Sapiens and Homo Deus: The E-Book Collection

  Pizarro, Francisco 292, 295–6

  plants:

  domestication of 77–8, 80, 81, 83, 85, 97, 100, 211–12

  genetic engineering of 401

  mechanisation of 341–2

  Polynesians 73, 283

  population numbers 47, 59, 79, 83, 84, 86, 87, 98, 190–1, 247, 277, 292, 295, 301, 305, 333, 336, 351

  Portugal 59–60, 194, 198, 283, 284, 297, 316, 318

  postmodernism 243

  poverty 130–1, 143, 214, 224, 264, 265–6, 332, 382, 384

  progress, the ideal of 264–7

  Protestant Church 137, 216, 318

  Purusa 135

  Qin dynasty 103, 105, 357

  Qing dynasty 280, 316

  Qín Shĭ Huángdì 197

  quantum mechanics 21, 131, 252, 256, 258, 259

  quipu 125–6, 125, 127

  race 15, 134–5, 135, 138, 140–4, 145, 196, 232–6, 234, 241, 253, 277, 301, 302–4

  railways 205, 205, 281–2, 337–8, 354

  raw materials 48, 50, 92, 180, 333, 334–6, 339–41, 342, 364

  Rawlinson, Henry 298–9, 300

  religion 18

  Agricultural Revolution and 90–1, 90, 211–13

  animism and see animism

  birth of 18, 24, 54–5, 60

  definition of 210

  dualism 220–3

  free will and 220–1

  happiness and 394–6

  hierarchies and 138–9

  hindsight fallacy and 238–9

  humanist 228–36

  hunter-gatherers and 54–5

  language and emergence of 24–5, 27, 28

  local and exclusive 210–11

  monotheistic 213, 214, 215, 217–21, 222, 223, 227, 230, 231–2, 237, 238,

  239, 401

  natural-law religions 223–7, 228

  patron saints 219–20

  polytheistic viii, ix, 212–16, 217, 218–20, 223, 238

  Problem of Evil 220, 221

  science and 252, 253, 254, 255, 266–7, 271, 272, 273, 274, 348, 349

  syncretism 223, 230

  see also mythology and under individual religion name

  Replacement Theory 14–16

  research, funding of scientific 271–4

  Roman Empire ix, 18, 55, 95–6, 102, 103, 104, 105, 153, 167, 183, 184, 188–9, 192, 193–4, 196, 198, 199, 200–1, 202, 203, 208, 214, 215, 216, 218, 219, 222, 238, 239, 244, 262–3, 279, 284, 289–90, 291, 302, 370

  romantic consumerism 115–16

  Rousseau, Jacques 393

  Royal Navy 153, 277, 284

  Royal Society 275–6, 277

  sacrifice, human 52, 58

  Safavid Empire 280, 296

  Salviati World Map, 1525 289

  Samarkand 209

  Samoa 73

  Sargon the Great ix, 103, 194–5

  Sassanid Persian Empire 222, 241, 242, 262, 354

  Scientific Revolution ix, 3, 244, 245, 247–414

  Scotland 193, 220, 256–8, 296

  Scottish Widows 256–8

  script, partial and full 124–7, 124, 130

  scurvy 276–7

  sea levels 7, 64, 69, 167, 351

  seafaring societies, first 63–4

  Second World War, 1939–45 234, 261–2, 326, 354, 366

  Seleucid Empire 188, 263

  Seneca 193

  Severus, Emperor Septimius 200

  sexual relations 4, 14–15, 16, 17, 34, 35, 40, 41–2, 43, 45, 84, 93, 141, 143, 145, 146, 147, 148–9, 150, 151, 152, 153, 159, 179, 186, 226, 232, 360–1, 377, 386, 393, 400, 411

  Shaw, George Bernard: Pygmalion 136–7

  shells, trading in 35, 36, 103, 174, 177, 178, 179, 180

  Shudras 135, 136, 144

  Siberia 7–8, 16, 62, 67, 69, 70, 196, 275, 340, 402

  silver shekel 107, 120, 182

  singularity 409–11

  skeleton, effect of Agricultural Revolution on human 10, 80–1

  slavery 74, 96, 104, 106, 107, 110, 111, 120, 133, 134, 136, 138, 140–3, 154, 156, 181, 182, 186, 188, 209, 279, 292, 305, 330–1, 332, 333, 338, 343, 361, 372

  Smith, Adam 113, 271, 283, 311–12, 329; The Wealth of Nations 311–12, 329

  social structure 11, 21, 25, 34, 41, 60, 61, 77, 94, 120, 144, 282, 342, 364, 396, 402 see also hierarchies

  socialist humanism 231–2, 233

  Solander, Daniel 276

  Solomon Islands 73

  Solzhenitsyn, Alexander 165

  Song Empire 263

  South Africa 78, 135, 135, 194, 200, 218, 275

  South America 71, 78, 126, 168, 284, 291–6, 318, 370, 371, 374

  Soviet Union 176, 196, 198, 272–3, 369–70

  Spain 125, 126, 168, 170, 173, 189, 194, 198, 201, 247, 248, 283, 284, 286, 291–6, 297, 298, 312, 316–21

  species, classification of 4–5

  St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, 1572 216

  Stadel Cave: lion-man in 21, 23, 23, 28, 32, 39, 400

  statistics 256–9, 269, 366

  Stoicism 223

  Stone Age 12, 39, 41, 42, 55, 67, 377

  Sudan 60, 95, 196

  Suez Canal 326

  Sullivan, Jesse 405, 406

  Sumer/Sumerians 122–6, 128, 129n, 181, 267, 308

  Sungir, Russia 56–8

  superhuman order 210, 223, 228, 229

  superhumans ix, 233, 236, 403, 410

  Syria 42, 106, 183, 194, 200, 201, 209, 363, 364, 370, 371

  Tacitus 193–4

  Tahiti 276

  Taj Mahal 193, 206, 206

  Talmud 193

  Tasmania 163, 167, 168, 277, 278, 279, 379

  taxes 29, 103, 104, 120, 121, 124, 126, 127, 129, 165, 174, 178, 180, 183, 191, 198, 220, 241, 249, 273, 309, 314, 316, 320, 328, 336, 357, 358, 359, 373

  Tenochtitlan 294, 295

  Teotihuacan 167

  Theism 55 see also monotheism; polytheism and dualism

  Theory of Relativity 131, 229, 256

  thought-control 406–7

  Tierra del Fuego 70

  time, modern 352–5

  Toltecs 292

  Tonga 73

  tools, first stone viii, 7, 9–10, 11, 14, 19, 20, 33, 35, 38, 42, 61, 85

  tourism 115–16

  trade 35–6, 38, 46–7, 64, 103, 119, 140, 141, 170, 172, 175, 176, 177, 178, 181, 185, 186, 198, 212, 240, 272, 289, 310, 313, 316, 318, 319, 321, 322, 326, 330, 331–2, 333, 343, 373–4, 415

  Trajan, Emperor 200

  Truganini 278, 279, 279, 379

  Turkey 77, 89, 194, 201, 203, 209, 283, 327, 338, 371

  unification of humankind, the 161, 163–244

  United Nations 32, 370

  United States 4, 18, 30, 43, 64, 105, 105, 107–9, 110, 111, 112, 118, 133, 134, 138, 140–3, 144, 145, 150, 151, 165, 172, 184, 196, 197–8, 199, 230, 234, 239, 248, 249, 261–2, 272–3, 280, 281, 282, 285–6, 297, 304, 346, 348, 369, 376, 381, 384, 405–7 see also America

