Ishmael
- The central importance of myth, including the fact that we are so immersed in the myths of our own culture that we are scarcely aware of it and the fact that such awareness can only come when we explore alternative mythology.
- The nature of evolution and natural history which is not a march toward perfection in the form of man and does not somehow culminate with the arrival of man.
- The tension between the Biblical view of man and that presented in other world-views, especially the role of man versus the environment.
All this will appear as heady stuff for anyone who is otherwise uninformed about these issues. However, I'm reminded about what is often said about Freud: What is true isn't new and what's new isn't true.
In the category of things true, I think the most important is the role of the story or myth that underpins a culture. This certainly is true, but Quinn has a very shallow understanding of the issue and gets it hopelessly muddled. He presents only two myths, both rather artificial -- those of the Taker and the Leaver. Those new to the subject will go away with the impression that they have been armed for their boozy philosophical battles with the knowledge that everybody but a select few believes in the (wrong) "Taker" myth and needs to have the (fictional) "Leaver" myth rammed down their throat. In fact, there are hundreds of different current mythological frameworks alive and kicking on this planet. What is needed is a general understanding of how this works. For example, understanding American exceptionalism as a myth is essential for understanding the daily news. The myths of democracy, socialism, capitalism, sustainability and "Nature" powerfully affect the daily lives of ordinary people and the best laid plans of our leaders. All of the major religions offer a mythical framework -- usually a whole range of alternative mythical frameworks. The battles between and within religions over their conflicting world views and the battles between religions and evidence based-frameworks (Science) will wage on endlessly until there is a general understanding of the nature and importance of myth. Sadly, Quinn makes no contribution to this larger project.
Quinn seems to be under the impression that the "Leaver" myth, essentially that man is a part of nature and in no way fated to dominate it is some kind of big secret. It is, however, a living and vital part of many modern cultures including those of the First Nations in my own country, Canada. This world view is not confined to threatened cultures. It underpins all of the mainstream Scientific world view popularized by such authors as Carl Sagan and Stephen J. Gould.
In the category of things new bot not true, the most important is that central thesis of the book, which is a re-hash of the oldest and most misguided myth of them all: that the world is facing immanent destruction and the only way to save it is to go back to the pure beliefs and practices of an idealized golden age. In the Quinn version of this ancient fable, pollution, overpopulation, resource depletion, destruction of biodiversity are not just serious problems but signs that a catastrophe of Biblical proportions is upon us. The end of the world is literally right around the corner. But wait! Quinn has the solution! Go back!
If Quinn had more than a passing acquaintance with the subject of mythology, he'd instantly recognize his own thinking for what it is. Quinn is donning the ancient role of doomsayer. The reasons why doom is immanent always seem to be fresh and new. The escape from doom is always to go back to the golden age. To make his fictional world view plausible, he must employ the standard prophet-of-doom toolkit: over-simplification, historical manipulation, crackpot interpretation of ancient writings, supernatural forces at work etc. He must rely on the vague sense of dread among his followers, along with their sketchy grasp of relevant facts. To boost his own importance (and the self-importance of his disciples), Quinn must present his vision as something nobody else sees -- promoting that clubby feeling of a shared secret. Nobody is worth talking to unless he's intimately familiar with all the crackpot theories, special terminology and cherry-picked facts that make up the fabric of the true vision of the world. As always, the prophet offers the solution to return to a completely idealized and fictionalized lifestyle of our ancient forefathers.
Grand theories of history always seem to have an undertow of inhumanity and violence, and Quinn's is no exception. In the here and now (not some future apocalypse) many people face famine and starvation. To Quinn, this is just a consequence of natural law (as discovered by Quinn himself). It is a mistake for the rest of the world to feed these people. They will just go on breeding like rabbits and the problem will just get worse. In fact, we know that lifting the living standards of a population decreases the birth rate and that there is good reason to suppose that global population will peak at around 9 billion (still a bit scary) then decrease as living standards improve. To be sure, the problem is complex. It bristles with an annoying number of facts that cannot be deduced from first principals. But by recommending that millions be allowed to die because that's what your historical theories demand, Quinn reminds us how dangerous crackpot prophets can become.
Stripped of all the rhetorical devices and the wisdom of a telepathic gorilla, Quinn is telling us that:
In the category of things new bot not true, the most important is that central thesis of the book, which is a re-hash of the oldest and most misguided myth of them all: that the world is facing immanent destruction and the only way to save it is to go back to the pure beliefs and practices of an idealized golden age. In the Quinn version of this ancient fable, pollution, overpopulation, resource depletion, destruction of biodiversity are not just serious problems but signs that a catastrophe of Biblical proportions is upon us. The end of the world is literally right around the corner. But wait! Quinn has the solution! Go back!
If Quinn had more than a passing acquaintance with the subject of mythology, he'd instantly recognize his own thinking for what it is. Quinn is donning the ancient role of doomsayer. The reasons why doom is immanent always seem to be fresh and new. The escape from doom is always to go back to the golden age. To make his fictional world view plausible, he must employ the standard prophet-of-doom toolkit: over-simplification, historical manipulation, crackpot interpretation of ancient writings, supernatural forces at work etc. He must rely on the vague sense of dread among his followers, along with their sketchy grasp of relevant facts. To boost his own importance (and the self-importance of his disciples), Quinn must present his vision as something nobody else sees -- promoting that clubby feeling of a shared secret. Nobody is worth talking to unless he's intimately familiar with all the crackpot theories, special terminology and cherry-picked facts that make up the fabric of the true vision of the world. As always, the prophet offers the solution to return to a completely idealized and fictionalized lifestyle of our ancient forefathers.
Grand theories of history always seem to have an undertow of inhumanity and violence, and Quinn's is no exception. In the here and now (not some future apocalypse) many people face famine and starvation. To Quinn, this is just a consequence of natural law (as discovered by Quinn himself). It is a mistake for the rest of the world to feed these people. They will just go on breeding like rabbits and the problem will just get worse. In fact, we know that lifting the living standards of a population decreases the birth rate and that there is good reason to suppose that global population will peak at around 9 billion (still a bit scary) then decrease as living standards improve. To be sure, the problem is complex. It bristles with an annoying number of facts that cannot be deduced from first principals. But by recommending that millions be allowed to die because that's what your historical theories demand, Quinn reminds us how dangerous crackpot prophets can become.
Stripped of all the rhetorical devices and the wisdom of a telepathic gorilla, Quinn is telling us that:
- Humanity has been incredibly successful, especially over the last 10,000 years. Our success threatens to outstrip the resources available not just for our own use, but for the use of a vast number of species who compete with us either directly or indirectly for those resources. Well, duh.
- Without anybody realizing it, all modern cultures (which are all the same and all blindly followed by everyone) are dominated by the myth that nature has been created for our use. This pits Man in an endless and futile war against Nature. We will ultimately destroy the planet with this futile and misguided pursuit. Nobody except Quinn realizes this is going on and the only solution is to embrace Quinn's understanding of the world view of pre-agricultural, pre-technological societies (which are all pretty much the same).
Point #1 has been obvious for centuries. Point #2 sells books.
Comments
Post a Comment