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Humility by Yuval Noah Harari: Summary | Questions and Answers |Class 12 English
Humility by Yuval Noah Harari
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Humility by Yuval Noah Harari
BEFORE READING
Answer the following questions.
a. What do you know about the Chinese civilization?
Answer:
Chinese civilization initially developed in the Yellow River region of northern China during the third and second millennia BC. The main crop in northern China in ancient times was millet. The main aspects of ancient Chinese civilization were: tea culture, pictorial character for writing, high regard for writing, literature, and historical records.
b. Are there any similarities between South Indian and Chinese civilizations? Discuss.
Answer:
Yes, there are some similarities between South Indian and Chinese civilizations. Both civilizations had a hierarchy based on agriculture and organised patriarchal societies.
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UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
Answer the following questions.
a. Describe the claim of the Chinese nationalists about human history.
Answer:
The claim of the Chinese nationalists about human history is quite boastful. According to them, human history really began with the Yellow Emperor and the Xia and Shang dynasties of China, and whatever Westerners, Muslims, and Indians achieved was a copy of everything from Chinese development and progress.
b. What do pious Muslims believe about the human history?
Answer:
Pious Muslims believe all human history before the Prophet Muhammad is largely irrelevant. Human history began only after the revelation of the Quran. They believe that there was no human history before the Prophet Muhammad (the founder of Islam).
c. What did the Aztecs firmly believe about the universe?
Answer:
The Aztecs or the Mexican people firmly believed that without the sacrifices they performed each year, the sun would not rise and the entire universe would disintegrate (separate).
d. What, according to the essay, are the universal human abilities?
Answer:
According to the essay, morality, art, spirituality, and creativity are universal human abilities.
e. How are the basic yoga postures derived from the shape of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet?
Answer:
The basic yoga postures are derived from the shape of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet by imitating Hebrew letters. For example, the trikonasana posture imitates the shape of the Hebrew letter aleph, the tuladandasana imitates the letter daled, etc.
REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT
a. How do Hindu nationalists refute the Chinese claim that human history really began with the Yellow Emperor and the Xia and Shang dynasties? Who do you agree with, and why?
Answer:
In the text, we find a variety of claims from people of different nations regarding human history. Here, Chinese nationalists claim that human history really began with the Yellow Emperor and the Xia and Shang dynasties, which were later followed and imitated by Westerners, Muslims, Indians, and many others. But Hindu nationalists refute these Chinese boasts or claims and argue that even aeroplanes and nuclear bombs were invented by ancient sages in the Indian subcontinent long before Confucius or Plato, not to mention Einstein and the Wright brothers. They take the references to Hindu mythology and examples of Maharishi Bhardwaj, who invented rockets and aeroplanes, and Vishwamitra, who not only invented but also used missiles. Furthermore, they regard Acharya Kanad as the father of atomic theory.
They refute the claims of Chinese human history, stating that even nuclear weapons were used during the Mahabharata period, so that is how these later developed civilizations gave birth to this.
I agree with the claims of Hindu nationalists because the Hindu holy books have many instances of the origin of human history and nuclear weapons. Even the Ramayana and Mahabharata have a very clear message about this, which originated a long time ago, compared to the Chinese claims of human history. Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world.
b. The author has dealt with a controversial debate on human history. Why do you think history has been a major contested issue in the present world?
Answer:
In the essay "Humility," the author Yuval Noah Harari has dealt with a controversial debate on human history. He mostly talks about people of different groups and cultures and their claims and beliefs about their history and important inventions.
In the world, people of different groups boast about their cultures and believe that their cultures are the foundation of human history. With this arrogant faith, these people tend to stand in the centre of the world. He talks about how people believe in their culture and human history, taking views from different people and religions such as Greek philosophers Homer, Sophocles, Plato, and many more.
I think history has been a majorly contested issue in the present world because people are too concerned with their own religions, cultures, traditions, rituals, etc. They are full of egotism. Due to this egotism (self-centreedness), most people think they are the centre of the world and that their culture is superior to all other cultures. They think their history is the oldest, and everything originated in their culture. History has been a majorly contested issue in the present world due to this egotism. The author wants to debunk humanity's illusion of superiority and mastery.
REFERENCE BEYOND THE TEXT
a. Write a short essay on The Conflicting History of Human Civilization.
Answer:
The Conflicting History of Human Civilization
The history of human civilization consists of various unsolved and conflicting debates and views. Human civilization kept on moving with lots of questions that remained doubtful for most of the time. In the history of human civilization, the egotism of people of different cultures played a very crucial role in shaping this concept. People in the world faced a lot of hardships due to the violence of their boastful nature.
