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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. When stating that "modern science differs from all previous traditions of knowledge in three major ways" (250), Harari states that one quality of modern science is "its centrality of observation" (251) and its centrality of what other element?

2. Part Three of Sapiens is entitled "The" what "of Humankind" (162)?

3. In what year was King Richard the Lionheart struck by an arrow, leading to his death two weeks later?

4. Since around what year have most humans lived in empires?

5. Around what year did the first money appear in the world?

Short Essay Questions

1. What connections does Harari draw among capitalism, modern science, and the emergence of European imperialism?

2. When Harari claims that "credit was not invented in modern Europe" (315), what does he say about its origin instead?

3. What distinction does Harari make between biological poverty and social poverty?

4. What is the definition of the term "memetics" (242) and how do most scholars in the humanities feel about it?

5. Discuss Harari's treatment of the phenomenon of imperialism.

6. What evidence does Harari use to demonstrate the profound effect that empires and their belief systems have had on history, even among those cultures that consider themselves anti-imperialist?

7. What is Harari's view of capitalism and what are two counterarguments he addresses?

8. What is Harari's message regarding people's tendency to discriminate against outsiders?

9. What flaw does Harari point out within the philosophies of Postmodernist thinkers?

10. What evidence does Harari provide for his assertion that "the practices of empire-builders were entangled with those of scientists"? (296)

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Yuval Noah Harari's book Sapiens employ the use or rejection of fallacy and how does the inclusion or discussion of fallacy help the author to prove particular points made within the text?

Essay Topic 2

How does the author's use of the first and second person point of view serve the text’s purposes over the course of Yuval Noah Harari's book Sapiens? Discuss how the author's choice of point of view helps to advance the treatment of at least three particular themes within the text.

Essay Topic 3

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

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