--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sapiens instinctively divide humanity…" description: "\"“Sapiens instinctively divide humanity into two parts, ‘we’ and ‘they’. We are people like you and me, who share our language, religion and customs. We..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/yuval-noah-harari-100_humanity_sapiens-instinctively-divide-humanity-in_2973589.jpg" --- # Sapiens instinctively divide humanity into two parts, ‘we’… ![“Sapiens instinctively divide humanity into two parts, ‘we’ and ‘they’. We are people like you and me, who share our language, religion and customs. We are all responsible for each other, but not responsible for them. We were always distinct from them, and owe them nothing. We don’t want to see any…” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/yuval-noah-harari-100_humanity_sapiens-instinctively-divide-humanity-in_2973589.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/yuval-noah-harari-100_humanity_sapiens-instinctively-divide-humanity-in_2973589.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/yuval-noah-harari-100_humanity_sapiens-instinctively-divide-humanity-in_2973589.jpg) > ““Sapiens instinctively divide humanity into two parts, ‘we’ and ‘they’. We are people like you and me, who share our language, religion and customs. We are all responsible for each other, but not responsible for them. We were always distinct from them, and owe them nothing. We don’t want to see any of them in our territory, and we don’t care an iota what happens in their territory. They are barely even human.”” [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans instinctively split into “us” and “them,” feeling responsibility only toward their own group while dehumanizing outsiders. **In simple terms:** People divide into groups and ignore others’ suffering. Key Takeaway Recognize shared humanity. Themes identity division responsibility empathy inhumanization Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - politics - workplace - online communities - international relations Key Concepts social psychology in‑group bias ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What drives us to see others as less human? - How can we foster broader empathy? A Different Perspective Overcoming deep‑rooted biases is difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divide Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divide-humanity-806434/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humanity Parts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-parts-4589456/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Sapiens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sapiens/) [Sapiens Instinctively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sapiens-instinctively-4589457/) ## Related quotes > [What I am learning from my experience as someone who grew up as a refugee, who became French, and then became American is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-elmasri/what-i-am-learning-from-my-experience-as-someone-who-grew-up-as-a/) [Yasmine Elmasri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-elmasri/) > [My urgent advice to you would be, not only always to think first of America, but always, also, to think first of humanity. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/my-urgent-advice-to-you-would-be-not-only-always-to-think-first-of/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [By any reasonable measure of achievement, the faith of the Enlightenment thinkers in science was justified. Today the greatest divide within humanity is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/by-any-reasonable-measure-of-achievement-the-faith-of-the-2/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [And just as the terrorist seeks to divide humanity in hate, so we have to unify it around an idea. And that idea is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/and-just-as-the-terrorist-seeks-to-divide-humanity-in-hate-so-we-have/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [“Religions don't divide humanity but it's fanatics, politics and power hungry politicians that do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-abraham/religions-don-t-divide-humanity-but-it-s-fanatics-politics-and-power/) [Amit Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-abraham/) > [I knew that the moment the great governing spirit strikes the blow to divide all humanity into just two opposing factions, I would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/i-knew-that-the-moment-the-great-governing-spirit-strikes-the-blow-to/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [We are probably one of the last generations of Homo sapiens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/we-are-probably-one-of-the-last-generations-of-homo-sapiens/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Seventy thousand years ago, Homo sapiens was still an insignificant animal minding its own business in a corner of Africa. In the following millennia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/seventy-thousand-years-ago-homo-sapiens-was-still-an-insignificant/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [When the first humans reached Australia about 45,000 years ago, they quickly drove to extinction 90% of its large animals. This was the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/when-the-first-humans-reached-australia-about-45-000-years-ago-they/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“But humans do such things all the time. Because the Sapiens social order is imagined, humans cannot preserve the critical information for running it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/but-humans-do-such-things-all-the-time-because-the-sapiens-social/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Humans nowadays completely dominate the planet not because the individual human is far smarter and more nimble-fingered than the individual chimp or wolf, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/humans-nowadays-completely-dominate-the-planet-not-because-the/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“How can we distinguish what is biologically determined from what people merely try to justify through biological myths? A good rule of thumb is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/how-can-we-distinguish-what-is-biologically-determined-from-what/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Ceauşescu and his cronies dominated 20 million Romanians for four decades because they ensured three vital conditions. First, they placed loyal communist apparatchiks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/ceau-escu-and-his-cronies-dominated-20-million-romanians-for-four/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Sapiens don’t behave according to a cold mathematical logic, but rather according to a warm social logic. We are ruled by emotions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/sapiens-don-t-behave-according-to-a-cold-mathematical-logic-but/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“To understand the rise of Christianity or the French Revolution, it is not enough to comprehend the interaction of genes, hormones and organisms. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/to-understand-the-rise-of-christianity-or-the-french-revolution-it-is/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More by Yuval Noah Harari > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Today the main source of wealth is knowledge. And whereas you can conquer oil fields through war, you cannot acquire knowledge that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-main-source-of-wealth-is-knowledge-and-whereas-you-can/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/how-do-you-cause-people-to-believe-in-an-imagined-order-such-as/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I think the basic thing that happened is we have lost our story. Humans think in stories, and we try to make sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/i-think-the-basic-thing-that-happened-is-we-have-lost-our-story/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas chimpanzees spend five hours a day chewing raw food, a single hour suffices for people eating cooked food. The advent of cooking enabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-chimpanzees-spend-five-hours-a-day-chewing-raw-food-a-single/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“the Chinese air-purification market is booming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-chinese-air-purification-market-is-booming/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas liberalism merged with the milder versions of nationalism to protect the unique experiences of each human community, evolutionary humanists such as Hitler identified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-liberalism-merged-with-the-milder-versions-of-nationalism-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Corporations, money and nations exist only in our imagination. We invented them to serve us; why do we find ourselves sacrificing our lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/corporations-money-and-nations-exist-only-in-our-imagination-we/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Small children in affluent societies often dislike showering, and it takes them years of education and parental discipline to adopt this supposedly attractive custom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/small-children-in-affluent-societies-often-dislike-showering-and-it/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. Organic parasites, such as viruses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/ever-more-scholars-see-cultures-as-a-kind-of-mental-infection-or/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Soviet Communism was a fanatical and missionary religion. A devout Communist could not be a Christian or a Buddhist, and was expected to spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/soviet-communism-was-a-fanatical-and-missionary-religion-a-devout/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas religion asks us to believe in something, money asks us to believe that other people believe in something”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-religion-asks-us-to-believe-in-something-money-asks-us-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Terrorists are like a fly that tries to destroy a china shop. The fly is so weak that it cannot budge even a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/terrorists-are-like-a-fly-that-tries-to-destroy-a-china-shop-the-fly/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker increases his profits by paying employees less and increasing their work hours? The standard answer is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/yet-what-happens-if-the-greedy-shoemaker-increases-his-profits-by/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“A natural order is a stable order. There is no chance that gravity will cease to function tomorrow, even if people stop believing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/a-natural-order-is-a-stable-order-there-is-no-chance-that-gravity/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Explore all 1,200 Yuval Noah Harari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More Humanity quotes > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“Is it necessary to recall that the earth is not infinite, and that our civilization is close to having invaded all of it? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-tarde/is-it-necessary-to-recall-that-the-earth-is-not-infinite-and-that-our/) [Gabriel Tarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-tarde/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Once the switch of parenthood is thrown, it changes you for ever & you can never escape the extra pull of humanity it gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hammond/once-the-switch-of-parenthood-is-thrown-it-changes-you-for-ever-you/) [Richard hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hammond/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. Secondarily, he made close acquaintance with phenomena which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/he-grew-away-from-old-associations-and-saw-something-new-in-life-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [He is not humanity deified. He is not Godhead humanized. He is God. He is man. He is all that God is, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/he-is-not-humanity-deified-he-is-not-godhead-humanized-he-is-god-he/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-must-not-lose-faith-in-humanity-humanity-is-like-an-ocean-if-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 9,796 Humanity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sapiens instinctively divide humanity into two parts, ‘we’ and ‘they’. We are people like you and me, who share our language, religion and customs. We are all responsible for each other, but not responsible for them. We were always distinct from them, and owe them nothing. We don’t want to see any of them in our territory, and we don’t care an iota what happens in their territory. They are barely even human.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yuval Noah Harari" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/sapiens-instinctively-divide-humanity-into-two-parts-we-and-they-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Humanity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/sapiens-instinctively-divide-humanity-into-two-parts-we-and-they-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/yuval-noah-harari-100_humanity_sapiens-instinctively-divide-humanity-in_2973589.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/yuval-noah-harari-100_humanity_sapiens-instinctively-divide-humanity-in_2973589.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/yuval-noah-harari-100_humanity_sapiens-instinctively-divide-humanity-in_2973589.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sapiens instinctively divide humanity into two parts, ‘we’ and ‘they’. We are people like you and me, who…” — Yuval Noah Harari", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Yuval Noah Harari", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Sapiens instinctively divide humanity into two...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/sapiens-instinctively-divide-humanity-into-two-parts-we-and-they-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/sapiens-instinctively-divide-humanity-into-two-parts-we-and-they-we/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```