Humility
Yuval Noah
Harari
Before Reading
Answer the
following questions.
a. What do you
know about the Chinese civilization?
Ans:- The
first civilization of China was developed in the Yellow River region of northern
China in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE. It is one of the world's four civilizations
(Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley and China). The Yellow River region is
regarded as the Cradle of Chinese civilization. The written history dates back
to the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). Ancient China was rich in culture. Zhou (1046-256
BC) and Qin (221-206 BC) dynasties rose from small farming communities. During
those periods, writing was standardized, famous thinkers Confucius and Sun-Tzu
lived. Terracotta Army, the Great Wall, Legalism were developed in Qin period. The
first emperor of China was Zin Shi Huang.
b. Are there
any similarities between South Indian and Chinese Civilizations? Discuss.
Ans:- South
Indian and Chinese civilizations are the two giant civilizations in the
history. It is widely rich in music, dance, culture, sculptures. The trade and commerce
took place between India and China from historical times exists till now. In
terms of religion these two civilizations are similar because both civilizations
follow Hinduism, Jainism and Confucianism. Buddhism is the important link
between both civilizations. The Indian caste system and Confucian filial hierarchy
are same.
About the
Writer:
v Professor
Yuval Noah- a historian and philosopher
v Born in 1976
in Israel
v Received his
doctorate (Ph.D) in 2002 from the University of Oxford
v A lecturer of
History at the Department of History, Hebrew University, Jerusalem
v He is a
co-founder Sapiens, an organization aimed to focus on the public conversation
on the most important global challenges facing the world
v He regularly
discusses on global issues with heads of state and conversed with the most
influential persons of the world such as Mark Zukerberg
v Specialized in
world history, medieval history and military history
v His best
selling and an international hit is Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind,
almost 21 million copies have been sold and is translated into over 65
languages. This book was even recommended by Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Natalie
Portman, Janelle Monae, Chris Evans and many more
v He lectures
around the world on the topics his books explored and writes articles for The
Guardian, Financial Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The
Economist and Nature magazines
About the
Essay:
v This essay
illustrates the virtue of humility/modesty,
v It is about
exposure of humanity's illusions of superiority and mastery,
v Morality, art,
spirituality and creativity are universal human abilities embedded in our DNA.
v The main
message of the essay is "You are not the center of the world."
According to
Harari, most cultures lack humbleness or humility -gd|tf_. Most people
boast that their culture is the foundation of human history. By this arrogant
faith they tend to stand in the center of the world.
Homer (ancient
Greek author and epic poet), Sophocles (ancient Greek tragedian) and Plato
(ancient Greek philosopher) are still believed to be beginner of history by Greeks.
Athens (capital of Greece), Sparta (unique for social system in ancient
Greece), Alexandria (a largest city of Egypt) or Constantinople (capital of
Roman Empire) are credited for all important ideas and inventions.
Chinese boast that
history began with Yellow Emperor or Huangdi a deity in Chinese Religion, Xia
(the first dynasty established by Yu the Great) and Shang (the earliest ruling
dynasty of China in recorded history) dynasties. They claim that other
civilizations such as Westerners, Muslims or Indians copied original Chinese
inventions.
Hindu claims that
even airplanes and nuclear bombs were invented by ancient sages in the Indian
subcontinent long before Confucius (551 BC-479 BC) or Plato (427 BC-347 BC)
with crediting to Albert Einstein and the Wright brothers. It is believed that
the great sage Bhardwaj have invented rockets and aeroplanes, Vishwamitra
invented missiles, and Acharya Kanad invented atomic theory. Mahabharata (one
of two Sanskrit epics of ancient India) described nuclear weapons.
Muslims
believe the Prophet Muhammad to be pioneer of History. All histories revolve
round the whole Muslim community. But Turkish, Iranian and Egyptian nationalists
argue that their nation was the source of all that was good about humanity and
they are the real preserver of the purity of Islam even after the revelation of
the Quran.
British,
French, German, American, Russian, Japanese and other countless groups boast on
their specular achievements for uplifting humankind from barbarous and immoral
ignorance. Aztecs (the nomadic tribe in northern Mexico) are claimed to have
sacrificed human lives to control law of physics and save the universe.
All these claims are nothing more than a
wilful/intentional ignorance of history. It is indirect indication of racism o
prejudice or discrimination of antagonism. Prior to colonization of the world,
domestication of plants and animals by humans, no such religions or nations
existed. First, they built the cities, invented writing and money. The
universal human abilities are morality, art, spirituality and creativity
originated in Stone Age Africa (African prehistory when the fist stone tools
were developed. It is therefore an stupid egotism to regard them a more recent
place and time (China-the Yellow Empire, Greece-Plato or Arabia-Muhammad).
