Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens was certainly an interesting read, however Harari takes up the mantle of philosopher rather than historian too often throughout the book. He tends to have a cynical eye toward anything surrounding religion, and makes many sweeping statements about it that are just incorrect, and several that are flippantly asserted with no evidence. He also attempts to solve many modern problems using a nihilistic take on evolution as his archetype for morality.
For example, he argues that there is no such thing as human rights, because if evolution (in a nihilistic framework) is our guide, then logically there is no such thing. He also says that humans are not created equal in value, but rather that people differ in value depending on their evolutionary fitness. He also argues that there should be no ethics concerned in sexual conduct, but that the only morality we should follow is that whatever we can do we should see as what is morally good and what we cannot do evolutionarily is what is morally evil. This kind of ethical philosophy is scary.
The massive problem with this philosophy of course, is that if you apply it to say, murder, rape, genocide, or a plethora of other issues, the results are absolutely horrifying.
All in all this was a very interesting read. However I’m surprised and concerned at its overwhelmingly positive reception given it’s eerily nihilistic take on everything. A very stark take on our history, and a stark look at the future.
I thought Commentary Magazine’s Mark Leib’s, and Discovery Institute’s Casey Luskin’s Reviews were both very good.
Stumblingstone Press 