11: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind - What the Book Gets Right and What it Misses

On this episode we talk about Yuval Noah Harari's popular book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. This book has become somewhat of a guide for many seeking meaning in an agnostic or atheist framework. We discuss its focus on the myths that unite us as well as society's trend towards unity. We also discuss its shortcomings, which include a lack of discussion of materialism and idealism, philosophy, consciousness, psychedelics, mystical experiences, and quantum physics. Can you accurately tell such a comprehensive history while leaving out these topics? After all, each of these topics have profound implications on reality, the stage on which humankind is playing out.

Links:

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Herari - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ICN066A

New to the podcast? Make sure you watch Episode 2 or read it in on the Substack for the integrative narrative of Mormon origins:

https://youtu.be/5YBeMrR1seM

https://open.substack.com/pub/mormonsmysticsandmuons/p/mormonism-psychedelics-quantum-physics

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:58 The Meaning Crisis after Leaving Mormonism

05:37 The Importance of Myth

15:33 Defining Knowledge and Understanding Frameworks

17:26 Monism

19:38 Different Ways of Describing Reality

21:20 Subjects Sapiens Fails to Address

24:36 History as an Interpretation

28:14 Utility of Different Frameworks

33:55 Anthropocentrism

35:56 Mystical Experiences

38:58 Oneness

42:25 Homo Sapiens as a Collective Consciousness

44:01 Interdependence

47:58 Objective, Subjective, and Intersubjective Realities

53:57 DNA, Culture, and Language

58:22 Progress Towards Unity

59:46 AI as a Force for Unity

01:02:47 Recognizing Interconnectedness

01:04:45 Foundations for Morality Beyond Religion

01:08:07 Morality and Idealism

01:10:54 Nature of Reality

01:13:31 Science's Blind Spot

01:15:32 Happiness and the Hedonic Treadmill

01:23:14 Happiness and Non-attachment

01:26:04 DNA vs Culture

01:27:59 The Challenge of Defining Consciousness

01:29:38 Psychedelics

01:30:10 Closing Thoughts