Unification & Religion
by: Irene M. Slusher
Harari et al. (2015) in the book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, have written with focus on imagination in the building of history. It is not written with the idea of documenting every statement in parts of history that are mentioned. It is written with the theory that certain events may have led to a certain human evolution or other events. Also, the personal thoughts of the author(s) was included on what they noted in history and the human situation, while it also is noted it includes predictions as to where the human race will end up in the future. It is classified non-fiction but should be read with the idea that statements are not always verified and could be inaccurate to some degree. In my opinion, it also includes group think, that could need more evaluation. I say this because the species of humans that are written as extinct and on the evolutionary scale can be seen today in humanity, including babies born with smaller brains (ABC News, 2016), some with extra limbs or fewer limbs (DW, 2019), children born with “tails” (Mukhopadhyay et al., 2012), conjoined twins, humans who cannot walk erect due to medical conditions, etc. (CDC, 2020) In fact, albinos are born to black humans even to this day, whereas, this means humans are really more unified than we even realize (ABCNews, 2017).
From my assigned reading of the fourth section of Sapiens, Unification, I was interested in the elements that created a religion and what might have been the reason(s) religion survived through human history in a very hostile earth. An example of a human-environment interaction that is interesting is the diets of the hunter gatherers before they actually became farmers. In choosing this topic it is relevant because Harari et al (2015) reports that diet is critical in the survival of humanity and humanity has suffered since grains were farmed to support the increased population also concluding that disease has been a negative result of this farming.
Unification and Religion seems to occur during the same time period allocated to Homo Sapiens, or roughly 100,000 years ago, as the author (Harari et al., 2015) mentioned. This leads the author to seem to discount existence of religion prior to this or simply does not choose to mention it. This is applicable to the theme of “unification in the book Sapiens.” According to Harari, et al (2015) Homo Sapiens appeared only in the last 100,000 years and were preceded by organisms and or animals that had far less creativity, imagination, brain size and function.
What occurs after Homo Sapiens appearance leads the authors to analyze the effects of a specific human appearance on the physical environment of the earth and or the living systems. The effects of farming of grains, though it was theorized as disease producing, increased the population and potentially led to organized secure societies that were very religious. What was not mentioned was the affect of this diet on birth defects or anomalies in the physical appearance of homo sapiens. The author(s) did reflect on the power of Religion. Religion on this larger scale was, according to the authors, a unifying force for humanity. So this was the noted affect of this physical environment on humans.
The changes in human-environment interactions could improve nutrition but according to Harari et al (2015) due to shifts in either social or ecological systems presented by farming, humans became less healthy. The author feels this unhealthiness promoted diseases, but this might have included over-population as more likely to harbor diseases, unsanitary conditions and over-eating in these areas due to communities banding together into larger and larger communities to protect themselves. Not really mentioned, but also critical evaluation of the farm community scenarios, is that pollution could cause birth defects and medical conditions that are perpetuated further by the foods eaten. On top of all of this, radiation and disasters from natural events also caused physical changes to the humanity born during these times. It will even occur today and in the future.
Resource characteristics can be described as the nutritional food, non-nutritional food, farming food from grains (etc.), natural resource wealth units (stocks) in the Loopy systems diagram.
Governance/user characteristics can be described as stocks in the framing, education, and also related wealth.
Social/economic/political settings or related ecosystems include the Secure Society which evolves from Religion noted by Harari et al (2015). It is apparent that social context of Economic development, demographic trends, political stability, resource policies, & market incentives played a role in this system . Climate patterns, pollution patterns, & ecological flows in/out of the SES are part of the Disasters that affected the system. (McGinnis and Ostrom, 2014). As needed, they were entered into my systems diagram.
Interaction(s) are interesting to view in the Loopy presentation. I can describe the human-environment interaction(s) as increasing negatively when negative events are at their height and the flows and the feedback show that Religion, as the topic of unification, shows strength despite the negativity of atheism., upon placement of arrows between the different stocks in the system. The outcomes are observed to be, from the beginning of Creation, following inadequate nutrition, disasters and radiation, as leading to birth defects. However, when religion is involved in the secure society, farming, and education it presents more security and eventually leads to atheism. When points are diminished it presents strength in religion, which lends to the theory that Religion is strong when disasters, birth defects, food shortages, etc are scarcer.. These are the outcomes of the interaction in the system when the model is run. This is validated in the report, because Harari et al (2015) recognize the importance of religion as a unifying force but acknowledge humanity has the free will to choose to be part of religion or choose atheism.
Link to my Loopy systems model : https://bit.ly/3H5tXsq
References
ABC News. (2016, December 29). Kansas parents of 2 girls with microcephaly … – youtube. youTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHzr0G-qZgo.
ABCNews. (2017, December 29). Tanzanian children lost limbs in brutal attacks for having albinism: Part 1. YouTube: Tanzanian children lost limbs in brutal attacks for having albinism: Part 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PKWoW0ZzIk.
CDC. (2020, October 26). Data & statistics on birth defects. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/data.html.
DW, D. (2019, December 9). Thalidomide: Still with US half a century later – youtube. Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc3nHrDEWs4.
Harari, Y. N., Harari, Y. N., Purcell, J., Watzman, H., Harari, Y. N., & Harari, Y. N. (2015). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind ; Homo Deus: A brief history of Tomorrow. Harper, An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers.
Mukhopadhyay, B., Shukla, R. M., Mukhopadhyay, M., Mandal, K. C., Haldar, P., & Benare, A. (2012). Spectrum of human tails: A report of six cases. Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons, 17(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.4103/0971-9261.91082
McGinnis, M. D., & Ostrom, E. (2014). Social-ecological system framework: initial changes and
continuing challenges. Ecology and Society, 19(2), 30. http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES06387-190230
Unification of Mankind: Cognitive Revolution
By: Sara Alemayehu
Time period: ~5000 BCE-1600s
Resource characteristics: boats, books, horses, currency (modes of transportation, means of passing knowledge, means of securing exchanges)
Governance/user characteristics: merchants, conquerors, prophets,
Social/economic/political settings: monarchies looking to extend their rule and their religion, merchants and tradespeople looking to secure a living and survive in a middle class life, societies developing new beliefs and philosophies
Interactions (human-environmental): greater understanding of outside climates, cultivation of land in producing products for trade, taming environment for transportation
Outcomes: conflict, cognitive dissonance, globalization, multiculturalism, unification
The cognitive revolution occurred from around the time of ancient empires to the Age of Exploration, with the time period of 5000 BCE to the 1600s constituting an era where civilizations formed and interacted with one another to form empires. According to Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, the first three actors to spur the Cognitive Revolution were merchants, conquerors, and prophets (Harari, 2011). This became the case as a result of monarchies looking to extend their rule and religion, of merchants and tradespeople looking to secure a living and survive with a middle-class life, and of societies developing new beliefs and philosophies. In order to support the spread of innovations, products, and ideas that came with the Cognitive Revolution, people had to forge means of transportation, means of passing knowledge, and means of securing exchanges. Consequently, old forms of transportation such as animal-drawn carts were utilized while new forms of transportation were developed, alongside currency for efficiency of trade and written texts for the transmission of ideas. Environmentally speaking, this era fostered a greater understanding of outside climates and environments, greater cultivation of land in producing products for trade, and greater domestication of land for developing travel routes. The main outcomes of the Cognitive Revolution involved conflict due to clashes between cultures, cognitive dissonance as part of settling differences, and globalization as seen in the era of ancient empires and continue to see today.
Loopy URL:
References
Yuval, H. N. (2015) Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind
Unification of Mankind
By: Artem Protsenko
Time Period: 2250 BC
Resource characteristics: As post agriculture revolution period takes place, human race starts forming a more complex society introducing artificial instincts and certain standards of behavior which allowed millions of strangers to cooperate effectively. Population is the key foundation resource of the mankind. Growing population is driving the demand for more material and non-material resources. This demand stimulates economy growth through production increase (agricultural and crafts), trade, transportation system, monetary system (Ancient, 2014). All these resources are interconnected and only synchronous development of them let the empire to demonstrate a sustainable growth.
Governance/user characteristics: The governance systems varied in both ancient empires and more modern ones. Rome empire went through the transformation from democracy in its early centuries to autocracy during its latest years (Brown, 2016). British empire on the other hand always existed as a mature democracy. The unification of all areas of people’s life was the main principle – from religion to trade rules (Britain’s, 2021). “It’s thanks to these two characteristics that empires have managed to unite diverse ethnic groups and ecological zones under a single political umbrella, thereby fusing together larger and larger segments of the human species and of planet Earth.”
Social/economic/political settings or related ecosystems: All kinds of imperial governances followed the similar sets of ruling principles for their empires: establishing unified legislation, same monetary system for all territories, development of transportation system, establishing same trade regulations. All those measures had to stimulate economic development and growth of population of the empires. Being diverse by its nature, empires benefited from multi-culture population – different nations and groups of people exchanged elements of culture from each other and such exchange stimulated economy growth and bonded the empire population (Foley, 2011. An example can be when British empire brought tea to India in 19th century and made it popular. It changed Indian agriculture and as a result, India became one of the world’s largest producers of tea.
