21 Lessons for the 21st Century

In 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Yuval Noah Harari lays out a chilling vision of humanity's predicament. He argues that liberalism, which emphasizes the importance of liberty and freedom in political and economic life, became the predominant ideology of the 20th century but is inadequate to manage the global challenges of the 21st century posed by nuclear weapons, emerging technologies, and impending ecological changes. Instead, tribalism in the form of nationalism, religion, and culture threatens to divide humanity against itself, leading to such problems as intolerance, war, and terrorism. The solution, Harari claims, is to avoid relying too heavily on any one narrative and instead to strive to see the world as it truly is. To do so, we should remain humble, seek reliable sources of data, understand our limitations and biases, and be ready for change.

As the title indicates, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is divided into 21 chapters, loosely organized in five parts, with a brief introduction, endnote references, and an index to round out the page count. Part I: The Technological Challenge asserts that artificial intelligence and mechanization will radically change the nature of human work, as well as enable human behavior to be thoroughly understood and eventually controlled, and these changes will worsen inequality. Part II: The Political Challenge analyzes the emergence of a global community and the limits of that community, identifying different ways in which tribal interests have divided humanity along nationalist, religious, and cultural lines. Part III: Despair and Hope describes the potential conflicts of terrorism and war and proposes that we inoculate ourselves against these threats by being humble and skeptical of both religious and secular dogmatism. Part IV: Truth delves into the “posttruth” world, explaining that the proliferation of unfiltered information undermines our ability to detect factual and moral truths. Part V: Resilience suggests that, to make our way forward, we must first understand ourselves, learn to think critically, and strive to minimize suffering rather than adhere rigidly to any particular narrative or doctrine.

The author, Yuval Noah Harari, has a PhD from the University of Oxford and is a historian and lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His other books are Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. Whereas Sapiens focuses on humanity's past and Homo Deus focuses on humanity's future, 21 Lessons addresses contemporary issues.

21 Lessons is well-written and accessible, and deals with many topics of current vital concern. Although it can at times be difficult to trace the thread across different sections of the book, the prose flows well and reads smoothly. The book's central theme is that the stories we have told to make sense of the world(political stories, scientific stories, religious stories, personal stories) are failing to account for the massive changes that have occurred in the last few decades. As a result, people are vulnerable as they struggle to develop stories to understand their new realities and can be drawn to restrictive ideologies that offer the allure of a straightforward and simplified view of a complex and shifting society.

Although 21 Lessons is of general interest, it has little relevance to forensic psychiatry specifically. Some of the issues discussed are tangentially related. For example, Harari speculates about the implications that an improved understanding of neuroscience and human decision-making will have on free will and personal choice. He also discusses the importance of narrative in helping people forge meaning. This emphasis on narrative will be familiar to forensic psychiatrists, who are routinely tasked with ascertaining and conveying the arc of a person's experiences. Whether writing a report explaining how a traumatic childhood contributed to a defendant's offense conduct or testifying about the profound effects of psychiatric disability on an individual's day-to-day life, forensic experts recognize the powerful impact a well-crafted narrative can have.

Ultimately, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a worthy read, not because it deals with topics in psychiatry or law, but because it articulates the big problems facing the global community, problems that will require the talents of scholars in many disciplines, including forensic psychiatry. Readers will likely disagree with some of Harari's claims and conclusions, but the book provides a digestible and absorbing entry into these vexing matters.

• © 2020 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law