HUMAN EXISTENCE

PRESENT AND FUTURE (PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTIONS ON THE IDEAS OF Y. N. HARARI)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the concept of Y. N. Harari on the evolution of humankind, its current state and prospects for future development, set out in his works "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" and "Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow". Harari offers quite original ideas about the main stages of civilization. He emphasizes that the development of humankind has been determined by three revolutions: cognitive, agrarian and scientific. The first revolution led to the emergence and spread of the species Homo Sapiens; the second – determined the relationship between man and the environment; the third is capable of bringing to an end the history of humankind, and of beginning a new history to which man, as he/she now exists, may no longer have any relation. In this regard, Harari addresses purely philosophical issues. He reflects on what is the essence of man, what is the meaning of his/her life, what should he/she strive for, where is the line between man and superhuman forms of existence, how will society change in the future, what are the global challenges facing humanity now? As a result, Harari concludes that the urgent task of modern humanity has been to find immortality, happiness and superpowers that can turn people into gods. In a sense, this transformation has already begun. Thanks to unprecedented scientific and technological progress, humanity has been able to intervene in the development of nature and man (cognitive sciences, bioengineering, etc.). People change the world and nature as they want, but the main problem is that people don't really know what they want. Harari sees the main task of today in the fact that a person should think about the question – what he/she really wants. Thus, Harari's reflections touch on global philosophical problems, which are especially relevant today, and therefore deserve close attention of scientists.