13 episodes
Homo Deus: Humanity’s Evolution from Social Institutions to World Peace Brian
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We are living in times of unprecedented technological development. Many of the tools and devices we invented 20 years ago are obsolete today. In his internationally best selling book, "Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow", Yuval Noah Harari observes that this development is continuing in important fields such as genetic engineering, regenerative medicine and nanotechnology. Harari predicts that developments in these fields will transform us into super-humans. We might become biologically enhanced humans, cyborg beings or possibly fully non-organic beings. At the same time though, Harari notes that this technological development, and the unrestrained economic growth needed to support it, are leading us to potential ecological catastrophe. This raises the question, can we keep on growing the economy indefinitely without facing ecological disaster? If our technological development is on a collision course with ecological disaster, maybe our future isn’t just ‘more technological development’ but something else all together? ...To gain a deeper understanding of who we are as Homo Sapiens, Harari looks back to the Cognitive Revolution, 70,000 years ago. Something changed for us in the Cognitive Revolution such that we went on to dominate all other species. Prior to the Cognitive Revolution, our ancestors had the best technology and highest intelligence on the planet for over a million years. Yet we remained an insignificant ape, with little impact on the ecology around us. So what changed? Harari points not to technology, but to changes in the way we cooperate. During the Cognitive Revolution we developed ‘imagined orders’ that enabled large groups of strangers to cooperate together flexibly. Other animals are not able to do this, and this lead to our dominance. ... I really liked Harari’s book. He is an excellent writer and has many great insights. But at the same time, I think he overlooked some aspect of human evolution that if properly considered, would lead to a different most likely future. In this podcast “Homo Deus: Humanity’s Evolution from Social Institutions to World Peace”, we will review the ideas raised in Harari’s book, but also explore alternate possibilities. In particular, could there be another change in the way humans cooperate coming? If our previous major evolutionary step had to do with how we cooperate, maybe our next evolutionary step will too? If you are interested in thinking about the future this podcast is for you.
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New Podcast Announcement
In this “episode” I announce and provide a description of a new podcast that I have just launched called “The Meek will inherit the Earth”
Contact: brianpracticingforpeace@zohomail.com
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#11 Practice Makes Perfect
In episode #10 we completed our review of Harari’s book, but there is still a little bit more to talk about. Throughout this podcast I have referred to re-training our desires and learning new methods of cooperating, but I haven’t discussed many details. In this wrap-up episode, we will consider what this training might look like. What kinds of groups might you join? What are the common pitfalls for these groups? We will finish by considering how this training might be the missing ingredient in our efforts to address climate change.
For comments and questions: brianpracticingforpeace@zohomail.com
Transcript: https://brianpracticingforpeace.medium.com/11-practice-makes-perfect-ec6b16d07095
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#10 Survival of the Fittest
Having established that humanism is in decline, Harari addresses the question, ‘what new religions or ideologies might fill the resulting vacuum?’ Two religions that are already here and may step forward are Techno-Humanism and the Data Religion. We will discuss the likelihood of these technology-religions succeeding and also loop back to the concept of survival of the fittest. Will humanity really be more fit for survival within the earthly ecosystems if these religions do succeed? Does it even matter?
For comments and questions: brianpracticingforpeace@zohomail.com
Transcript: https://brianpracticingforpeace.medium.com/10-survival-of-the-fittest-6303e6950d42
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#9 The Risk of Alien Invasion
In chapter 9 of his book, Harari discusses the threats posed by Artificial Intelligence including (1) undermining our understanding of ourselves as individuals, (2) eliminating employment for the majority of humanity and (3) taking over the world and wiping out humans. We will discuss these risks as well as other existential risks faced by humanity such as the eruption of a super-volcano or invasion by an alien species. With all these risks facing us, where should we focus our attention?
For comments and questions: brianpracticingforpeace@zohomail.com
Transcript: https://brianpracticingforpeace.medium.com/9-the-risk-of-alien-invasion-5e1b1497ada8
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#8 Transition Points in our Development
In chapter 8 of his book, Harari describes how advances in science are undermining the ‘facts’ that Humanism depends on. When these advances result in changes to everyday technology, routine activities and economic structures, it is hard to see how Humanism will last. We will talk about some of these technological advances, such as robo-rats. In addition, given that Humanism may be in decline, we will look back to some of the previous transition points in our path of development and see if there are any lessons for today.
For comments and questions: brianpracticingforpeace@zohomail.com
Transcript: https://brianpracticingforpeace.medium.com/8-transition-points-in-our-development-24eb9379868c
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#7 Solid Ground for Ethics?
In chapter 7 of his book, Harari gives his fullest description of the Humanist religion. In modern society, humanity plays the role that God used to play in monotheism. This transition, started in Europe, lead to important changes in the way Ethics, Politics, Art, Economics and Education are approached. On the other hand, all forms of Humanism and Monotheism agree on some points such as murder and theft being wrong. Is it possible to find any solid ground behind these common conclusions? If Humanism loses its organizing power, like so many religions before it, can these common conclusions point to a possible future?
For comments and questions: brianpracticingforpeace@zohomail.com
Transcript: https://brianpracticingforpeace.medium.com/7-solid-ground-for-ethics-a8a6575123d7
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