Interaction(s): “An empire is a political order with two important characteristics. First … you have to rule over a significant number of distinct peoples, each possessing a different cultural identity and a separate territory…. Second, empires are characterized by flexible borders and a potentially unlimited appetite. They can swallow and digest more and more nations and territories without altering their basic structure or identity”. Cultural diversity is fed by constant expansion of borders. It improves the quality of elite and governing class, though it may bring tension in the religious unity of the empire, causing religious conflicts (Repez, 2020). Growing population and development of new territories stimulate the production of goods and food, transportation system and trade. All those can’t be achieved without strong governance via adopting the same legislation, polices and rules for trading, monetary system (Foley, 2011). Accumulating and distributing resources from the whole empire, the government invests in culture, science and other non-material assets that can drive society development, enhance production.
Outcomes: Every empire has a life cycle. The presented diagram shows the phase of empire’s growth and becoming mature. With proper governance it may be a very stable form of state as it’s fully self-sufficient and sustainable. The risks for empires are usually associated with external invasions and degradation of governance system. Ecological disasters may be also a serious threat – scientists are still discussing the reasons of Maya civilization sunset, but natural disaster is considered as one of priority reasons.
Link to Loopy:
References:
“Ancient economic thought.” New World Encyclopedia. 29 Aug 2014, 17:40 UTC. 8 Nov 2021. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Ancient_economic_thought&oldid=984035.
“Britain’s Road to Democracy: Slow and Not Always Steady.” HistoryExtra, 25 June 2021, https://www.historyextra.com/period/modern/britains-road-to-democracy-slow-and-not-always-steady/.
Brown, Zachary S. “How Democratic Was The Roman Republic? The Theory and Practice of an Archetypal Democracy.” Inquiries Journal 8.11 (2016). http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=1492.
Foley, R A, and M Mirazón Lahr. “The evolution of the diversity of cultures.” Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences vol. 366,1567 (2011): 1080-9. doi:10.1098/rstb.2010.0370.
Repez, Filofteia. “THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE PRACTICE OF INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS.” Bulletin of “Carol I” National Defense University, vol. 9, no. 1, 2020, pp. 68-73. ProQuest, http://mutex.gmu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/importance-cultural-diversity-practice/docview/2387129336/se-2, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.12753/2284-9378-20-10.
The Rise of Common Currency in Complex Economies
By: Jasmine Padgett
Time Period—The earliest known form of coinage as common currency, the Mesopotamian shekel emerged nearly 5,000 years ago around 650 – 600 BC. As Harari states, money was created in countless places at countless times throughout history to place systematic value on commodities.
Resource characteristics— Following the Agricultural Revolution, people continued to live in small self-sufficient communities which served as isolated economic units. As smaller villages grew and transport infrastructure expanded, people became aware of outside villages which held reputations for higher quality products. Due to environmental advantages such as soil type, climate, as well as technical insight, specialization was made possible giving people a reason to travel outside of their home village for commodities, losing their set relative exchange rate.
Governance/user characteristics— With the pool of producers and consumers expanding and cities forming networks of connections through improved transport infrastructure, a need for a common currency arose. Complex economies were formed as a direct result of product specialization and relative exchange rates. Because individuals could no longer find common value in differing commodities, common coinages were trusted to hold their value and be used as fair trading tokens. Through universal convertibility and universal trust, people give their governments and economic markets the power and responsibility of maintaining the value behind their currency on an inter-societal scale.
Social/economic/political settings or related ecosystems—As civilizations moved toward more unified, centrally led empires, complex economies developed to enable transactions across increasingly vast physical boundaries. Markets incentivized individuals to specialize in producing commodities in which they held competitive advantage. Those with access to environments conducive to wine production, focused on honing their technique and utilizing their surrounding resources to their fullest potential to motivate people from near and far to come buy their high-quality products. A common currency and coin-based economy aided these bargains since bartering exchange rates were not interchangeable or transferable.
Interactions—Humans began to shift their interactions with their environment due to changes in social systems. As the use of common currency and product specialization increased, individuals were less inclined to produce items fulfilling all of their needs independently. This put less stress on the immediate surrounding environment since more uniform means of production were employed.
Outcomes—Through increased transport infrastructure, growing cities and kingdoms, and thus an influx of consumers and producers interacting, product specialization and relative exchange rates led to the widespread use of money across numerous civilizations. Through this phenomenon, complex economies were formed, leaving behind simple, isolated economies based on barter and trade and the assumption of reciprocity.
Link to Loopy systems model: https://bit.ly/3mPMa50
Citations
Harari, Y. N., Harari, Y. N., Purcell, J., Watzman, H., Harari, Y. N., & Harari, Y. N. (2015). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind ; Homo Deus: A brief history of Tomorrow. Harper, An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers.
McGinnis, M. D., & Ostrom, E. (2014). Social-ecological system framework: initial changes and
continuing challenges. Ecology and Society, 19(2), 30. http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES06387-190230