  US Civil War, 1861–5 111, 141

  US Constitution 141

  universal orders 55, 170–2 see also money; empires and religion

  University of Mississippi 142–3

  V-2 rocket 261, 261

  Vaishyas 135

  Valence, Emperor 167

  van Leeuwenhoek, Anton 248–9

  Vasco de Gama 284

  Vereenigde Osstindische Compagnie (VOC) 321–2, 325, 332

  Verne, Jules 248

  Vespucci, Amerigo 287–8

  Victoria, Queen 326

  Vietnam War, 1956–75 297, 369

  Voltaire 111

  Waldseemüller, Martin 288

  Wall Street 38, 322, 323, 323, 374

  Wallace, Robert 256–8

  war, disappearance of international 370–5

  Waterloo, battle of, 1815 268

  weaponry 260–4, 277

  Webster, Alexander 256–8

  wheat, Agricultural Revolution and 12, 51, 77, 78, 79, 80–1, 83–8, 89–91, 97, 179, 183, 313, 336

>   women:

  Agricultural Revolution and 86

  hierarchies and 133, 134, 143, 144–5, 146, 147, 148–59

  hunter-gatherer 10, 41, 51, 52–3, 72, 80, 84, 86

  liberation of the individual and 360

  sex and gender 148–59

  Wrangel Island, Arctic Ocean 67

  writing, evolution of 119–32

  Wu Zetian of China, Empress 153

  Yoruba religion 214

  Yupik 196

  Zheng He, Admiral 290–1, 296

  Zimrilim of Mari, King 127

  Zoroastrianism 221–2, 237, 238

  Zulu Empire 194

  Acknowledgements

  For their advice and assistance, thanks to: Sarai Aharoni, Dorit Aharonov, Amos Avisar, Tzafrir Barzilai, Katherine Beitner, Noah Beninga, Suzanne Dean, Tirza Eisenberg, Amir Fink, Einat Harari, Liat Harari, Pnina Harari, Sara Holloway, Benjamin Z. Kedar, Yossi Maurey, Eyal Miller, David Milner, John Purcell, Simon Rhodes, Shmuel Rosner, Rami Rotholz, Michal Shavit, Michael Shenkar, Ellie Steel, Ofer Steinitz, Claire Wachtel, Hannah Wood, Guy Zaslavsky and all the teachers and students in the World History programme of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

  I am particularly indebted to Idan Sherer, my devoted research assistant, and to Haim Watzman, a master wordsmith, who enriched my English with style, punch and humor, and who helped hone my arguments for publication outside Israel.

  Special thanks to Jared Diamond, who taught me to see the big picture; to Diego Olstein, who inspired me to write a story; and to Itzik Yahav and Deborah Harris, who helped spread the story around.

  About the Author

  Dr. YUVAL NOAH HARARI has a PhD in history from the University of Oxford and now lectures at the Department of History, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specializing in world history. His research focuses on broad historical questions, such as: What is the relation between history and biology? Is there justice in history? Did people become happier as history unfolded?

  Sapiens was originally published in Israel in 2011, quickly becoming a huge bestseller. It is now being translated into more than twenty languages. Thousands of people have taken Dr. Harari’s online course, A Brief History of Humankind, and his YouTube lectures have drawn hundreds of thousands of views worldwide. In 2012 he was awarded the Polonsky Prize for Creativity and Originality in the Humanistic Disciplines.

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  Credits

  COVER DESIGN © SUZANNE DEAN

  Copyright

  SAPIENS. Copyright © 2015 by Yuval Noah Harari. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  Translated by the author, with the help of John Purcell and Haim Watzman.

  First published in Hebrew in Israel in 2011 by Kinneret, Zmora-Bitan, Dvir.

  Previously published in a slightly different form in Great Britain in 2014 by Harvill Secker, a division of the Random House Group Ltd.

  FIRST U.S. EDITION

  ISBN: 978-0-06-231609-7

  EPub Edition February 2015 ISBN 9780062316103

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  * Here and in the following pages, when speaking about Sapiens language, I refer to the basic linguistic abilities of our species and not to a particular dialect. English, Hindi and Chinese are all variants of Sapiens language. Apparently, even at the time of the Cognitive Revolution, different Sapiens groups had different dialects.

  * A ‘horizon of possibilities’ means the entire spectrum of beliefs, practices and experiences that are open before a particular society, given its ecological, technological and cultural limitations. Each society and each individual usually explore only a tiny fraction of their horizon of possibilities.