In the present time too, people are on the wrong track with fake boasts, due to which violence is increasing rapidly.
In the history of human civilization, people always claim or argue that the civilization to which they belong is the first and most important. People never want to be dominated in the matter of their civilization.
In the world, people of different groups boast about their cultures and believe that their cultures are the foundation of human history. With this arrogant faith, these people tend to stand in the centre of the world.
They feel superior and superior to others. Our nature is also similar to theirs. We also want to put ourselves at the centre of the world. We find the same ego in the people who belong to the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Maya, India, China, Rome, Greece, and Persia. Such is the case in the case of religions, either Abrahamic or Indian.
Greek people still consider that history began with Homer (an ancient Greek writer and epic poet), Sophocles, and Plato (a great philosopher). For them, important ideas and inventions were born in places in Greece such as Athens, Sparta, Alexandria, or Constantinople.
Chinese people also have their claims regarding the history of the world. According to the Chinese nationalists, human history really began with the Yellow Emperor and the Xia and Shang dynasties, which were later followed and imitated by Westerners, Muslims, Indians, and many others. But later on, Hindu nativists refute these Chinese boasts or claims and argue that even aeroplanes and nuclear bombs were invented by ancient sages in the Indian subcontinent long before Confucius or Plato, not to mention Einstein and the Wright brothers. They represent examples from Hindu mythology and examples of Maharishi Bharadwaja, who invented the rocket and aeroplane, and Vishwamitra, who not only invented but also used missiles. In addition, Acharya Kanad was the father of atomic theory.
Similarly, religious Muslims consider all history before the Prophet Muhammad to be largely irrelevant. They consider all history after the revelation of the Quran to revolve around the Muslim ummah. But Turkish, Iranian, and Egyptian nationalists argue that their nation was the source of all that was good about humanity and that they are the real preservers of the purity of Islam, even after the revelation of the Quran.
British, French, German, American, Russian, Japanese, and countless other groups take pride in their distinctive achievements in raising the human race from barbaric and immoral ignorance. The Aztecs (nomadic tribes in northern Mexico) claim to have controlled the law of physics and sacrificed human lives to save the universe.
Each group considers itself the centre of the universe and the inventor of the most important philosophies and contributions. But no group is truly unique; some forms of their philosophies and beliefs have existed before them. The religions that survived were those that were most violent; they managed to convert the largest number of the population to their faith.
In fact, all these claims are false. Such claims are the products of egoism and racism. Instead of these religions or civilizations, the first humans colonised the world and domesticated plants and animals. It is only crass egotism to ascribe to them a more recent place and time. Morality, art, spirituality, and creativity are universal human abilities embedded in human DNA. We don't like to criticise one's own people, culture, religion, and customs. Instead, we glorify them. We lack humility. This is the main cause of conflicts among human civilizations.
b. The author claims, “Since it is more polite to criticize one’s own people than to criticize foreigners.” Do you agree to his claim? Give your reasons.
Answer:
By criticising, we mean to point out the faults of someone or something in a disapproving manner by simply presenting a substantial amount of judgment. Obviously, it is much easier and more polite to criticise one's own people, surrounding people, or well-known people than it is to criticise foreigners or unknowns.
Yes, I agree with his claim because if we criticise foreigners or unknown people, conflict will surely arise. There will be much more tension. People in the world are very concerned with their own identity, culture, history, and civilization. They can't stand listening to people from another religion and community who criticise or go against their own religion and community. Our faith in our culture and religion is so deep. We always seem straightforward in the matter of our faith. We always give priority to our history, no matter if it is full of falsity. We believe what is said or written about our culture, religion, and civilization blindly. We always boast about our history and civilization. Due to this particular egotism (self-centreedness), most people think they are the centre of the world and that their culture is superior to all other cultures. They think their history is the oldest, and everything originated in their culture. History has been a majorly contested issue in the present world due to egotism. The author wants to debunk humanity's illusion of superiority and mastery.
It sounds so stupid when people say that the existence of this universe depends on human sacrifice and the reading of holy scriptures. In this entire world, no one knows how long this universe has been in existence, and human sacrifice and recitation of scripture prevent it from being destroyed; it is just a crass ego. If missiles and rockets had been developed by the ancient sages, humans could have landed on the moon thousands of years ago. If we criticise such things as being foreigners, it will result in a conflict between two groups of people. If we want to improve ourselves, we have to find the flaws in our civilization on our own.
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