“Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari and the failures of a physicalist worldview

“Lucy” also known as AL 288–1, several hundred pieces of fossilized bone representing 40 percent of the skeleton of a female of the hominin species Australopithecus afarensis. … The Lucy specimen is an early australopithecine and is dated to about 3.2 million years ago. This is one of a number of Homo species predating Homo Sapiens. The book Sapiens is a story of how humans evolved and where we are going told from a thorough physicalist perspective.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari is a fascinating read. Bill Gates considers it one of his most important books. As of this writing about 12 million copies have been sold. That means that Harari’s thoughts and ideas are likely very influential today.

The physicalist belief system or worldview dominates our Western culture. The belief that science teaches that nothing exists beyond matter and forces and that blind, accidental and purposeless forces explain everything continues to be the rigorously enforced doctrine of our cultural elites — even when they personally hold contrary beliefs. Harari writes from an ideological position fully conforming to this spirit of our age.

Sapiens is an exceptionally readable, intriguing, infuriating and often insightful book. Harari is making a major contribution to the navel gazing currently going on about who we really are and where we as a species are likely to end up. It contributes to the legitimate concerns expressed by philosopher Nick Bostrom, physicist Stephen Hawking, and business leaders Elon Musk and Bill Gates. The simple message is unless we change our ways homo sapiens’ days are numbered.

Harari takes us on a breezy ride through the entire history of not just our particular species, but all the…