[Zeebrommer]

'lie' is too strong a word perhaps, but 'story', in the sense that Harari uses it in Sapiens, is exactly what it is. A fiction, but not less real.

[antonvs]

That's a rather broad use of the word "fiction." It ends up classifying e.g. "Harry Potter" as having the same ontological status as "justice," which seems of dubious utility except possibly as a bit of hyperbole to sell books or blow people's minds at Ted talks.

It creates false equivalences, blurs important distinctions, and doesn't help people understand the nature of these concepts - rather, it obscures that nature.