Like firefighters in a world without fire, so humankind in the twenty-first century needs to ask itself an unprecedented question: what are we going to do with ourselves? In a healthy, prosperous and harmonious world, what will demand our attention and ingenuity? This question becomes doubly urgent given the immense new powers that biotechnology and information technology are providing us with. What will we do with all that power?
During the twentieth century, humankind has managed to do the impossible: we have brought famine, plague and war under control. Today, more people die from obesity than from starvation; more people die from old age than from infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed in war.
We are the only species in earth's long history that has single-handedly changed the entire planet, and we no longer expect any higher being to shape our destinies for us.
As Homo sapiens becomes Homo deus, what new destinies will we set for ourselves? As the self-made gods of planet earth, which projects should we undertake, and how will we protect this fragile planet and humankind itself from our own destructive powers?
In this vivid, challenging new book, Yuval Noah Harari examines the implications of our newly acquired divine powers, from our desperate pursuit of happiness to our dogged quest for immortality. He explores how Homo sapiens conquered the world, our current predicament and our possible futures. And, above all, he asks the fundamental questions: How do we avoid destruction, and what new world should we create? What do we want to become?
A specialist in World History, military history and medieval history, Yuval Noah Harari is best known for his investigations into macro-historical questions concerning the relationship between history and science, the origins of mankind and its future. Amongst his publications are the bestselling books Sapiens and Homo Deus.
