My short notes to reading of ISBN 978-91-27-14039-4 “Sapiens” “Svensk utgåva 2014

Yuval_Hariri_Sapien_KoH_Notes.txt

"What are the most compelling points made by Yuval Harari in his book “Sapiens” (which I read in Swedish)

References to ISBN 978-91-27-14039-4 “Sapiens” “Svensk utgåva 2014, Natur & Kultur, Stockholm” (Stockholms Stadsbiblioteken Medborgarplatsen) 

1) The human ability to cooperate effectively and flexibly with strangers centered round a “story” (chapter “Legenden om Peugeot”)
2) Made-up stories resulting in different norms and values in experiencing the “same” reality (“En dag i Adam och Evas liv” p51)
3) Prehistoric man probably caused mass extinction of gracing animals in Australia and north america (“Skyldig!” p73…)
4) Man entered agricultural age without getting more intelligent (“Historiens största bluff” p85).
5) Man became “trapped” into agricultural society by the very plants they grew (“Historiens största bluff” p85)
6) Small seemingly good enhancements led to man being trapped in agricultural society having to work more for less nutritious food (“Lyxfällan” p89))
7) The agricultural society as a “deal with the devil” and also including domestication of animals (“Revolutionens offer” p96)
8) Myths as the strong force creating fictive orders among large number of humans (“En uppdiktad ordning” p107)
9) Even Human Rights are a fictive “myth” created by man (“En uppdiktad ordning” p112)
10) The fictive order created  by man is 1) Embedded in materialistic reality, 2) Forms our cravings and 3) is inter subjective (“Fängelsemurarna” p116-118)
11) Random historical event creates and order that when explained in fictive order creates “pockets” of self-evident truth in prejudices (e.g. whites rule over blacks) (“Renhet i America” p142)
12) Men domination over women a mystery (no convincing reasons) (“Han och Hon” p158)
13) The “arrow of history” points to growing collaboration (number of societies shrinks) (“Spionsatelliten” p166)
14) Money not an invention for agricultural society but for trust-based large-group-collaboartion purposes (“Lukten av Pengar” p184)
15) All “progress”, including contemporary kapitalism is based on empires (“När “Dom" blir “Vi”” p194)
16) “Religion” as the cross-section of Human values and fixed natural (out of human reach) (“Dyrkan av människan” p224)
	==> Treats ideologises as communism, fascism, feminism, liberalism also as “religions” in that they all state what is “good”, “bad”, possible and goals as factious truths.
17) Culture as a kind of mental “infection” that drives our act-in-faiths and causes society emergences (“Den blinda Klio” p237)
	==> Common view but different name of “Cultural Infection” in memetic (memes), post modernism (discourses) and society sciences (game theory).
18) Finding of ignorance caused the hunt for knowledge (“Upptäckten av okunnigheten” p247)
	==> 1) Accept ignorance, 2) observe and express knowledge in mathematics, 3) gain new knowledge-based abilities
19) Progress as the new ideal (“Framsteg som ideal” p259)
20) The drive to overcome death (the Gilgamesh Project) and “death” as a technical (scientific) problem (“Gilameshprojektet” p262)
21) The invention and power of credits and trusting the future (banks manifest money today for payback in the future) (“Den kapitalistiska läran” p303)
22) The “enslavement” (mechanisation) of animals and plants (“Livet på transportbandet” p331)
23) Kapitalsim as a “ponzi scheme” based on future growth demanding a shopping-society (“Shoppandets tidsålder” p336)
24) Unprecedented piece in our time (“Fred i vår tid” p354)
25) The unknown growth of happiness (have we earned or lost in “happiness”) (“Och de levde lyckliga i alla sina dagar” p362)
…"