Yuval Noah Harari
Historian of Sapiens and Homo Deus: shared fictions, no free will, suffering as the one real thing.
16 videos analysed · 51 quotes checked word for word · updated 2026-10-22
Key facts
- Professor of history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; DPhil from Oxford (2002). Wikipédia 2026 · Yuval Noah Harari
- Books: Sapiens (2011 in Hebrew), Homo Deus (2016), 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (2018), Nexus (2024). Wikipédia 2026 · Yuval Noah Harari
- He has meditated since 2000, now two hours a day, and dedicated Homo Deus to his teacher S. N. Goenka. Wikipédia 2026 · Yuval Noah Harari
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceIn 2018 he told Michael Shermer "I don't believe in any God", but added that he does not consider himself an atheist because he does not define himself by what he does not believe. In his books and interviews gods belong to the shared stories humans invented, like nations and money.
- He says he believes in no God, but does not call himself an atheist because he does not define himself by labels. Video 2018 · Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval…
- He separates the abstract God of theologians from the God religions actually served in history, and says 'this is not the god of history'. Video 2017 · Sam Harris & Yuval Harari -…
- For him feelings are biochemical calculations shaped by natural selection, not a gift of God, and morality needs no God. Video 2017 · Homo Deus: A BRIEF HISTORY OF…2
- He does not see religion as an evil force: it has brought benefits and harm, and secular people can be just as compassionate. Video 2018 · Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval…
Without God there is no lawgiver and no firm basis for morality.
He says morality needs no God, only an appreciation of suffering and compassion.
There must be a necessary being that explains why anything exists: the God of the philosophers.
He separates the abstract God of theologians from the God religions actually served in history, and says 'this is not the god of history'.
See 1 more objections
Religion is a force for good, so a world without it would be poorer.
He says religion has brought both benefits and harm, and that secular people can be just as compassionate.
He calls feelings "biochemical calculation, shaped by millions of years of natural selection". Yet he says consciousness is perhaps the biggest open question in science and that science has no good model of it. He defines it as the capacity to feel, and to suffer.
In The Guardian (2018) he calls free will a myth inherited from Christian theology: humans have a will, but it is not free, because they cannot choose their desires. In 2024 he advises not to assume free will but to investigate how we decide, with science, meditation and psychology; he adds that freedom is something we struggle for, not something we have, and that people who firmly believe in free will are the easiest to manipulate.
- Humans are 'hackable animals': their decisions can be read and steered from outside, which he calls the biggest long-term problem for liberalism, since it undermines elections and the free market. Video 2018 · Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval…
- Those who believe most strongly in free will are the easiest to manipulate, so he tells people not to assume free will but to investigate how they decide, through science, meditation and psychology. Video 2024 · Yuval Noah Harari interview with…
- Freedom is not something we have, it is something we have to struggle for, by protecting ourselves from manipulation. Video 2024 · Yuval Noah Harari interview with…
Determinism does not destroy freedom: the freedom worth wanting is the ability to deliberate and act on our reasons.
He says freedom is not something we have but something to struggle for, by protecting ourselves from manipulation.
Ought implies can: if we are responsible for our acts, we must be free.
He judges actions by the suffering they cause. He calls industrial animal farming perhaps the worst crime in history and asks us to consider the welfare of all sentient beings. In 2022 he says "Morality is about suffering; it's about reducing suffering", not obeying outside laws, and in 2018 that morality needs no God or religion, only an appreciation of suffering and compassion.
Quoted from Sapiens: the universe is a meaningless hodgepodge of atoms and meaning people give to life is a delusion. In a 2020 interview he says the big question is liberating oneself and others from suffering. In 2026 he says he does not believe the universe works like a story with a role for each of us: "the ultimate reality is the reality of suffering and liberation from suffering".
He says the problem is not human nature, as many theologies and mythologies claim, but information: good people given bad information make bad decisions.
No sourced position yet on: Source of knowledge, Certainty, Status of morality, Faith and reason.
On the big questions
Does God exist?Atheism
Gods are presented as shared fictions, not as beings that exist. He says he believes in no God, but does not like the label 'atheist'.
