For Harari, the Cognitive Revolution constitutes “the appearance of new ways of thinking and communicating.” (Harari, 21). This means that Sapiens could now interact with other Sapiens through a new kind of language. This explanation was based on a theory that defends a mutation in Sapiens’ brain. Another theory for this Revolution is that our language involved in the sense of sharing information of ourselves (homo sapiens as social animal). As a consequence, this would lead Sapiens to create imagine things, such us religion or myth, and they do this collectively, that is why the bigger community, the stronger they are in their defense of the imagined issue. In addition, with the Agricultural Revolution, Sapiens started to “manipulating the lives of a few animal and plant species.” (Harari, 77). But it should not be taken as a full positive innovation, as Sapiens were dependent on their crops; they could starve if weather was not appropriate. According to Harari, the substance of the Agricultural Revolution is “the ability to keep more people alive under worse conditions.” (Harari, 83). Furthermore, it is true that this Revolution made us change our diet as well as domesticating animals, such horses or goats. Therefore, we started to be independent and having, in a way, our own properties (individualism).
In Harari’s interpretation, Sapiens would grow stronger as their have a myth, an imagined order they make up. For instance, in the Agricultural Revolution they started creating houses where they shared an imagined property (as we can see in imagined empires, countries…). In higher terms, this can be applied to wars, as people concentrated themselves in imagined communities to fight for an imagined myth or idol, for instance, Jesus. Personally speaking, believing in something as Sapiens did make you be part of something bigger than an individual. Consequently, the bigger the group is, the greater influence and dominance they have in the society. So, this could be a theory of how Sapiens became dominant.
Hi Jose!
This was a very well-worded post in my opinion so nice job there. It seems like you got a lot of the same perceptions out of the reading as I did, and I very much agree with your points. I feel that I may have failed to mention the impact of language as much as I meant to in my post, but it is a very important concept that language is what allowed us to actually organize around certain imagined entities. You also mentioned myth and these imaginations. I have to say I see what Harari is getting at, but it still pains me to try and see something as grand as our glorious United States as an imagined entity or myth. This being said, I appreciated your mentioning of how these larger “imagined” ideas make us feel as though we are a part of something important, and this gives us a sense of meaning (enough to rally thousands of people around). Very nice post, this was a good supplement to what I felt I grasped from the reading that also added some slightly different perspectives. Keep up the good work!:)