Definite bucket list book!

“Ever since the Cognitive Revolution, Sapiens have thus been living in a dual reality. On the one hand, the objective reality of rivers, trees and lions; and on the other hand, the imagined reality of gods, nations and corporations. As time went by, the imagined reality became ever more powerful, so that today the very survival of rivers, trees and lions depends on the grace of imagined entities such as the United States and Google.”

Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari is a really fascinating book that touches on all aspects of human history, but especially touches on the collective fictions and social constructs that have enabled humanity in a variety of different ways. In the book, Dr Harari, a professor of history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical – and sometimes devastating – breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural and Scientific Revolutions.

Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, palaeontology and economics, he explores how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities.

Dr Harari poses several pertinent questions, have we become happier as history has unfolded? Can we ever free our behaviour from the heritage of our ancestors? And what, if anything, can we do to influence the course of the future?

The book is audacious, wide-ranging and provocative, Sapiens challenges everything we thought we knew about being human: our thoughts, our actions, our power and our future.

This book is well-deserving of the accolades it has been receiving from the likes of Barack Obama and Bill Gates, it genuinely is a truly fascinating read detailing the journey from humanity’s rather modest beginnings.

“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. A truly unnatural behaviour, one that goes against the laws of nature, simply cannot exist, so it would need no prohibition.”

I really wish I had the raw intellectual knowledge needed to critique and debate some of the ideas presented in the book. On the whole, I think it’s fairly well-balanced in terms of presenting the existing theories, but the author does have a clear opinion on matters, and justifies his conclusions.

Google “Sapiens Review” and you will find a plethora of contradictory evaluations, in one critical review that I found on Goodreads, for instance, the reviewer pointed out the Dr Harari’s romanticised view of our pre-agricultural ancestors – sure, they weren’t burdened down ploughing fields all day, but there wasn’t a whole lot of human progress going on either.

Regardless of your opinions on some of these debates, Sapiens is a truly enthralling book, especially when it looks at the collective fictions and social constructs that have enabled humanity to co-operate – or alternatively, go to war.

To give this and other non-fiction books I’ve read time for the philosophy and concepts to bed in, I find I have to read it fairly slowly to be able to digest everything, and possibly alternate it with a fiction read to avoid information overload, (thank you Ruth Hogan for The Keeper of Lost Things – beautifully funny and a fabulous read!!).

“Biology enables, Culture forbids.”

Possibly my favourite part of the book was the examination of how different human cultures formed their taboos, their social hierarchies, their deeming of what is appropriate and what is not, what constitutes as ‘natural’, it really helped me frame my previous two posts.

There’s so much food for thought here. Additionally, while many of the concepts covered require some concentration, the author uses really clear examples and clever humour to get his points across and simplify the conundrums.

Loved, loved, loved this book!

What I’m wearing this week;

Head & Teeth - .LeLutka. Head.Simone 3.0

Eyes - CATWA UN-RIGGED EYE V1.1 - (Custom eye texture)

Hair - .Entwined. Rose [unrigged]

Eyebrows - Glam Affair - Katya suggest eyebrows 01

Skin - LURE: Emily (Carnation)

Body, Hands & Feet - Maitreya Mesh Body - Lara V4.0

Nail Varnish - alaskametro<3 "Classic/Solid" Slink/Omega/Maitreya nail polish applier

AO - VISTA ANIMATIONS *HUD 4.14*MIRIAM BENTO AO-V1B

Physics - 2.- Sutile -Subtle.~ Physics by Temptation

Shape - Custom Made