- He says he believes in no God, but does not call himself an atheist because he does not define himself by labels. Video 2018 · Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval…
- He separates the abstract God of theologians from the God religions actually served in history, and says 'this is not the god of history'. Video 2017 · Sam Harris & Yuval Harari -…
- For him feelings are biochemical calculations shaped by natural selection, not a gift of God, and morality needs no God. Video 2017 · Homo Deus: A BRIEF HISTORY OF…2
- He does not see religion as an evil force: it has brought benefits and harm, and secular people can be just as compassionate. Video 2018 · Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval…
Without God there is no lawgiver and no firm basis for morality.
He says morality needs no God, only an appreciation of suffering and compassion.
There must be a necessary being that explains why anything exists: the God of the philosophers.
He separates the abstract God of theologians from the God religions actually served in history, and says 'this is not the god of history'.
See 1 more objections
Religion is a force for good, so a world without it would be poorer.
He says religion has brought both benefits and harm, and that secular people can be just as compassionate.
Are we free?No free will
Free will is a myth; we have a will but cannot choose our desires.
- Humans are 'hackable animals': their decisions can be read and steered from outside, which he calls the biggest long-term problem for liberalism, since it undermines elections and the free market. Video 2018 · Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval…
- Those who believe most strongly in free will are the easiest to manipulate, so he tells people not to assume free will but to investigate how they decide, through science, meditation and psychology. Video 2024 · Yuval Noah Harari interview with…
- Freedom is not something we have, it is something we have to struggle for, by protecting ourselves from manipulation. Video 2024 · Yuval Noah Harari interview with…
Determinism does not destroy freedom: the freedom worth wanting is the ability to deliberate and act on our reasons.
He says freedom is not something we have but something to struggle for, by protecting ourselves from manipulation.
Ought implies can: if we are responsible for our acts, we must be free.
What makes something right?Consequences
Morality is about suffering and reducing it, with no need of God or religion.
- Morality is not about obeying outside laws. It is about reducing suffering. Video 2022 · Yuval Noah Harari & Mark Solms:…
- So you can have morality without God, religion or government. You just need to cultivate your appreciation of suffering and compassion. Video 2018 · Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval…2
- Real morality is found in moderate areas, not in extremes, because pushing a good idea to the extreme leads to crimes. Video 2025 · We are playing God | Slavoj…
- Trolley-type dilemmas are imaginary scenarios philosophers had to think very hard to invent: in reality such extreme choices almost never occur, and there are always more options. Video 2025 · We are playing God | Slavoj…
Counting only suffering would allow sacrificing one person to save five, which seems wrong.
He says trolley-type dilemmas are imaginary: such extreme choices almost never occur in reality, where there are always more options.
The good is what God commands; without a divine command morality has no authority.
He says morality is not about obeying outside laws but about reducing suffering, so it can exist without God, religion or government.
Criticizes : Turning the trolley: one death rather than five
The question on the site: all the argumentsShould we believe without proof?No belief without evidence
The more attractive a belief is, the more suspicious one should be, because evidence for it is easy to find.
- The more you want to believe a story, the more suspicious you should be about how easy it is to fall for it, since evidence for an attractive idea is easy to find. Video 2026 · Yuval Noah Harari: Stories,…
- On life after death, the evidence is very meager, yet the belief has had huge influence in history. Video 2026 · Yuval Noah Harari: Stories,…
- Truth is a rare and costly kind of information because it takes research, while fiction is cheap. He says you cannot be happy without knowing the truth about yourself. Video 2024 · Yuval Noah Harari on The Power…2
When the evidence cannot decide, we have the right to believe what we need to believe.
He says the more attractive an idea is, the more suspicious we should be, since evidence for an attractive idea is easy to find.
It is safer to bet on an afterlife: if it exists we gain everything, if not we lose nothing.
He says the evidence for life after death is very meager, yet the belief has had huge influence in history.
Do animals matter as much as we do?A duty of compassion
In The Guardian (2015) he writes that farm animals feel pain, fear and loneliness, and that we should consider the welfare of all sentient beings, not only humans.
Defends : Speciesism: counting everyone's interests, whatever the species
The question on the site: all the argumentsAre humans good by nature?Neither good nor bad
He denies that our failures come from a flaw in human nature: for him people are shaped by the stories and information they receive. He does not say humans are good by nature, but that good people given bad information decide badly.
