What Yuval Noah Harari thinks about happiness
Israeli historian and philosopher, born in 1976; author of Sapiens, Homo Deus, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century and Nexus; lecturer in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; co-founder of Sapienship in 2019.
Yuval Noah Harari did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
Filter happiness · Newest first
32 more topics
Only Yuval Noah Harari on happiness. See everyone on happiness
6 dated positions, c. 2011–2015 to 2024, in their own words. Our reading of what Yuval Noah Harari has said — not written or endorsed by them.
-
Their wordsYou can build terrible societies without the truth. But if you want to build a good society and you want to build a good personal life, you must have a strong basis in the truth.
↗Our AI Future Is WAY WORSE Than You Think | Yuval Noah Harariyoutube.com 18th of 18 in this recording
- 10 months earlier
-
Our readingHumans are thousands of times more powerful than in the Stone Age but not thousands of times happier
Their wordsWe are thousands of times more powerful as a species and as individuals than we were in the Stone Age. We are not thousands of times happier. We just don't really know how to translate power into happiness.
↗Yuval Noah Harari: An Urgent Warning They Hope You Ignore. More War Is Coming!youtube.com 12th of 24 in this recording
- 7 years earlier
-
Their wordsTo the best of our scientific knowledge, human life has no meaning. The meaning of life is always a fictional story created by us humans.
↗The meaning of life in a world without work (The Guardian)theguardian.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
-
Their wordsIn any case, the end of work will not necessarily mean the end of meaning, because meaning is generated by imagining rather than by working.
↗The meaning of life in a world without work (The Guardian)theguardian.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
-
Their wordsIf happiness is based on feeling that life is meaningful, then in order to be happier we need to delude ourselves more effectively.
↗Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Vintage, 2015 edition; first published in Hebrew 2011; translated by the author with John Purcell and Haim Watzman)books.google.com All 35 from this book
-
Our readingBuddhism has given the question of happiness more importance than perhaps any other human creed
Their wordsBuddhism has assigned the question of happiness more importance than perhaps any other human creed.
↗Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Vintage, 2015 edition; first published in Hebrew 2011; translated by the author with John Purcell and Haim Watzman)books.google.com All 35 from this book