Introduction: Why Read Harari Together?

Yuval Noah Harari is not simply a historian — he is a storyteller who weaves science, philosophy, and politics into a single grand narrative about humankind. His three most influential works — Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century — should not be read in isolation. Each book deals with a different temporal focus:

• Sapiens is about where we came from, tracing humanity’s evolution from insignificant apes to the rulers of the planet.
• Homo Deus explores where we might be headed, sketching possible futures shaped by biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and new ideologies.
• 21 Lessons grapples with the urgent dilemmas of today, offering tools to survive political upheaval, technological disruption, and personal anxiety.

Read together, they form a trilogy of human existence: past, future, and present.

This article expands on the central themes of Harari’s trilogy, connecting them into one long arc of human meaning.

Part I: The Story of Us — Insights from Sapiens

1. The Cognitive Revolution: When Fiction Made Us Human

About 70,000 years ago, a seemingly small shift transformed humanity: the Cognitive Revolution. Unlike other species, Homo sapiens developed the ability to imagine things that did not exist in the physical world.

• Shared Fictions: Money, gods, laws, nations, and human rights are not “natural” entities but products of collective imagination. For example, the US dollar has no intrinsic value, yet billions of people believe in its worth, making it powerful.
• Cooperation at Scale: While chimpanzees and wolves can cooperate in small packs, humans can organize millions of strangers because of shared myths — such as religion, nationalism, or capitalism.
• The Power of Storytelling: Harari emphasizes that storytelling is our greatest evolutionary advantage. The ability to believe in myths allowed Homo sapiens to dominate Neanderthals, despite being physically weaker.

Thus, what makes us unique is not intelligence alone but our capacity for intersubjective realities — things that exist because we believe in them collectively.

2. The Agricultural Revolution: History’s Biggest Fraud?

Around 12,000 years ago, humans shifted from foraging to farming, a transition Harari provocatively calls “history’s biggest fraud.”

• Forager Lifestyle: Foragers had varied diets, leisure time, and relatively equal societies. Anthropological studies of hunter-gatherer tribes suggest they worked fewer hours than modern farmers and enjoyed better nutrition.
• Farming’s Trap: Farming allowed population growth but worsened individual quality of life. Peasants worked harder, faced disease from animal domestication, and became tied to rigid hierarchies. Wheat and rice “domesticated humans” by compelling them to settle and toil.
• Civilization’s Foundation: Despite individual suffering, agriculture enabled large cities, kingdoms, writing, and complex economies. This set humanity on a trajectory of growth — often at the expense of individual happiness.

Harari’s thesis here challenges the assumption that history is a straightforward march toward progress.

3. The Unification of Humankind: Empires, Money, and Religion

Throughout history, humanity has been divided into tribes, yet three forces gradually unified us:

1. Money – The most universal and flexible system of trust. Unlike bartering, money is impersonal and accepted by all.
2. Empires – Political systems that merged diverse peoples. From Rome to the British Empire, empires imposed order and facilitated cultural exchange.
3. Religion – Especially universal religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam, which offered moral systems transcending tribe and ethnicity.

These forces created global networks, enabling today’s interconnected world. For Harari, globalization is not a modern invention but the result of millennia of unification.

4. The Scientific Revolution: Knowledge as Power

The Scientific Revolution, beginning about 500 years ago, marked another turning point. Unlike earlier civilizations that claimed to already possess absolute truths, modern science thrives on acknowledging ignorance.

• The Marriage of Science and Capitalism: European explorers, funded by investors, sought new knowledge and profits. This led to colonialism and eventually global capitalism.
• The Idea of Progress: The belief in perpetual growth became the central dogma of modernity. Nations, companies, and individuals pursue endless expansion.
• Consequences for Happiness: Despite immense advances, Harari questions whether humans are happier now than in the past. Rates of depression, anxiety, and dissatisfaction suggest progress does not guarantee well-being.

The central paradox: we know more than ever, yet we may not live better lives.

Part II: Where Are We Going? — Insights from Homo Deus

1. The New Human Agenda

Having largely solved famine, plague, and war, humanity’s new goals are:

1. Immortality – Extending human lifespans indefinitely.
2. Happiness – Using biochemistry and technology to enhance well-being.
3. Divinity – Gaining godlike powers over creation and destruction.

These pursuits transform Homo sapiens into Homo Deus — humans aspiring to godhood. But this ambition brings existential risks.

2. Homo Deus and the Rise of Dataism

Harari introduces Dataism, a worldview where everything is understood as data flow.

• Biological and Digital Algorithms: Humans are seen as biochemical algorithms. Emotions and decisions result from neural computations.
• The Power of Algorithms: From Netflix recommendations to medical diagnoses, algorithms increasingly outperform human judgment.
• Loss of Free Will: If algorithms predict choices better than we can, the very idea of human autonomy collapses.

Dataism becomes a “new religion,” displacing humanism, with data as the ultimate authority.

3. The End of Homo sapiens?

Harari outlines two scenarios that could end Homo sapiens as we know them:

1. Biological Engineering: Genetic editing may create superhumans with enhanced intelligence or strength.
2. Artificial Intelligence: AI might replace humans in decision-making, leading to a “useless class” of people irrelevant to the economy.