  * It might be argued that not all eighteen ancient Danubians actually died from the violence whose marks can be seen on their remains. Some were only injured. However, this is probably counterbalanced by deaths from trauma to soft tissues and from the invisible deprivations that accompany war.

  * Even after Akkadian became the spoken language, Sumerian remained the language of administration and thus the language recorded with writing. Aspiring scribes thus had to speak Sumerian.

  * An ‘intimate community’ is a group of people who know one another well and depend on each other for survival.

  * Paradoxically, while psychological studies of subjective well-being rely on people’s ability to diagnose their happiness correctly, the basic raison d’être of psychotherapy is that people don’t really know themselves and that they sometimes need professional help to free themselves of self-destructive behaviours.

  Dedication

  To my teacher, S. N. Goenka (1924–2013),

  who lovingly taught me important things.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  1 The New Human Agenda

  PART I Homo Sapiens Conquers the World 2 The Anthropocene

  3 The Human Spark

  PART II Homo Sapiens Gives Meaning to the World 4 The Storytellers

  5 The Odd Couple

  6 The Modern Covenant

  7 The Humanist Revolution

  PART III Homo Sapiens Loses Control 8 The Time Bomb in the Laboratory

  9 The Great Decoupling

  10 The Ocean of Consciousness

  11 The Data Religion

  Notes

  Acknowledgments

  Index

  About the Author

  Also by Yuval Noah Harari

  Credits

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  1. In vitro fertilisation: mastering creation.

  1.Computer artwork © KTSDESIGN/Science Photo Library.

  1

  The New Human Agenda

  At the dawn of the third millennium, humanity wakes up, stretching its limbs and rubbing its eyes. Remnants of some awful nightmare are still drifting across its mind. ‘There was something with barbed wire, and huge mushroom clouds. Oh well, it was just a bad dream.’ Going to the bathroom, humanity washes its face, examines its wrinkles in the mirror, makes a cup of coffee and opens the diary. ‘Let’s see what’s on the agenda today.’

  For thousands of years the answer to this question remained unchanged. The same three problems preoccupied the people of twentieth-century China, of medieval India and of ancient Egypt. Famine, plague and war were always at the top of the list. For generation after generation humans have prayed to every god, angel and saint, and have invented countless tools, institutions and social systems – but they continued to
die in their millions from starvation, epidemics and violence. Many thinkers and prophets concluded that famine, plague and war must be an integral part of God’s cosmic plan or of our imperfect nature, and nothing short of the end of time would free us from them.

  Yet at the dawn of the third millennium, humanity wakes up to an amazing realisation. Most people rarely think about it, but in the last few decades we have managed to rein in famine, plague and war. Of course, these problems have not been completely solved, but they have been transformed from incomprehensible and uncontrollable forces of nature into manageable challenges. We don’t need to pray to any god or saint to rescue us from them. We know quite well what needs to be done in order to prevent famine, plague and war – and we usually succeed in doing it.

  True, there are still notable failures; but when faced with such failures we no longer shrug our shoulders and say, ‘Well, that’s the way things work in our imperfect world’ or ‘God’s will be done’. Rather, when famine, plague or war break out of our control, we feel that somebody must have screwed up, we set up a commission of inquiry, and promise ourselves that next time we’ll do better. And it actually works. Such calamities indeed happen less and less often. For the first time in history, more people die today from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists and criminals combined. In the early twenty-first century, the average human is far more likely to die from bingeing at McDonald’s than from drought, Ebola or an al-Qaeda attack.

  Hence even though presidents, CEOs and generals still have their daily schedules full of economic crises and military conflicts, on the cosmic scale of history humankind can lift its eyes up and start looking towards new horizons. If we are indeed bringing famine, plague and war under control, what will replace them at the top of the human agenda? Like firefighters in a world without fire, so humankind in the twenty-first century needs to ask itself an unprecedented question: what are we going to do with ourselves? In a healthy, prosperous and harmonious world, what will demand our attention and ingenuity? This question becomes doubly urgent given the immense new powers that biotechnology and information technology are providing us with. What will we do with all that power?