Hararai,
belonging to Jews community, is familiar to such stupid egotism. Jews also
claim to be the most important thing in the world. When we talk about any human
inventions or achievements, they claim credit for that. Once Harari went to a
yoga teacher in Israel and claimed that yoga was invented by Abraham and Hebrew
alphabet was developed from basic yoga postures. Hebrew letters aleph, daled
shape from trikonasana and tuladandasana respectively. It is believed that
Abraham taught these positions to the son of on of his concubines. He went to
India and taught yoga to Indians. The master even quoted a Biblical passage for
evidence.
It is not
meaningful that Abraham was the inventor of yoga. Even Judaism claims that the
cosmos exists because Jewish rabbis study their holy scripture. The entire
universe will be destroyed if rabbis stop debating the Talmud (source of Jewish
religious law). Only an ignorant fool can doubt on the Talmud. Even secular
scholars believe Jewish people to be the central heroes of history and ultimate
wellspring of human morality, spirituality and learning.
He criticizes
Jewish people for having such ignorance. Instead to criticize other community,
he gives his own example to show how absurd such self-important narratives are.
He also suggests to the people living around the world to give up such false
beliefs of their own tribe.
Summary
Most people boast that their culture
is the foundation of human history. By this arrogant faith they tend to stand
in the center of the world. Homer (ancient Greek author and epic poet),
Sophocles and Plato are still believed to be beginner of history by Greeks.
Athens, Sparta (unique for social system in ancient Greece), Alexandria or
Constantinople are credited for all important ideas and inventions. Chinese
boast that history began with Yellow Emperor or Huangdi a deity in Chinese
Religion, Xia (the first dynasty established by Yu the Great) and Shang (the
earliest ruling dynasty of China in recorded history) dynasties. Hindu claims
that even airplanes and nuclear bombs were invented by ancient sages in the
Indian subcontinent long before Confucius or Plato with crediting to Albert
Einstein and the Wright brothers. It is believed that the great sage Bhardwaj
have invented rockets and aeroplanes, Vishwamitra invented missiles, and
Acharya Kanad invented atomic theory. Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad to
be pioneer of History. But Turkish, Iranian and Egyptian nationalists argue
that their nation was the source of all that was good about humanity and they
are the real preserver of the purity of Islam even after the revelation of the
Quran. British, French, German, American, Russian, Japanese and other countless
groups boast on their specular achievements for uplifting humankind from
barbarous and immoral ignorance. Aztecs (the nomadic tribe in northern Mexico)
are claimed to have sacrificed human lives to control law of physics and save
the universe.
All these claims are nothing more
than a wilful or intentional ignorance of history. It is indirect indication of
racism o prejudice or discrimination of antagonism. Prior to colonization of
the world, domestication of plants and animals by humans, no such religions or
nations existed. First, they built the cities, invented writing and money. The
universal human abilities are morality, art, spirituality and creativity
originated in Stone Age Africa (African prehistory when the fist stone tools
were developed. It is therefore a stupid egotism to regard them a more recent
place and time (China-the Yellow Empire, Greece-Plato or Arabia-Muhammad).
Harari, belonging to Jews community, is familiar to such stupid egotism. Jews
also claim to be the most important thing in the world. When we talk about any
human inventions or achievements, they claim credit for that. Once Harari went
to a yoga teacher in Israel and claimed that yoga was invented by Abraham and
Hebrew alphabet was developed from basic yoga postures. It is believed that
Abraham taught these positions to the son of on of his concubines. He went to
India and taught yoga to Indians. The master even quoted a Biblical passage for
evidence. It is not meaningful that Abraham was the inventor of yoga. Even
Judaism claims that the cosmos exists because Jewish rabbis study their holy
scripture. The entire universe will be destroyed if rabbis stop debating the
Talmud. Only an ignorant fool can doubt on the Talmud. Even secular scholars
believe Jewish people to be the central heroes of history and ultimate wellspring
of human morality, spirituality and learning.
He also suggests to the people
living around the world to give up such false beliefs of their own tribe.
Understanding the text
Answer the following
questions.
a. Describe the claim of the
Chinese nationalists about the human history.
Ans:- Chinese nationalists claim that
the human history had begun with the Yellow Emperor and the Xia and Shang
Dynasties. Whatever Westerners, Muslims or Indians invented were originally
developed in China.
b. What do pious Muslims believe
about the human history?
Ans: They claim that all the histories
prior to the Prophet Muhammad were irrelevant. The entire histories after the
revelation of the Quran revolve around the Muslim communities.
c. What did the Aztecs firmly
believe about the universe?
Ans:- The Aztecs firmly believed that
the entire universe would have been fragmented into several pieces if they had
not scarified human lives each year. It is because of their sacrifice the
nature is bound to its own law.
d. What, according to the essay,
are the universal human abilities?
Ans:- The universal human abilities,
according to the essay, are morality, art, spirituality and creativity. These things
are embedded in our DNA.
e. How are the basic yoga postures
derived from the shape of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet?
