sapiens a brief history of humankind by yuval noah harari

He further argues that the ability of Sapiens to cooperate in large numbers arises from its unique capacity to believe in things existing purely in the imagination, such as gods, nations, money and human rights. He argues that prehistoric Sapiens were a key cause of the extinction of other human species such as the Neanderthals and numerous other megafauna. Harari's main argument is that Sapiens came to dominate the world because it is the only animal that can cooperate flexibly in large numbers. Yet the situation of other animals is deteriorating more rapidly than ever before, and the improvement in the lot of humanity is too recent and fragile to be certain of. In the last few decades we have at least made some real progress as far as the human condition is concerned, with the reduction of famine, plague and war. But did we decrease the amount of suffering in the world? Time and again, massive increases in human power did not necessarily improve the well-being of individual Sapiens, and usually caused immense misery to other animals. We have mastered our surroundings, increased food production, built cities, established empires and created far-flung trade networks.

1543 CE, the emergence of objective science).

34 CE, the gradual consolidation of human political organizations towards one global empire). 10,000 BCE, the development of agriculture). 70,000 BCE, when imagination evolved in Sapiens).

He divides the history of Sapiens into four major parts: Harari surveys the history of humankind from the Stone Age up to the 21st century, focusing on Homo sapiens. The academic discipline of history is the account of cultural change. Harari's work situates its account of human history within a framework: he sees the natural sciences as setting the limits of possibility for human activity and sees the social sciences as shaping what happens within those bounds.

While it was positively received by the general public, scholars with relevant subject matter expertise have been very critical of its scientific and historical claims. The account is situated within a framework that intersects the natural sciences with the social sciences. The book, focusing on Homo sapiens, surveys the history of humankind, starting from the Stone Age and going up to the twenty-first century. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind ( Hebrew: קיצור תולדות האנושות, ) is a book by Yuval Noah Harari, first published in Hebrew in Israel in 2011 based on a series of lectures Harari taught at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and in English in 2014.

Sapiens a brief history of humankind by yuval noah harari