- One basic answer in many mythologies is that something is deeply wrong with human nature. He says the problem is not our nature but our information: if you give good people bad information, they make bad decisions. Video 2024 · We can split the atom but not…
- The worst crimes in history, such as world wars and genocides, are not animal rage or territoriality but a new kind of aggression rooted in imaginary stories. 'It's human nature' is therefore no excuse. Video 2022 · Yuval Noah Harari & Mark Solms:…
- Behaviour can change fast with no change in biology: Germans today have the same genes, climate and geography as in the Nazi era, yet act very differently. Talk of a fixed national character based on biology is mostly nonsense. Video 2018 · Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval…
Our power outruns our wisdom because something is deeply wrong with human nature.
He answers that information is not truth: its basic function is connection, and the easiest way to connect large numbers of people is not with truth but with fictions and delusions.
Does history have a direction?No direction
History has no fixed script: particular events are not deterministic, and technology does not decide where societies go. He still thinks humans have progressed in cooperation and trust, with no guarantee it continues.
- For a big process like the Industrial Revolution, circumstances mattered more than individuals. But for particular turns of events, nothing is deterministic: small groups, single individuals and plain luck play a very large role. Video 2018 · Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval…
- He sees nothing inevitable in the rise of Christianity or Islam, and calls the Bolshevik takeover a chain of accidents and good luck. Video 2018 · Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval…
- Technology does not dictate its use: the same trains, electricity and radio served a communist dictatorship, a fascist regime or a democracy. And printing did not lead straight to science: its early best sellers were witch-hunting manuals. Video 2017 · Homo Deus: A BRIEF HISTORY OF…2
- Yet there is real progress in cooperation: from bands of a few dozen people who trusted no outsider to nations of 1.4 billion. We are far from fully solving the problem of trust, but we understand the challenge. Video 2025 · AI and the paradox of trust |…
History is heading toward a known end point: after 1989 we knew where we were going and only had to watch it happen.
He says that single story is now collapsing, which brings not just disillusion but panic, because we move from one story that explains everything to none.
Mixed : Liberal democracy, end point of the history of ideas
The question on the site: all the argumentsIn their words
Humans certainly have a will – but it isn't free.
The treatment of domesticated animals in industrial farms is perhaps the worst crime in history.
Morality is about suffering; it's about reducing suffering.
I don't believe that the universe works like a story.
1 more quotes
the easiest people to manipulate are those who have a strong belief in free will
How the ideas evolved
Click a step for details2000Starts Vipassana meditation
He begins to practise Vipassana. He later says his first retreat showed him how little control he had over his mind, and that the focus it gives helped him write Sapiens.
2014Sapiens in English
Sapiens, first published in Hebrew in 2011, appears in English. It argues that humans cooperate in huge numbers through shared stories such as gods, money and nations.
2015Industrial farming, 'worst crime in history'
In The Guardian he writes that the treatment of farm animals is perhaps the worst crime in history, and he introduces the 2015 edition of Singer's Animal Liberation.
2016Homo Deus
He introduces dataism, a mindset that treats big data as the thing to worship.
2016Davos: 'useless people' and algorithms
At Davos he says humanity may split between a superelite of improved humans and a mass of 'useless people', and that power lies with those who control the algorithms.
2017Conversation on Waking Up
He is a guest of Sam Harris on the Waking Up podcast, in March 2017.
2017Feelings as algorithms
In a Homo Deus talk he describes feelings as biochemical calculation shaped by natural selection. He argues that algorithms may soon understand us better than we understand ourselves.
In their words« feelings are processes of calculation, biochemical calculation, shaped by millions of years of natural selection »He describes feelings as biochemical calculations shaped by natural selection, not a gift of God. watch
« technology is never deterministic »The same technology can create very different societies (communist dictatorship, fascism, liberal democracy): the course of history is not dictated by technology. watch
2018"I don't believe in any God"
Talking with Michael Shermer, he says he believes in no God but does not call himself an atheist, because he does not define himself by what he does not believe. He adds that morality needs neither God nor religion.
