Summary of Slavoj Žižek & Yuval Noah Harari | Should We Trust Nature More than Ourselves?

00:00:00 - 00:40:00

Slavoj Žižek and Yuval Noah Harari discuss the idea of humans trusting nature more than themselves. They say that we don't understand nature properly, and that this also goes back to our understanding of ourselves. They discuss the idea of morality, and say that in many cases, morality can be found in the moderate areas. They also discuss the idea of using nature for either good or bad purposes, and say that there are always other options available when choices must be made. They end the discussion by warning against extremism in any form, including deep ecology.

• 00:00:00 The two speakers discuss the idea that humans and nature are binaries, with humans being "bad" if they violate the laws of nature. Slavoy Zizek says that we should be suspicious of both humans and nature, and the big question to ask is whether something causes suffering.
• 00:05:00 Slavoj Žižek and Yuval Noah Harari discuss the idea that humans are a product of nature, and how humans can be indifferent to the damage that they do to the environment. Žižek argues that humans must accept their role in the world, and that nature is always changing.
• 00:10:00 Slavoj Žižek and Yuval Noah Harari discuss whether nature is good or bad. They agree that anything which is possible is also natural, but they disagree on what makes something good. They both agree that ethics ultimately is about suffering, and they ask a reflexive question: is good itself good?
• 00:15:00 The video discusses the views of two thinkers on the concept of nature - Slavoj Žižek and Yuval Noah Harari. Žižek believes that Buddhism does not interest him in God, and that after Buddha's death, when Buddhism became a state religion in some Indian states, the first compromise was made - that Buddhists should not kill other people. Harari, a self-described atheist, says that without religion, humans simplify things and that, according to him, good people can do bad things because they need something like religion to make them do so. He also comments on the idea of nature being complicated, and points out that we do not understand it fully.
• 00:20:00 Slavoj Žižek and Yuval Noah Harari discuss the idea of whether humans should trust nature more than themselves. They say that we don't understand nature properly, and that this also goes back to our understanding of ourselves. They discuss the idea of morality, and say that in many cases, morality can be found in the moderate areas. They also discuss the idea of using nature for either good or bad purposes, and say that there are always other options available when choices must be made. They end the discussion by warning against extremism in any form, including deep ecology.
• 00:25:00 The video discusses the idea that humans should take care of nature, and how this is similar to the rhetoric of America being the police of the world in the 2000s. It also discusses the idea that, in the case of humans, care of nature may not be the best idea because nature is unpredictable.
• 00:30:00 Slavoj Žižek and Yuval Noah Harari discuss the idea of treating the earth as a resource and whether or not we should be treating nature with moderation. They both feel that this is complicated because we are on the verge of creating the first inorganic life forms, and this raises the question of responsibility.
• 00:35:00 Slavoj Žižek and Yuval Noah Harari discuss Stalin's attempt to create a perfect worker using apes and vaccinations, and the potential consequences. Žižek argues that while we may have faith in humans to do the right thing, we don't understand what they are capable of and it's dangerous to manipulate them before we understand their full potential.
• 00:40:00 The speaker discusses how machines may enslave humans, and how Stalinists predicted this would happen. He thanks the speakers for their talk, and points out that the solution is simple - some people will have money, and others will not.