Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

by Yuval Noah Harari

happiness depends on expectations rather than objective conditions.

We never react to events in the outside world, but only to sensations in our own bodies.

pleasant sensations in their bodies.

To attain real happiness, humans need to slow down the pursuit of pleasant sensations, not accelerate it.

The Buddha’s suggestion was to reduce our craving for pleasant sensations, and not allow them to control our lives. According to Buddha, we can train our minds to observe carefully how all sensations constantly arise and pass. When the mind learns to see our sensations for what they are – ephemeral and meaningless vibrations – we lose interest in pursuing them.

This is the paradox of historical knowledge. Knowledge that does not change behaviour is useless. But knowledge that changes behaviour quickly loses its relevance. The more data we have and the better we understand history, the faster history alters its course, and the faster our knowledge becomes outdated.

not in order to predict the future, but to free yourself of the past and imagine alternative destinies.

First, they placed loyal communist apparatchiks in control of all networks of cooperation, such as the army, trade unions and even sports associations. Second, they prevented the creation of any rival organisations – whether political, economic or social – which might serve as a basis for anti-communist cooperation. Third, they relied on the support of sister communist parties in the Soviet Union and eastern Europe.

People weave a web of meaning, believe in it with all their heart, but sooner or later the web unravels, and when we look back we cannot understand how anybody could have taken it seriously.

History isn’t a single narrative, but thousands of alternative narratives.

How do you know if an entity is real? Very simple – just ask yourself, ‘Can it suffer?’ When

Scientists study how the world functions, but there is no scientific method for determining how humans ought to behave.

Science tells us that humans cannot survive without oxygen. However, is it okay to execute criminals by asphyxiation? Science doesn’t know how to answer such a question. Only religions provide us with the necessary guidance.

Religion cannot provide us with any practical guidance unless it makes some factual claims too, and here it may well collide with science. The

The traditional view of the world as a pie of a fixed size presupposes that there are only two kinds of resources in the world: raw materials and energy.

truth there are three kinds of resources: raw materials, energy and knowledge.

For the individual it results in high levels of stress and tension. After centuries of economic growth and scientific progress, life should have become calm and peaceful, at least in the most advanced countries. If our ancestors knew what tools and resources stand ready at our command, they would have surmised that we must be enjoying celestial tranquillity, free of all cares and worries. The truth is very different. Despite all our achievements, we feel a constant pressure to do and produce even more.

knowledge: Knowledge = Empirical Data × Mathematics.

appeared: Knowledge = Experiences × Sensitivity. If

what is ‘sensitivity’? It means two things. Firstly, paying attention to my sensations, emotions and thoughts. Secondly, allowing these sensations, emotions and thoughts to influence me.

our moral sensitivity sharpens, and these experiences become a source of valuable ethical knowledge about what is good, what is right and who I really am.