BOOK REVIEW: - “SAPIENS – A brief history of humankind “

- Yuval Noah Harari

"Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" is a book written by Yuval Noah Harari. The book has
the emphasis on how humankind species have evolved over the years. The name itself suggests that
it has been derived from the word Homo sapiens which means - human. The key revolution that has
played a major role in shaping human history 'Cognitive Revolution', 'Agricultural Revolution', the
unification of humankind through shared myths and ideologies, and the 'Scientific Revolution'. Every
revolution is divided into a chapter where the author has also discussed its potential future if we
keep on evolving at the same pace. The way it is brought up keeps the audience into a thought-
provoking system and questioning.

The acceptance of ignorance by the scientific community, as well as their willingness to

explore and invent further and further into the realms of the universe, as opposed to the dogma and
intolerance displayed by religions, priests, and theologians, are stark realities that make for
interesting reading.

The chapter starts with how we evolve from monkeys to the apes while we were first evolved
in the east Africa. Our ancestors could not communicate and their mental capacities advanced
around 70,000 to 30,000 years ago. This discovery enabled humans to share beliefs and myths by
facilitating abstract thinking and symbolic representation. These shared narratives helped to
construct a common imagined reality, which was necessary for organizing bigger groups and societies
beyond direct family groupings. Because humans could now interact on a larger scale, society
became more complex, resulting in the emergence of tribes, villages, and, eventually, complex
civilizations. That is how the role of religion and bifurcation started to happen. This whole evolution
is known as the cognitive revolution in the humankind history.

He considers contemporary agriculture's treatment of animals to be one of the greatest crimes

in history, thinks that our enormous material progress has made us any happier than we were
previously, and sees modern capitalism as an unpleasant prison. Furthermore, present biological
advances may soon result in the replacement of H sapiens by wholly other individuals with godlike
attributes and capacities.