Mini Decoding: Yuval and the Philosophers

Join us for a mini decoding to get us back into the swing of things as we examine a viral clip that had religious reactionaries, sensemakers, and academic philosophers in a bit of a tizzy. Specifically, we are covering reactions to a clip from a 2014 TEDx talk by Yuval Noah Harari, the well-known author and academic, in which he discussed how human rights (and really all of human culture) are a kind of 'fiction'. Get ready for a thrilling ride as your intrepid duo plunges into a beguiling world of symbolism, cultural evolution, and outraged philosophers. By the end of the episode, we have resolved many intractable philosophical problems including whether monkeys are bastards, if first-class seating is immoral, and where exactly human rights come from. Philosophers might get mad but that will just prove how right we are. Links The original tweet that set everyone off Bananas in heaven | Yuval Noah Harari | TEDxJaffa Paul Vander Klay's tweet on the kerfuffle An example of a rather mad philosopher Speak Life: Can We Have Human Rights Without God? With Paul Blackham (The longer video that PVK clipped from) Standard InfoWars article on Harari