Group reading and discussion of Chapter 8 - "There is No Justice in History"

(Why I’m doing this: This book blew our mind and we think it might blow your mind as well.)

[ Watch a 6 minute video by the author of this book (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ4eg7Zj5OY&feature=player_embedded) ]

This time we'll read Chapter 8 - "There is No Justice in History" (https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2k2oymuz7yqemRUR094WDFQREE/edit?usp=sharing) (I'll take the scan offline after the meeting).We'll bring copies of the whole chapter to the meeting. We'll all read it, marking portions that we find interesting and chatting about them in an informal manner. These conversations lead to deep investigation into the nature of humankind, where it came from and where it's going. FEEL FREE TO JOIN EVEN NOT HAVING READ THE BOOK OR THE CHAPTER. I'll bring some light snacks and drinks.

• ABOUT THE BOOK *

One of the Amazon reviewers sums it up nicely: “If the proverbial Martian were to write a history of Humankind, and s/he were capable of empathy, it might look something like this book.” (http://www.amazon.com/From-Animals-into-Gods-Humankind/product-reviews/1478237856/)

This isn’t a boring history book that speak of what happened in Rome in the year XYZ. Instead the author tells the story of humankind through its great episodes, such as agriculture, money, imperialism, religion, science, capitalism, industry. It’s as if you were to zoom out a million times and look at humankind from afar. You don’t see all of the details but a coherent story emerges (or at least the author describes it this way). To gain a new perspective on the world, it’s probably a good idea to understand more of how it became what it is. I think that this book is likely one of the most effective ways to do that.

In parallel to this book club, the author is running a free on-line class on Coursera, starting on August 11th. https://www.coursera.org/course/humankind