This is part of a series of posts representing ideas from the book, Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn. I view the ideas explored in Ishmael to be so important to the world that it seems everyone should have a chance to be exposed. I hope this treatment inspires you to read the original.

Chapter FIVE is where Alan presents the final part of Taker mythology: about why things are the way they are. This chapter is presented in seven numbered subsections, beginning on page 77 of the original printing and page 81 of the 25th anniversary printing. The sections below mirror this arrangement in the book. See the launch post for notes on conventions I have adopted for this series.

1. Defeating the Big Risk

According to the beginning and middle parts of the story, humans have arrived on the planet and are ready to fulfill their destiny: the conquest is in full swing. So: how does it end?

Alan admits that while we have almost completed the mission of subduing the planet, we’re not quite finished. In fact, the loose ends might spell our demise! The campaign has resulted in lots of collateral damage.

…in spite of all the mastery we’ve attained, we don’t have enough mastery to stop devastating the world—or to repair the devastation we’ve already wrought.

Despite knowing that we’re killing the living world with toxins, we continue and even accelerate our spewing of them. Despite knowing that finite non-renewable resources are a dead end, we continue “gobbling” them at breakneck speed. This surely can’t go on much longer before something breaks—within this century, in all likelihood.

Deep breath. We have an ace card. We have the potential to establish greater control: “until our rule is absolute.” Now Alan rattles off the standard futuristic fantasy about unlimited clean energy, control of the weather to the point that we don’t “waste” rain over the ocean, near-infinite crop yields, and all life on this planet in the care of our competent hands—like puppets on strings held by almighty masters.

We therefore have no real choice but to press on. So magnificent is the dream that it may be worth the gamble of destroying the world for the prospect of ruling the paradise this world was meant to be under our mastery. If we’re successful, we will be unstoppable. Next destination: the conquest and rule of space. “That’s how wonderful man is.”

2. Origins of Peril

Alan’s crisp capture of modernity’s ethos (above) resulted in a rare gesture of appreciation from Ishmael. He observes that the sense of planetary peril is somewhat new: that the default assumption even a half-century prior was that the human-crafted world would continue improving indefinitely, at no serious cost.

Yet, something is still missing in the construction of the Taker premise. So far, we have:

The world was made for man to conquer and rule, and under human rule it was meant to become a paradise.

But… this statement obviously precedes a “but.” What is the “but?” Well, Takers realize that the world perpetually fails to live up to its “paradise” billing. This “but” has been present all along—even before the Takers’ destructive power assumed planetary scales. It is invoked to account for “warfare and brutality and poverty and injustice and corruption and tyranny…famine and oppression and nuclear proliferation and pollution.”

Alan has trouble pinning it down, finally offering: “But people screwed it up.” Why? Because according to Taker mythology, humans are fundamentally flawed—forever exhibiting “stupidity, greed, destructiveness, and short-sightedness.”

3. Flawed Humans

Asked if this notion that humans are intrinsically flawed is wrong, Ishmael declines to argue with mythological beliefs, as a futile exercise. Instead, he asks how Takers came to this conclusion: what evidence backs up the claim?

Alan suggests that it’s from our history of screwing up. Yes: but what history, Ishmael asks? Alan admits that it is Taker cultural history, spanning only several thousand years.

This is an incredibly powerful point. Sweeping statements about humans as a species are not well justified when based on a mere 0.5% of all of human history. Echoing a proverb: one culture does not a species make.

It all depends on the story being enacted (the defining premise of a culture). Enacting a flawed premise will produce flawed results. If the story elevates humans to superior, conquering, ruler status, then it should not be surprising if such people one day will find the world “bleeding to death at their feet.” A story that places humans “in accord” with the rest of the world will live in accord with the rest of the world.

4. Only Prophets Have Answers

Takers are obsessed with the “divine” word of prophets (e.g., Moses, Buddha, Jesus, Confucius, Muhammad). Leavers, on the other hand, do not tend to adhere to the teachings of exalted people. Ishmael establishes, through Alan, that Takers rely on prophets to tell us how we ought to live because without that guidance we simply would be clueless and adrift.

Ishmael pushes on this point: why is it that we would not know how to live without a prophet’s revelations? Using the hot-button topic of abortion as an example, Alan recognizes that no argument will be “powerful enough to end the argument.” Valid counterarguments abound. Without the authority of a prophet’s word, it is not possible to know the right thing to do.

This seems ironic to Ishmael: that we can access the power of the nucleus, walk on the moon, and clone a sheep but the most basic knowledge [seemingly available to all other life on Earth] of “how to live” eludes us. Asked why this would be, Alan offers: Mother Culture insists that some kinds of knowledge are simply unavailable.

And this next bit from Ishmael so neatly captures one of my main themes of late [I was surprised to discover it here, but it must have made a sub-conscious impression in a previous reading]:

In other words, the best you can do—since there’s nothing ‘out there’—is consult the insides of your heads.

[Hello, meat-brains!] A passing comment following this point reflects on democracy as a giant brain-consulting apparatus.

Alan staunchly defends the notion that such knowledge simply is not there to be found. Ishmael finds this to be a stunning state of affairs. For all our scientific inquiry, this is one forbidden area that not only isn’t explored: it is proclaimed to be devoid of content prior to even looking.

5. Cluelessness as the Flaw

Ishmael draws a connection between the Taker-assumed fundamental flaw in humans and the observation that Takers don’t know how to live. Alan agrees that if humans knew how to live, part of the package would be how to handle fundamental flaws in humans. Given this connection, maybe it would be fair to say that the fundamental flaw is, in fact, that Takers do not know how to live. [Note that this is not a flaw in humans, but in a particular culture.]

6. A Pathetic Story

Ishmael summarizes the tale. The world was made for humans to turn into a paradise, but they inevitably screw it up. This might be avoided if only humans knew how to live on the planet, but such knowledge is completely unobtainable. Thus, we are stuck to this fate.

It amounts to a sad, desperate story of futility. All we can do is watch ourselves destroy the world, helpless to do anything about it. Yuck. Ishmael muses that given such a dismal story to enact, it is no wonder so many turn to addictions and escapism, or even commit suicide.

Alan is finally curious to know if there is “another story to be in.” Yes, Ishmael says, but the Takers are doing their level best to eliminate the remnants of that story along with the rest of the living world.

7. Are Answers Even Out There?

Ishmael notes that he has been pointing out elements of our culture hidden in plain sight—like tourist attractions that locals don’t even notice anymore. The next step is to find information on how humans ought to live. Except, our culture does not acknowledge insights originating from anywhere but our own thoughts. Therefore, it is pointless to venture beyond the boundary of our own mental confines [the bars of our cage]. Ishmael announces that the next step is to courageously tromp into this forbidden landscape, despite Alan’s misgivings that anything is to be found.

Next Time

In the next installment, Chapter 6 uses analogies to gravity and aerodynamics to help appreciate the contours of the Law of Life, and how humans are not exempt.

I thank Alex Leff for looking over a draft of this post and offering valuable comments and suggestions.

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