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Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

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Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind is a book by Yuval Harari first published in Hebrew in Israel in 2011,[1] and in english in 2014.[2][3] Harari cites Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel as one of the greatest inspirations for the book by showing that it was possible to "ask very big questions and answer them scientifically".[4]

Content

The book surveys the history of humankind from the evolution of archaic human species in the Stone Age up to the twenty-first century. Its main argument is that Homo sapiens dominates the world because it is the only animal that can cooperate flexibly in large numbers. The book further argues that Homo sapiens can cooperate flexibly in large numbers, because it has a unique ability to believe in things existing purely in its own imagination, such as gods, nations, money and human rights. The author claims that all large scale human cooperation systems - including religions, political structures, trade networks and legal institutions - are ultimately based on fiction.[5]

Other salient arguments of the book are that money is a system of mutual trust; that capitalism is a religion rather than only an economic theory; that empire has been the most successful political system of the last 2000 years; that the treatment of domesticated animals is among the worst crimes in history; that people today are not significantly happier than in past eras;[6] and that humans are currently in the process of upgrading themselves into gods.

Reception

Translated into more than 30 languages, the book won the National Library of China's Wenjin Book Award for 2015.[7]

Criticism

References

  1. ^ Harari, Yuval Noah; Vintage (2014). Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. ISBN 9780099590088.
  2. ^ Strawson, Galen (11 September 2014). "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  3. ^ Payne, Tom (26 September 2014). "Sapiens: a Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, review: 'urgent questions'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  4. ^ Kennedy, Paul (2015-01-12). "Sapiens". Ideas: with Paul Kennedy. CBC Radio 1.
  5. ^ short overview
  6. ^ were we happier in the stone age, the guardian, 2014 sep 05
  7. ^ China Book Award, CCTV News, April 23, 2015
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