SUMMARY

The essay ‘Humility’ was written by the well-known Jerusalem essayist Yuval Noah Harari. He demonstrates humility in this essay by dispelling the misconceptions about human superiority and mastery. According to him, creativity, morality, spirituality, and art are universal human talents that are ingrained in our DNA. In this essay, which can be described as recognition of the real limits of our techno-social knowledge and ability, the author debunks humanity's illusions of superiority and mastery, demonstrating humility. Harari asserts that the majority of societies lack humility. The majority of people believe that their culture is the foundation of human history and that they are at the center of the universe.

Greeks believe that Homer, Sophocles, and Plato were the first people in history, and that Athens, Sparta, Alexandria, or Constantinople was the birthplaces of significant innovations. There is a widespread belief among Indians that ancient sages on the Indian subcontinent were the first to develop nuclear weapons and airplanes, let alone Einstein and the Wright brothers.

One of the world's three most prominent faiths, the Jews believes that they are the originators of monotheism. However, despite the fact that there are only 15 million Jews, there is no reason to believe that they are more significant than the Hindu religion, which has a significantly larger number of followers. Each group thinks that it is the center of the world and the one who came up with the most important ideas and things.

However, no group truly stands out. Before them, some version of their ideas and ideology existed. The faiths that made it through were the most aggressive, converting the most people to their beliefs. For instance, Jews claim that the biblical expression "love your neighbor as yourself" originated in China. Similarly, monotheism did not begin as a Jewish religion but rather originated in Egypt. No one should be happy that monotheism was developed because it has resulted in global disaster. Even though many Jews continued to be persecuted a few centuries after Christianity's founding, Islam now considers all history prior to Mohammed to be meaningless.

According to Chinese nationalists, their culture is the source of many outstanding ideas. The Jews accept that they are God's picked individuals and that gentiles are not on pace with them concerning significance. Although some wise men have called for religious tolerance, the past has always been one of persecution of those who disagree with one's beliefs. Ironically, the majority of faiths warn against self-centeredness precisely because of this.

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW.

a. Describe the assertion that the Chinese nationalists are making regarding human history.

Chinese nationalists assert that the Yellow Emperor, the Xia, and Shang dynasties are where history began, and that anything Westerners, Muslims, or Indians accomplish is merely a pale imitation of genuine Chinese accomplishments.

b. What are the religious beliefs of Muslims regarding human history?

Pious Muslims hold the belief that the Muslim community is at the center of all history, and that all history prior to the Prophet Muhammad was largely meaningless.

c. The Aztecs held certain beliefs about the universe.

The Aztecs held the firm belief that the sun would not rise and the universe would collapse without the annual sacrifices.

d. According to the essay, what are the universal abilities of humans?

The essay asserts that morality, creativity, spirituality, and art are universal human abilities.

e. In what way are the basic yoga postures named after the shapes of the Hebrew letters?

The basic yoga postures are modeled after the shapes of the Hebrew letters in the alphabet. For example, Trikonasanna is modeled after the shape of the Hebrew letter "aleph," Tuladandasana is modeled after the shape of the Hebrew letter "daled," and so on.

REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT

a. In what ways do Hindu nationalists dispute the Chinese assertion that the Xia and Shang dynasties, as well as the Yellow Emperor, marked the beginning of human history? Who and why do you agree with?

Hindu nationalists claim that ancient Indian sages developed planes and nuclear bombs long before Confucius, Plato, Einstein, and the Wright brothers, rebutting the Chinese claim that human history actually began with the Yellow Emperor and the Xia and Shang dynasties.

Regarding the Chinese claim, I concur with Hindu nationalists because numerous archaeological and scientific studies have established that Hinduism is the world's oldest religion.

b. The author has addressed a contentious human history debate. Why do you believe history has been such a contentious topic in today's world?

The author has addressed a contentious human history debate. Egoism, in my opinion, has made history a contentious topic in today's world. The majority of people believe that their culture is superior to all others and that they are the center of the universe. They hold the belief that their culture is the root of all things and that their history is the oldest. In today's world, history has emerged as a major point of contention due to egoism. The author wants to get rid of humanity's sense of dominance and superiority.

REFERENCE BEYOND THE CONTEXT

a. Compose a brief essay on The Conflicting History of Human Civilization.

Since the beginning human being have been explorers and as the civilization progressed they slowly started keeping records but dates back only few hundred years back. Therefore, there has only debate existed about the time before that. Many have made their own assumption basing on scriptures, inscriptions and fossil carbon dating. However, there has always been disagreement to other’s assumption by people.

One of the major reasons behind conflicting assertions is the lack of enough evidence that can provide an undisputed answer to the questions. Archeologists, scientists, historians and religious leaders have their own version of interpretation to the findings which has led to conflicts regarding the history of human civilization.

Moreover, current technology limitation, available resources and the limitation of time and money also have contributed to limited knowledge about human civilization. For example, western history suggests that Newton discovered gravity but eastern people especially Nepalese and Indian people believe it was some sage in the Hindu scripture did that. Here, funding plays an important role because due to the lack of sufficient amount of money le to scarcity of enough information to make a decisive conclusion.

In conclusion, various disparities have led to incomplete, inaccurate and controversial assumption about the history of human civilization. In addition, different kinds of scholars present their own interpretation of available resources which has further fueled controversies and conflicts.

b. "Since it is more polite to criticize one's own people than to criticize foreigners," the author asserts. Do you concur with what he says? Justify your position.

In his essay "Humility," Harari asserts that criticizing one's own people is more polite than criticizing foreigners. Since criticizing outsiders creates tension, I concur with his assertion. People are very preoccupied with their own civilization and history. They find it offensive when members of a different faith or community criticize their own. Everything that is said or written about our civilization, religion, and culture is accepted without question by the communities related to it. It is egotism to assert that religious texts and human sacrifice prevent the universe from being destroyed; nobody knows how long this universe has existed. We must first identify the flaws in our culture before we can fix ourselves.