The World's Best Book Summaries
What was the Reverend Wright controversy? What did it have to do with Barack Obama? The Reverend Wright controversy took place in March 2008, a critical time during Barack Obama’s campaign. Obama addressed the controversy, which included an inflammatory speech. Read more about the Reverend Wright controversy below.
What was the 2009 inauguration like? How did Obama prepare for his presidency and life in the White House? The 2009 inauguration was historic. With it, Barack Obama became the 44th President and the country’s first African-American head of state. Read more about the 2009 inauguration.
What was the role of President Obama in the Iran Nuclear Deal? What was the deal and how did it happen? The Iran Nuclear Deal was when multiple countries, including the U.S., imposed sanctions on Iran in order to stop them from developing nuclear weapons. President Obama lead the negotiations with Iran, Russia, and China. Read more about President Obama, the Iran Nuclear Deal, and what it meant for the U.S. and the world.
How did the Obama administration handle the BP oil spill? How did the disaster in the Gulf affect his presidency? During the Obama administration, the BP oil spill occurred. It was one of the largest maritime disasters in history, and was a substantial crisis for the Obama administration. Read more about the Obama administration and the BP oil spill.
Is organized cooperation a uniquely human feature? What is the psychology behind mass human cooperation? Humanity has a much greater ability to communicate and cooperate than any other species. According to Yuval Noah Harari, the ability of humans to cooperate is the result of humanity’s knack for storytelling. Storytelling allowed us to create “imagined orders” which make mass cooperation possible. Keep reading to learn about the psychology of mass human cooperation.
What is liberal humanism? What are the central values of the liberal humanist ideology? Liberal humanism is a philosophy that values individual freedoms above all else. For a liberal humanist, every human perspective matters. Because of this, they run into problems when valid, but differing perspectives clash. Keep reading to learn about liberal humanism.
What are the two schools of thought in western culture? How should we decide what is moral and what is morally acceptable? Is there such thing as universal morality? As western civilization developed, questions around morality emerged. Two schools of thought became the most prominent: deontology (Kantian ethics) and utilitarianism. Both, however, are at odds with how human psychology works. Keep reading to learn more about the two schools of thought.
What is an imagined order? How are imagined orders created? An imagined order is essentially a rule or restriction that people believe to be real, even if it’s not grounded in an objective reality. Imagined orders are a by-product of the human search for meaning. As people imbue imagined realities (e.g. stories about divinity) with meaning, imagined orders are created in the process. Keep reading to learn about the concept of an imagined order.
What is the negativity bias? How did the negativity bias stem from evolution? The negativity bias is the tendency for us to perceive and interpret events in our lives with pessimism. This stems from evolution because we are wired to dislike and fear bad things more than we like good things. Keep reading for more about the negativity bias.
How and why was organized religion created? What role did the invention of writing play in the creation of religion as a centralized system of belief? According to Yuval Noah Harari, the main impetus to the creation of religion as a centralized system of belief was actually the invention of writing. Writing allowed leaders to create a universal holy text to validate the story of divine guidance for the masses to follow. Keep reading to learn about the creation of religion.