158 quotes
The elephant bird and the giant lemurs, along with most of the other large animals of Madagascar, suddenly vanished about 1.500 years ago - precisely when the first humans set foot on the island.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
Just 6 million years ago, a single female ape had two daughters. One became the ancestor of all chimpanzees, the other is our own grandmother.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
Christianity and Nazism, have killed millions out of burning hatred. Capitalism has killed millions out of cold indifference coupled with greed.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
Tolerance is not a Sapiens trademark. In modern times, a small difference in skin colour, dialect or religion has been enough to prompt one group of Sapiens to set about exterminating another group.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
No noteworthy plant and animal has been domesticated in the last 2000 years.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
The structures at Göbekli Tepe are dated to about 9500 BC, and all available evidence indicates that they were built by hunter-gatherers.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
Scholars began to study the history of happiness only a few years ago, and we are still formulating initial hypotheses and searching for appropriate research methods.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
For 2500 years, Buddhists have systematically studied the essence and cause of happiness. which is why there is a growing interest among the scientific community both in their philosophy and their meditation practices.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
Theism (from 'theos', 'god' in Greek) is the view that the universal order is based on a hierarchical relationship between humans and a small group of of eternal entities called gods.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
Today, the most important humanist sect is liberal humanism, which believes that 'humanity' is a quality of individual humans, and that the liberty of individuals is therefore sacrosanct.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
Ours is the first time in history that the world is dominated by a peace-loving elite - politicians, business people, intellectuals and artists who genuinely see war as both evil and avoidable.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
'imperialist' ranks second only to 'fascist' in the lexicon of politically swear words.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
religion has been the third great unifier of humankind, alongside money and empire.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
exact science - defined as 'exact' by their use of mathematical tools.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
Money has been essential both for building empires and for promoting science. Neither modern armies nor university laboratories can be sustained without banks.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
Christians began organising widespread missionary activities aimed at all humans. In one of history's strangest twists, this esoteric Jewish sect took over the mighty Roman Empire.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
When Constantine assumed the throne in 306, Christianity was little more than an esoteric Eastern sect.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
The dog was the first animal domesticated by Homo sapiens, and this occurred before the Agricultural Revolution.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
Sapiens did not forage only for food and materials. They foraged for knowledge as well.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
Throughout most of history, mathematics was an esoteric field that even educated people rarely studied seriously.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)