Self-Knowledge: "If Amazon knows you better than you know yourself, then the game is up." [1] In an age of external data processing, the ancient injunction to "know thyself" takes on a new and urgent meaning.

Learn more:

Lessons from Yuval Noah Harari

On Human Nature and Society

On the Present and the 21st Century

On the Future and "Homo Deus"

On History and Knowledge

On Personal Philosophy and Wisdom

Written by Antoine Buteau

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