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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. For how long did humans feed themselves "by gathering plants and hunting animals that lived and bred without their intervention" (77)?

2. How does Harari define elements of society such as prisons and concentration camps?

3. The Code of Hammurabi served as a cooperation manual for hundreds of thousands of what?

4. Species that have evolved from a common ancestor are grouped together under what heading?

5. To what event is Harari referring when he names Chapter 5 History's Biggest Fraud?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Harari define the term history?

2. Discuss Harari's suggestions regarding the use of humility when considering human history.

3. Discuss the significance of the author's focus on fictive language.

4. How does the author emphasize his view that societal orders are imagined?

5. For what purpose does the author include a table at the start of the text that presents a timeline of human history?

6. What types of examples does Harari provide when he discusses concepts that help to structure order and cooperation, but do not actually exist in tangible form?

7. For what purpose does Harari make particular points about extinction in the final passages of Chapter Four?

8. What evidence does the author provide for his claim that what is beneficial to the species as a whole is not always beneficial to individuals?

9. What does the author state about the negative effects of agriculture on the human race?

10. What is the function of a template for collective action within a society?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the significance of three of the text's main symbols. How do these symbols connect to the work's overall themes and messages?

Essay Topic 2

What ultimate message is Yuval Noah Harari's book Sapiens sending about the future of the human race and how does he go about sending this message to the reader?

Essay Topic 3

How is the theme of subjective well-being portrayed in Yuval Noah Harari's book Sapiens? Examine the author's treatment of and messages regarding subjective well-being throughout the book.

(see the answer keys)

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