Ans:- It is believed that the basic yoga
postures taught by Abraham to his one of the sons from his one of concubines,
are derived from Hebrew alphabet. The trikonasana of yoga was derived from the
letter aleph and tuladandasana was derived from daled.
Reference to the context
a. How do Hindu nationalists
refute the Chinese claim that human history really began with the Yellow
Emperor and the Xia and Shang dynasties? Who do you agree with, and why?
Ans:- Chinese people believe that human
history had begun with the Yellow Empire and the Xia and Shang Dynasties. But
the Hindu nationalists disapprove the Chinese claims. Long before Confucius, in
the Indian subcontinent ancient sages invented airplanes and nuclear bombs.
They claim that rockets and aeroplanes were invented by the great sage
Bhardwaj, missiles were invented by Vishwamitra and atomic theory was invented
by Acharya Kanad. The evidences of such things can be found in the great religious
epic Mahabharata. I agree with the Hindu claim that Hinduism was the oldest
religion of all. It is known as "sanatan dharma" which refers to the
idea that it's origin lies beyond human history. Other religions
Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Jainism and Confucianism followed Hinduism. It is
founded around 15th to 5th century BC.
b. The author has dealt with a
controversial debate on human history. Why do you think history has been a
major contested issue in the present world?
Ans:- A controversial issue is the one which results in dispute and
disagreement due to a different opinion. The issue on human history is also a controversial
issue since almost all people regard their history is the most ancient and the
most important of all. There is not a measuring rod to identify which civilization
or religion is the oldest and the most important. Researchers try to trace the
origin of every civilization on the basis of holy scriptures and fossils of
ancient things. Most of the historians and researchers are biased because they
try to justify their religion and civilization is the oldest one. They have
prejudices and inclination towards their own religion and civilization. Most of
the people don't like to see their religion and civilization inferior to
another. That's why, even in the present time, it is the major contested issue.
Reference beyond the text
a. Write a short essay on The
Conflicting History of Human Civilization.
When we talk about the History
about Human Civilization, we never cease to claim the civilization we belong to
to be the first and the most important. We are under the veil of superiority
and mastery of our own race. Our nature is that we want to put ourselves at the
center of the world. We find the same ego in the people belong to civilizations
of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Maya, India, China, Rome, Greece and Persia. Such is in
case of religions either Abrahamic or Indian.
Many Greeks claims that history
began in Athens, Sparta, Alexandria or Constantinople. Chinese retort this claim and admit that
history began during Yellow Emperor, Xia and Shan Dynasties. They further claim
that the inventions of Westerns, Muslims or Indians are pale replicas of Chinese
inventions. Hindus boast that all the modern inventions of science dates back
to their civilization. Even rockets, missiles and atomic theories were invented
by ancient sages in Indian subcontinents. Muslims on the other hand credits to
the Prophet Muhammad and the Quran to be the first one. Turkish, Iranian and
Egyptians nationalists argue that their nations were the fountainhead and
preserver the purity of Islam before Muhammad and the Quran. British, French,
German, American, Russian, Japanese claim that they achieved spectacular
achievement and uplifted humans from barbarous and immoral ignorance. Aztecs
firmly believe that their sacrifice is the cause from preventing the
disintegration of the universe. Even Jews claims the credit for the important
inventions of the world. Even they say yoga postures were invented by Abraham.
The postures of yoga were derived from Hebrew alphabet. Even they claim that the
study of holy scriptures by Jewish rabbis is the main cause to stop
annihilation of this universe.
In fact, all these claims are
false. Such claims are the products of egotism and racism. Instead, these
religions or civilizations, first human colonized the world, and domesticated
plants and animals. It is only a crass egotism to ascribe to them a more recent
place and times. Morality, art, spirituality, creativity are universal human
abilities embed in human DNA. We don't like to criticize one's own people,
culture, religion, customs. Instead, we glorify them. We lack modesty. This is
the main cause of conflicts among human civilizations.
b. The author claims, “Since it is
more polite to criticize one’s own people than to criticize foreigners.”
Do you agree to his claim? Give your reasons.
Ans:- In the essay "Humility"
the author Harari claims that it is polite to criticize one's own people than
to criticize foreigners. I agree with his claim because if we criticize
foreigners the conflict arises. People are very much obsessed with their own
history and civilization. They don't want to listen people who belong to
another religion and community criticize their own religion and community. We
blindly believe what is said or written about our culture, religion and
civilization. How foolish people are when they believe that the existence of
this universe depend on human sacrifice and reading of holy scriptures. No one
knows how long this universe has been existing and it is merely a crash egotism
to say the human sacrifice and reading of holy scripture prevents this cosmos
to be annihilated. If missiles and rockets were developed by ancient sages,
human could have been landed on the moon thousands of years ago. If we
criticize such things being foreigner, it will result into a clash between two
groups of people. If we want to correct us, we must find out loopholes in our
civilization by ourselves.
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