Tomorrow
BY YUVAL NOAH HARARI
Containing brutally frank and brave statements which likely will delight some but anger others
4 stars out of 5 stars
Prof. Harari wrote both “Sapiens – A brief history of humankind” and the present volume “Homo Deus – A brief history of tomorrow.” In fact, the first book contains not only history but also some projections about the future. The theme of the second book is on tomorrow, but it also contains some past history. The idea that one can tell the history of tomorrow, is, shall we say, uniquely “Hararian”.
The author begins by stating that in modern times, humankind has greatly reduced the miseries caused by massive famines and plagues. We even manage to significantly break the “Law of the jungle”, which causes wars among nations. The question arises as to what the new agendas for humankind are. In the author’s opinion, humanity’s next targets are likely to be: immortality, happiness, and divinity. These conclusions are arrived at by examining relevant historical events and present-day developments, which also form the basis of some predictions about the future.
The author points out that The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN after World War II, categorically states that the right to life is humanity’s most fundamental value. Note that it does not put a limit to the length of life. Since death clearly violates this right, death is a crime against humanity, and we ought to wage total war against it.
This leads the author to the first new target, i.e. treating death as a scientific problem and attempting to put an end to it. The author points out death is essential to traditional religions, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Because Christianity, Islam and Hinduism insisted that the meaning of our existence depended on our fate in the afterlife, they viewed death as a vital and positive part of the world. Just try to imagine Christianity, Islam and Hinduism in a world without death – which is also a world without heaven, hell or reincarnation.
Thus, the attempt to put an end of death essentially refutes the central tenet of these religions.
While humankind is far from ending death, it is irrefutable that modern science and medicine have greatly lengthened the average lifespan of humans. This makes the goal of achieving happiness essential. Here the book contains many pages describing how biologists treat various human emotions and feelings, be it anger, pain or happiness, in terms of the interactions of neurons in various parts of the brain. For those who are not well versed in biology, these pages are not easy to follow and are somewhat boring. Similarly, the author devoted a great portion of the latter part of the book to describing and speculating the role algorithm and data play in understanding ourselves and in modern life. Indeed, his prediction is that the future of humankind is controlled by algorithms and dataism, a preposition some readers may find confusing. The author does not describe the roadmap to the second and third agenda – achieving happiness and striving towards divinity. Thus, the book begins with a bang but ends with a whimper.
If you do get through the pages which you find difficult and even boring, you will be amply rewarded. You will learn how a clever horse does arithmetic; a YouTube video showing how a monkey reacts to feeling unfairly treated; a YouTube video showing the last speech by the Romanian dictator Ceausecu, Chekhov Law, and two Chinese historical figures, Sima Qian and Hong Xiuquan, who every Chinese student learned in school but who were seldom mentioned in history books in the West. You will also learn that, in 2013, Google launched a sub-company called Calico whose stated mission is “to solve death”. To top it all, you will find several brutally frank and brave statements throughout the text. Some examples are shown below:
- “In Luther’s day, if you sinned, and feared eternal damnation in the afterlife, all you needed to do was open your purse and buy an indulgence. You want an entry visa to heaven? Pay ten gold coins. You want your dead Grandpa and Grandma to join you there? No problem, but it will cost you thirty coins.”
- “Indeed, even today when US presidents take their oath of office, they put their hand on a bible. Similarly in many countries around the world, including the USA and the UK, witnesses in courts put their hand on a bible when swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. It’s ironic that they swear to tell the truth on a book brimming with so many fictions, myths and errors.”
- “Most capitalists would probably dislike the label of religion, but as religions go capitalism can at least hold its head high. Unlike other religions that promise us pie in the sky capitalism promises miracles here on earth… and sometimes even delivers. ……This mutual benefit approach has probably helped global harmony far more than centuries of Christian preaching about loving your neighbor and turning the other cheek.”
- “Never in history did a government know so much about what’s going on in the world…yet few empires have botched things up as clumsily as the contemporary United States. It is like a poker player who knows what cards his opponents hold, yet somehow still manages to lose round after round.”
Finally, I note that President Obama, Bill Gates, and the Christian Science Monitor all had lavish praises in their reviews of “Sapiens – A Brief History of Humankind”. I was unable to find their reviews of “Homo Deus – A Brief History of Tomorrow”, despite an extensive search.
Audio Version on YouTube:
Link to Amazon Review: https://www.amazon.com/review/RHDZOG43OGCAA/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv
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