Yuval Noah Harari

Yuval Noah Harari is an Israeli public intellectual, historian, and professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is best known for his internationally bestselling works of popular history and speculative futurism, which explore the trajectory of the human species from the Cognitive Revolution to potential futures shaped by artificial intelligence and biotechnology. His books have sold millions of copies worldwide and have been translated into dozens of languages, making him one of the world's most influential contemporary thinkers.

Early life and education

Born in Kiryat Ata to Lebanese Jewish parents, he was raised in a secular household in Haifa. From a young age, he demonstrated a keen interest in history and broader philosophical questions. He completed his mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces as a personnel officer. He then pursued his higher education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1993 and a Master of Arts degree in medieval history in 1998. His doctoral studies were undertaken at Jesus College, Oxford, under the supervision of the noted medievalist Steven J. Gunn, earning a Doctor of Philosophy degree in history from the University of Oxford in 2002. His doctoral thesis examined the concept of "outsiders" in medieval military culture.

Academic career

He returned to Israel to conduct postdoctoral research as a Yad Hanadiv fellow. In 2005, he joined the faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he is a tenured professor specializing in world history, medieval history, and military history. His academic research has focused on macro-historical questions, bridging the study of the past with existential concerns about the future. He has taught popular courses on the history of the world and has been awarded the Polonsky Prize for Creativity and Originality twice, in 2009 and 2012. His lectures, including a noted TED Talk, have garnered millions of views online, extending his reach far beyond the traditional academy.

Published works and ideas

His breakthrough came with the 2011 publication of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, which surveys human history from the evolution of archaic humans in the Stone Age to the political and technological revolutions of the 21st century. The book argues that the key to humanity's success is its unique ability to believe in shared fictions, such as money, nations, and human rights. This was followed by Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow in 2015, which speculates on the long-term future of a species potentially overcoming death through technology. In 2018, he published 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, addressing contemporary challenges like the rise of populism, the threat of nuclear war, and the ethical dilemmas posed by big data and algorithms. His ideas frequently engage with the works of thinkers like Jared Diamond and challenge narratives from the Enlightenment.

Public engagement and influence

He is a frequent speaker at global forums such as the World Economic Forum in Davos and the European Parliament. His writings and lectures have influenced a wide range of leaders in technology, business, and politics, including Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, and Narendra Modi. He co-founded Sapienship, a social impact company focused on education and storytelling. His work has been critically discussed in major publications like The Guardian and The New Yorker, and he has engaged in public dialogues with figures like Angela Merkel and Deepak Chopra. Despite his popularity, his sweeping historical narratives and futurist predictions have also attracted criticism from some academic historians and philosophers for their speculative nature.

Personal life

He is openly gay and married to his longtime partner, Itzik Yahav, who also serves as his personal manager. The couple lives a largely private life in a moshav near Jerusalem. A practitioner of Vipassanā meditation for many years, he credits the discipline with shaping his ability to observe reality clearly, an influence evident in his writing. He adheres to a strict daily meditation routine and has undertaken multiple long meditation retreats, including a two-month silent retreat. He is a vegan, a lifestyle choice he connects to his ethical and philosophical views on reducing suffering, as explored in his writings on the treatment of animals in works like Sapiens.

Category:Israeli historians Category:21st-century philosophers Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty