[Looking for opinions]
Hello Everyone!
I recently finished reading “Ishmael” by Daniel Quinn and boy, it was amazing! What a thought proving read! (Highly recommend reading it if you haven’t already had the chance). The idea of the ‘Takers’ and the ‘Leavers’ way of life expounded in the book is simply iconoclastic, to say the least.
‘The world doesn’t belong to Man but Man belongs to the world’ is the basic premise on which the story works out and the fact that this profound wisdom is imparted by a Gorilla (a seemingly less intellectual primate than humans) makes it all the more interesting!
However, this is where I would like to get some opinions from the members of this group who have read the book or would like to contribute nonetheless.
‘How does Man, who has evolved, especially intellectually, in a pragmatic materialistic world of today, be subjected to the same laws of nature so to speak, and be expected to behave or lead a life where he has absolved all or most of his cognitive abilities and let go of all the purported control that apparently gives meaning to his life? Isn’t the ‘evolved’ human brain a strong differentiator and probably an Achilles’ heel in leading a life the Leavers’ way?
Perhaps, the book has already answered this in some way. In that case, I have clearly missed it.
Looking forward to reading your thoughts on this.
Thank you 🙂
by Scribe_of_God
1 Comment
good book, really changed my world view.
I suggest you read the sequel “The Story of B” as well. That and the forewards/afterwords of both books might help answer your questions.
It’s been a while since I read both, and the 3rd “My Ishmael” is sitting on my “to read” pile, so I am a little fuzzy on the details.