In their words« oh I don't believe in any God I don't consider myself an atheist because I don't define myself »Asked if he is an atheist, he says he believes in no God but does not use labels for himself. watch
« you can certainly have morality without God and without religion you just need to cultivate your appreciation of suffering »He says morality needs no God or religion, only an appreciation of suffering and compassion. watch
« I don't see religion as an evil force »He sees religion as neither evil nor necessary: it has brought benefits and harm, and secular people can be just as compassionate. watch
2018Free will called a myth
In 21 Lessons and in The Guardian he argues that belief in free will becomes dangerous once algorithms can manipulate us. The people easiest to manipulate are those who believe in it.
2022Morality is about reducing suffering
In a conversation with the neuropsychologist Mark Solms he says morality is not obeying outside laws: it is about suffering and reducing it.
In their words« Morality is about suffering; it's about reducing suffering »He says morality is not obeying outside laws but reducing suffering. watch
« you don't really need any religion, you don't really need any government in order to have morality »He says morality needs neither religion nor government. watch
« it's a completely new type of aggression, which, again, rooted in imaginary stories »He says the worst crimes in history come not from animal aggression but from a new kind rooted in imaginary stories. watch
2023Intelligence is not consciousness
On the Lex Fridman podcast and in Nexus (2024) he separates intelligence (solving problems) from consciousness (the ability to feel). AI may become very intelligent without feeling anything.
2024Do not assume free will
In an interview about Nexus he advises people not to start from the belief that they have free will, but to investigate how they decide. Freedom, he says, is something to struggle for.
In their words« don't believe in free will investigate how you make decisions using science using meditation using psychology »He urges people not to assume free will but to investigate how their decisions are made, by science, meditation and psychology. watch
« the easiest people to manipulate are those who have a strong belief in free will »He says those with a strong belief in free will are the easiest to manipulate. watch
« freedom is not something we have freedom is something we have to struggle for »Freedom is not a given but something to struggle for, by protecting oneself from manipulation. watch
2024Nexus
He publishes Nexus, his book after 21 Lessons for the 21st Century and the Sapiens graphic volumes.
2025Two hours of meditation a day
He says he meditates two hours a day to observe his mind. He finds there something like autocomplete: he does not know how his sentences will end.
In their words« I meditate two hours a day trying to observe the processes of my mind »He says he meditates two hours a day to observe how thoughts form in his mind. watch
« And what happens in my mind is some glorified autocomplete »From meditation, he finds that his own thoughts look like autocomplete: he does not know how his sentence will end. watch
2026No cosmic story, only suffering
Asked about the purpose of life, he says he does not believe the universe works like a drama with a role for each of us. For him the ultimate reality is suffering and liberation from it.
In their words« I don't believe that the universe works like a story »He rejects the idea of a cosmic drama in which each of us plays a role. watch
« I think the ultimate reality is the reality of suffering and liberation from suffering »He says the ultimate reality is suffering and liberation from suffering, not the dramas we invent. watch
« And the ultimate what I would say is not desire, it's ignorance »Asked if he agrees with the Buddhist view that desire is the root of suffering, he says the root is rather ignorance of reality. watch
The arguments 3
The site's arguments they defend or criticize, and why. Click a title to see the full argument.
He backs Singer's case against the way animals are treated and wrote an introduction to Animal Liberation.
He describes the end-of-history idea after 1989 as the belief that we knew where we were heading, and says that story is now collapsing, leaving disillusion and bewilderment.
Of trolley-style dilemmas: philosophers had to think very hard to invent such extreme scenarios, which almost never happen in reality; you always have more options.
Allies and opponents
Sam HarrisSparring partner
He talked with Sam Harris on the Waking Up podcast in March 2017.
Peter SingerInfluence
Harari credits Animal Liberation with changing many minds about animals.
Lex FridmanSparring partner
Long conversation on human nature, intelligence and AI (episode 390).
MMark SolmsClose
In a 2022 conversation, he agrees with the neuropsychologist on knowing our minds, and adds that morality is about reducing suffering.
