The Best of Making Sense with Sam Harris

#68 — Reality and the Imagination

Oct 9, 2023

Sam Harris speaks with Yuval Noah Harari about meditation, the power of technology, wealth inequality, finding meaning without work, religion as a virtual reality game, pain vs suffering, and more topics.

01:12:00

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Episode guests

Yuval Noah Harari

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Quick takeaways

Yaval Harari discusses the connection between history and biology, exploring the essential difference between humans and other animals.

Yaval Harari emphasizes the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to history, incorporating anthropology, biology, and technology for a greater understanding of the world.

Yaval Harari shares his experience and commitment to meditation, explaining its benefits in deepening his interpretation of history and improving his focus and research skills.

Deep dives

Exploring the relationship between history and biology

Yaval Harari discusses the connection between history and biology, delving into questions about the essential difference between human beings and other animals, the relationship between history and biology, and the role of justice in history.

Introduction

2min

Exploring the Unity of Knowledge and Breaking Boundaries

2min

Meditation and its Profound Impact

19min

Technology and the Future of Stories

7min

The Birth of Techno-Religions

5min

The Impact of Automation on Human Labor and Society

27min

The Dangers of Being Lost in a Dream World

10min

Sam Harris speaks with Yuval Noah Harari about meditation, the need for stories, the power of technology to erase the boundary between fact and fiction, wealth inequality, the problem of finding meaning in a world without work, religion as a virtual reality game, the difference between pain and suffering, and other topics.

Yuval Noah Harari has a PhD in history from Oxford University and is a professor in the Department of History at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He specialized in World History, medieval history and military history, but his current research focuses on macro-historical questions: What is the relation between history and biology? What is the essential difference between Homo sapiens and other animals? Is there justice in history? Does history have a direction? Did people become happier as history unfolded?

He is the author of two blockbuster books, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow.

Episodes that have been re-released as part of the Best of Making Sense series may have been edited for relevance since their original airing.

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The Best of Making Sense with Sam Harris

#68 — Reality and the Imagination

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Exploring the relationship between history and biology

The interdisciplinary nature of Yaval Noah Harari's work

The influence of meditation on Yaval Noah Harari's life and work

The potential dangers of technology and the creation of techno-religions

The challenges of finding meaning in a technologically advanced future

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts