Lent responds to Harari
Lent makes many of the points we had in our discussion of Harari’s book Homo Deus. Lent said:
“Apparently unwittingly, Harari himself perpetuates unacknowledged fictions that he relies on as foundations for his own version of reality. Given his enormous sway as a public intellectual, Harari risks causing considerable harm by perpetuating these fictions. Like the traditional religious dogmas that he mocks, his own implicit stories wield great influence over the global power elite as long as they remain unacknowledged. I invite Harari to examine them here. By recognizing them as the myths they actually are, he could potentially transform his own ability to help shape humanity’s future.”
I will only list the bullet point fictions below. See the link for the details:
1. Nature is a machine.
2. There is no alternative.
3. Life is meaningless so it’s best to do nothing.
4. Humanity’s future is a spectator sport.