Closest and furthest
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All sources (43)
- Yuval Noah Harari Wikipedia · 2026
- Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Wikipedia · 2014
- Is belief in free will dangerous? Yuval Harari's take (quoting The Guardian, 14 Sept 2018) Why Evolution Is True · 2018
- In Harari's Sapiens, Meaning of Life Is Just a Delusion Psychology Today (Frank Martela) · 2020
- Yuval Noah Harari on The Story of Sapiens, The Power of Awareness, and More The Tim Ferriss Show (transcript) · 2020
- Industrial Farming Is One of the Worst Crimes in History The Guardian (republished by TRANSCEND) · 2015
- Yuval Noah Harari: Human Nature, Intelligence, Power, and Conspiracies (Lex Fridman Podcast #390) Lex Fridman Podcast (summary on Podwise) · 2023 *
- Yuval Noah Harari interview with Saurabh Dwivedi (Kitabwala) YouTube (Kitabwala) · 2024
- Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow with Yuval Noah Harari YouTube · 2017
- Yuval Noah Harari on The Power of Truth in the Age of AI YouTube · 2024
- What's The Purpose Of Life? Yuval Noah Harari x Nikhil Kamath YouTube (People by WTF) · 2026
- We can split the atom but not distinguish truth. Our information is failing us (Big Think) YouTube (Big Think) · 2024
- Yuval Noah Harari: Stories, Power & Why Truth Doesn't Matter (People by WTF) YouTube (People by WTF) · 2026
- Building Trust in the Age of Disinformation, with Marijana Grbesa (Zagreb, October 2025) YouTube · 2025
- Homo Deus: A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOMORROW with Yuval Noah Harari YouTube · 2017
- Yuval Noah Harari: Stories, Power & Why Truth Doesn't Matter | Nikhil Kamath | People by WTF YouTube · 2026
- Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval Noah Harari: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (Science Salon #38) YouTube (Skeptic) · 2018
- Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval Noah Harari: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (Science Salon #38) YouTube (Skeptic) · 2018
- Yuval Noah Harari interview with Saurabh Dwivedi (Kitabwala) YouTube (Kitabwala) · 2024
- Yuval Noah Harari on The Power of Truth in the Age of AI YouTube · 2024
- Yuval Noah Harari & Mark Solms: Dawn of Future Consciousness (Endgame #100) YouTube (Gita Wirjawan, Endgame) · 2022
- Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval Noah Harari: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (Science Salon #38) YouTube (Skeptic) · 2018
- Sam Harris & Yuval Harari - Meditation, Religion & God YouTube · 2017
- Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval Noah Harari: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (Science Salon #38) YouTube (Skeptic) · 2018
- Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval Noah Harari: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (Science Salon #38) YouTube (Skeptic) · 2018
- We are playing God | Slavoj Zizek and Yuval Noah Harari on CRISPR, AI, and the future of humanity YouTube (IAI) · 2025
- Yuval Noah Harari: Stories, Power & Why Truth Doesn't Matter (People by WTF) YouTube (People by WTF) · 2026
- Yuval Noah Harari on The Power of Truth in the Age of AI YouTube · 2024
- Yuval Noah Harari: Stories, Power & Why Truth Doesn't Matter (People by WTF) YouTube (People by WTF) · 2026
- Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow with Yuval Noah Harari YouTube · 2017
- Yuval Noah Harari interview with Saurabh Dwivedi (Kitabwala) YouTube (Kitabwala) · 2024
- We can split the atom but not distinguish truth. Our information is failing us | Yuval Noah Harari YouTube · 2024
- We can split the atom but not distinguish truth. Our information is failing us | Yuval Noah Harari YouTube · 2024
- We can split the atom but not distinguish truth. Our information is failing us | Yuval Noah Harari YouTube · 2024
- We can split the atom but not distinguish truth. Our information is failing us | Yuval Noah Harari YouTube · 2024
- Yuval Noah Harari & Mark Solms: Dawn of Future Consciousness | Endgame #100 | UWRF2022 YouTube · 2022
- Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval Noah Harari — 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (SCIENCE SALON # 38) YouTube · 2018
- Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval Noah Harari — 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (SCIENCE SALON # 38) YouTube · 2018
- Homo Deus: A BRIEF HISTORY OF TOMORROW with Yuval Noah Harari YouTube · 2017
- Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval Noah Harari — 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (SCIENCE SALON # 38) YouTube · 2018
- Yuval Noah Harari - “Nexus” & Threat of AI in the Information Age | The Daily Show YouTube · 2024
- AI and the paradox of trust | Yuval Noah Harari YouTube · 2025
- Michael Shermer with Dr. Yuval Noah Harari — 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (SCIENCE SALON # 38) YouTube · 2018