The real threat is not hostile robots but our gradual irrelevance in a world run by intelligent systems.

4. Ethics in the Age of Homo Deus

Pursuing immortality and enhancement raises pressing ethical issues:

• Inequality: If only the wealthy can afford enhancements, humanity may split into upgraded elites and unenhanced masses.
• Value of Consciousness: If intelligence and consciousness diverge, non-conscious algorithms may dominate, reducing human dignity.
• Meaning Crisis: If work, religion, and nationalism lose their relevance, what will give life meaning?

Harari leaves us with a profound uncertainty: the future may belong to beings we cannot even imagine.

Part III: Living in the Present — Insights from 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

1. The Crisis of Liberal Democracy

Harari warns that liberal democracy, the dominant political system of the 20th century, is under threat.

• Nationalism vs. Global Problems: Challenges like climate change and cyberwarfare demand global cooperation, yet politics turns inward.
• Populism and Emotion: Politicians exploit identity and fear, sidelining rational policymaking.
• The Erosion of Trust: Fake news and disinformation erode public trust in institutions.

For Harari, clarity of thought and global cooperation are the only remedies.

2. Technology and Work

Automation and AI threaten to make millions jobless. Unlike past revolutions, the new wave may not create enough new jobs.

• The “Useless Class”: Entire segments of society may become economically irrelevant.
• Need for Lifelong Learning: People will need to reskill repeatedly.
• The Meaning Problem: Without work, humans will need new sources of identity and purpose.

This crisis is not only economic but existential.

3. Truth, Fake News, and the Post-Truth World

Fake news is not new; humans have always believed in myths. What’s new is the speed and reach of digital misinformation.

• Social media algorithms amplify outrage and division.
• Political actors manipulate public opinion with targeted lies.
• The challenge is not just misinformation but our erosion of critical thinking.

Education must focus less on memorization and more on media literacy and skepticism.

4. Religion and Secularism

Traditional religions still shape politics, but Harari argues they cannot address modern challenges like AI or biotechnology.

• Science vs. Religion: While religion explains meaning, science explains mechanisms.
• Secular Ethics: A global, secular framework rooted in humility, compassion, and evidence-based reasoning is needed.

5. The Art of Living in the 21st Century

Amid global chaos, Harari turns inward: the most important skill may be self-awareness.

• Meditation and Mindfulness: Drawing from Buddhism, Harari stresses meditation as a way to observe the mind without illusions.
• Resisting Distractions: In a world drowning in data, knowing yourself becomes an act of resistance.
• Living with Uncertainty: Accepting ambiguity and impermanence is vital in a rapidly changing world.

Part IV: The Trilogy as One Narrative

1. Past, Present, Future in Dialogue

When read together:

• Sapiens shows how shared myths gave us power.
• Homo Deus shows how technology may strip us of relevance.
• 21 Lessons shows how to survive in between.

They are not three books, but one grand story.

2. Harari’s Core Themes

Across the trilogy, recurring themes emerge:

• Stories rule the world. Nations, religions, and corporations are collective fictions.
• Technology outruns ethics. We invent before we regulate.
• Meaning is fragile. Happiness and free will are psychological constructs.
• Humility is essential. Survival depends on awareness, not arrogance.

3. Critiques of Harari

Scholars point out limitations:

• Oversimplification: Complex histories reduced to neat narratives.
• Techno-determinism: Overemphasis on technology while neglecting politics and culture.
• Speculative Futures: Predictions are provocative but not inevitable.

Yet even critics admit his value: sparking debate, making history accessible, and urging humanity to think big.

Conclusion: Harari’s Challenge to Us

Harari’s trilogy is a mirror reflecting our collective story.

• Sapiens reminds us that everything we hold sacred — money, nations, laws — is a story.
• Homo Deus warns us of a future where those stories may be irrelevant, replaced by algorithms and engineered beings.
• 21 Lessons calls us to action: to think clearly, cooperate globally, and look inward for meaning.

Bibliography

Books by Yuval Noah Harari

• Harari, Y. N. (2011). Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. London: Harvill Secker.
• Harari, Y. N. (2015). Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. London: Harvill Secker.
• Harari, Y. N. (2018). 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. London: Jonathan Cape.

Books and Scholarly References on Related Themes

• Diamond, J. (1997). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
• Diamond, J. (2012). The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies? New York: Viking.
• Pinker, S. (2011). The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. New York: Viking.
• Kurzweil, R. (2005). The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. New York: Viking.
• Bostrom, N. (2014). Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Dennett, D. C. (1991). Consciousness Explained. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.
• Dawkins, R. (1976). The Selfish Gene. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Fukuyama, F. (2002). Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Articles and Reports

• Schwab, K. (2016). The Fourth Industrial Revolution. World Economic Forum Report.
• Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2014). The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies. W. W. Norton & Company.
• United Nations (2019). World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights. New York: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
• IPCC (2021). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Web and Media References

• Harari, Y. N. (2018). “Why Technology Favors Tyranny.” The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com
• Harari, Y. N. (2019). “The World After Coronavirus.” Financial Times. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com
• World Economic Forum. (2018). “Yuval Noah Harari on the Future of Humanity.” [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org