Elements

Mother & Son

“Myths and fictions accustomed people, nearly from the moment of birth, to think in certain ways, to behave in accordance with certain standards, to want certain things, and to observe certain rules. They thereby created artificial instincts that enabled millions of strangers to cooperate effectively. This network of artificial instincts is called ‘culture’.

Excerpt from SAPIENS [A Brief History of Humankind] by YUVAL NOAH HARARI

Thoughts on culture and mythology.

"How can we distinguish what is biologically determined from what people merely try to justify through biological myths? A good rule of thumb is 'Biology enables, culture forbids.' [...] Culture tends to argue that it forbids only which is unnatural. But from a biological perspective, nothing is unnatural. Whatever is possible is by definition natural. A truly unnatural behaviour, one that goes against the laws of nature, simply cannot exist, so it would need no prohibition."

Excerpt from SAPIENS [A Brief History of Humankind] by YUVAL NOAH HARARI

Thoughts on biology, culture and mythology.

“[...] it is an iron rule of history that every imagine hierarchy disavows its fictional origins and claims to be natural and inevitable."

     YUVAL NOAH HARRARI

"Like the elite of ancient Egypt, most people in most cultures dedicate their lives to building pyramids. Only the names, shapes and sizes of these pyramids change from one culture to the other. They may take the form, for example, of a suburban cottage with a swimming pool and an evergreen lawn, or a gleaming penthouse with an enviable view. Few question the myths that cause us to desire the pyramid in the first place."

Excerpt from SAPIENS [A Brief History of Humankind] by YUVAL NOAH HARARI

Thoughts on myths and the structure of social and cultural reality.

"Never will man penetrate deeper into error than when he is continuing on a road which has led him to great success."

     FRIEDRICH HAYEK

"One of history's few iron laws is that luxuries tend to become necessities and to spawn new obligations."

     YUVAL NOAH HARARI