Abdullah Saif > Abdullah's Quotes

“The capitalist and consumerist ethics are two sides of the same coin, a merger of two commandments. The supreme commandment of the rich is ‘Invest!’ The supreme commandment of the rest of us is ‘Buy!’ The capitalist–consumerist ethic is revolutionary in another respect. Most previous ethical systems presented people with a pretty tough deal. They were promised paradise, but only if they cultivated compassion and tolerance, overcame craving and anger, and restrained their selfish interests. This was too tough for most. The history of ethics is a sad tale of wonderful ideals that nobody can live up to. Most Christians did not imitate Christ, most Buddhists failed to follow Buddha, and most Confucians would have caused Confucius a temper tantrum. In contrast, most people today successfully live up to the capitalist–consumerist ideal. The new ethic promises paradise on condition that the rich remain greedy and spend their time making more money and that the masses give free reign to their cravings and passions and buy more and more. This is the first religion in history whose followers actually do what they are asked to do. How though do we know that we'll really get paradise in return? We've seen it on television.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, קיצור תולדות האנושות

“More than a century after Nietzsche pronounced Him dead, God seems to be making a comeback. But this is a mirage. God is dead – it’s just taking a while to get rid of the body.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

“Islamic fundamentalists could never have toppled Saddam Hussein by themselves. Instead they enraged the USA by the 9/11 attacks, and the USA destroyed the Middle Eastern china shop for them. Now they flourish in the wreckage.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow

“How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order is imagined.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

“Fiction isn’t bad. It is vital. Without commonly accepted stories about things like money, states or corporations, no complex human society can function.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

“You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

“The greatest scientific discovery was the discovery of ignorance. Once humans realised how little they knew about the world, they suddenly had a very good reason to seek new knowledge, which opened up the scientific road to progress. With”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

“Religion cannot be equated with superstition, because most people are unlikely to call their cherished beliefs ‘superstitions’. We always believe in ‘the truth’. It’s only other people who believe in superstitions.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

“Whereas the Agricultural Revolution gave rise to theist religions, the Scientific Revolution gave birth to humanist religions, in which humans replaced gods.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow

“At present, more than 90 per cent of the large animals of the world (i.e. those weighing more than a few kilograms) are either humans or domesticated animals.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

“Humans are in danger of losing their economic value because intelligence is decoupling from consciousness.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow

“For religions, spirituality is a dangerous threat.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow

“In the future, however, we may see real gaps in physical and cognitive abilities opening between an upgraded upper class and the rest of society.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

“One of the wonderful things about science is that when scientists don’t know something, they can try out all kinds of theories and conjunctures, but in the end they can just admit their ignorance. The”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow

“The antidote to a meaningless and lawless existence was provided by humanism, a revolutionary new creed that conquered the world during the last few centuries. The humanist religion worships humanity, and expects humanity to play the part that God played in Christianity and Islam, and that the laws of nature played in Buddhism and Daoism. Whereas traditionally the great cosmic plan gave meaning to the life of humans, humanism reverses the roles and expects the experiences of humans to give meaning to the cosmos. According to humanism, humans must draw from within their inner experiences not only the meaning of their own lives, but also the meaning of the entire universe. This is the primary commandment humanism has given us: create meaning for a meaningless world. Accordingly,”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow

“If you want to make people believe in imaginary entities such as gods and nations, you should make them sacrifice something valuable.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow

“If you want to make people believe in imaginary entities such as gods and nations, you should make them sacrifice something valuable. The more painful the sacrifice, the more convinced people are of the existence of the imaginary recipient.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow

“Anyone who has ever dealt with the tax authorities, the educational system or any other complex bureaucracy knows that the truth hardly matters. What’s written on your form is far more important.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

“the better we understand history, the faster history alters its course, and the faster our knowledge becomes outdated.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

“The greatest scientific discovery was the discovery of ignorance.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow

“In Paradise, everyone speaks the truth. That is what makes it Paradise. Tell the truth. Or, at least, don’t lie.”
― Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

“Beauty shames the ugly. Strength shames the weak. Death shames the living - and the Ideal shames us all.”
― Jordan B. Peterson, Jordan B. Peterson: 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

“When the aristocracy catches a cold, as it is said, the working class dies of pneumonia.”
― Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

“alongside our wish to be free of rules, we all search for structure.”
― Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

“Dreams shed light on the dim places where reason itself has yet to voyage.”
― Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

“There are so many ways that things can fall apart, or fail to work altogether, and it is always wounded people who are holding it together”
― Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

“It is better, proverbially, to rule your own spirit than to rule a city.”
― Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

“To attain real happiness, humans need to slow down the pursuit of pleasant sensations, not accelerate it.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow

“The Theory of Relativity makes nobody angry because it doesn't contradict any of our cherished beliefs. Most people don't care an iota whether space and time are absolute or relative. If you think it is possible to bend space and time, well be my guest. ...In contrast, Darwin has deprived us of our souls. If you really understand the Theory of Evolution, you understand that there is no soul. This is a terrifying thought, not only to devote Christians and Muslims, but also to many secular people who don't hold any clear religious dogma, but nevertheless, want to believe that each human possess an eternal, individual essence that remains unchanged throughout life and can survive even death intact.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow

“If Kindle is upgraded with face recognition and biometric sensors, it can know what made you laugh, what made you sad and what made you angry. Soon, books will read you while you are reading them.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow