Background
Published in 2014, “Sapiens” is written by historian Yuval Noah Harari that offers a sweeping overview of the history of humankind. Harari traces the evolution of our species from the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa to the present day, exploring how we became the dominant species on the planet, how our ability to create myths and shared beliefs allowed us to build complex societies and cooperate on a massive scale, and how our technological advancements have fundamentally altered the course of human history. The book challenges readers to think deeply about what it means to be human and offers insights into the ways in which our species has both succeeded and failed in the pursuit of happiness, meaning, and progress.
My Thoughts
What I enjoyed most about the book was that the author would present different sides of each point. For example, he started talking about the utopian concept of the prehistoric hunter gather life being better and fuller than life today. When he started down that path I remember thinking, “here we go”. However, he then balanced the comments with the perspectives of utilitarianism, stoicism, and the concepts of suffering as the Buddhists understand it.
I found some of it to be over generalized but I felt it was a good overview of the main topic.
Recommendation
This work would be a good primer for sociology or psychology classes.