Ethics in Ishmael by David Quinn - Book Report/Review Example

Ethics in Ishmael by David Quinn In Ishmael, Daniel Quinn uses a gorilla to gain insight into humanity and cultural views that shape a person’s outlook and perception of the world. The novel encompasses an unnamed narrator who also acts as the story’s main character. The story begins with an article from a newspaper advertisement seeking students who have a deep yearning to save the world. The narrator is initially skeptical and satirically views the notion of saving the world as absurd and ridiculous. Through the narrator’s views towards the advertisement, we get the impression that his or her cultural perspective is indifferent towards saving the world because perhaps he or she does not see any problem with the world as it currently is. Quinn uses a pantheists approach by using a gorilla, who is non-human to effectively criticize human civilization without the risk of looking or sounding hypocritical. Ishmael is endowed with abilities that are uncommon in non-human beings, these include attributes such as intelligence, ability to communicate through speech and understand human being’s speech patterns in communication. In addition, Ishmael has a profound understanding of the imperfections of human beings, his or her existing culture and solutions to these problems. The gorilla’s cultural identity as a captive to human beings provides him a distinctive perspective to the human condition of captivity. According to Ishmael, human beings are as much captives of their own civilization as gorillas are to the same human beings. This is because contemporary human beings’ cultural mindset coerces them to destroy the world they live in in order to sustain a comfortable life by their standards. Ishmael pokes fun into human beings for their destruction of the very environment that they depend on; Ishmael’s captivity enhances his ability to portray human beings as captives to their own way of survival (Ishmael, p. 15-17). The aggravation that gorillas experience through human beings’ destruction of the natural world, results in rapid loss of gorilla’s natural habitat. Ishmael’s advertisement in the newspaper sought students willing to embrace change in their cultural mindset to one that is ready to embrace new environmental laws which will protect the environment and by extension gorillas’ natural habitat. He seeks people who recognize that recycling such as newspaper recycling is paramount to solve the problem of environmental degradation. In his dialogue with the protagonist, Ishmael brings out human beings’ apathy towards issues pertaining saving the world; human beings are culturally predisposed to destroy their environment and do not seem to care that the habits have diverse effects on both their kind and other beings that depend on the world for their survival. Ishmael teaching techniques is one which serves to replace human beings’ perception to the world from a taker perspective to a leaver culture. The taker perspective destroys the world with giving no consideration to the benefits it affords mankind and other beings, whereas the leaver approach encourages a culture of saving the world through people’s actions such as ensuring that the environment is conserved. Human beings have the freedom to rule over the world which also entails other beings such as wild life. The exercise of freedom by human beings ensures that they undertake ventures that either save or destroy the world. Freedom is a standard that affords human beings the ability to perform activities which are destructive to the world they live in According to Ishmael, there is no one right way to live, however, our way of life has far reaching effects on the way other beings live and how both humans and other beings will live in the future (Ishmael, p.26). Freedom comes with moral obligations, which have to be fulfilled for sustainable living and protection of the world. According to Ishmael, human beings should use their freedom and dominance over the world attains the wellbeing of all other creatures that inhabit the world. By embracing their moral obligation to protect the world, they will be protecting the environment and the world in general. People do not need prophets to tell them how they are meant to live, Ishmael asks why human beings require someone’s guidance on how to live when they possess all the intellect and freedom to do what they can to protect and save the world for future generations of all species. Human beings have a moral obligation to maintain the freedom and integrity of other species for as Ishmael explains, five severed hands cannot make a hand thus gorillas and other animals cannot help in protecting and maintaining the world’s glory while in captivity. Though trial and error methods may be effective in the establishment of a culture that promotes responsible living, it is paramount that human beings come up with a well thought of plan to save the world and protect other beings from the devastating effect of unsustainable living. Ishmael’s educating regiment is centered on shifting the cultural mindset of cultures such as the Western culture which believes that the world was made for man alone, and it thus belongs to him affording him the privilege of doing as he wishes, whenever he wants. This mythology in cultural perceptions is so profound that human beings cannot accept it as myth but rather view it as the inherent truth which should not be questioned, but rather maintained. Ishmael is successful in portraying that such cultural mindset and mythology is not the only possible one as there are alternative cultures such as the leaver culture which entail differential views to the world and existence as being pegged on actions. Such cultural perceptions depict mankind as the enemy of the world. Ishmael insists that is it inherent that human beings shift from the taker ideology and adopt the leaver system which allows for the survival of all other creatures other than humankind (Ishmael, p.39) In order to accomplish Ishmael’s vision for a sustainable world for all creatures, human freedom should be used to support and maintain the world. It is paramount that we need to shift from the taker culture to one that encompasses a leavers perspective. Human freedom is a two sided coin where one side portrays the positive effects of freedom while the other entails negative effects of freedom. Here, we note that human freedom in consumption may permit him to wantonly destroy the environment with the view to achieving supplies needed for its survival. Human beings may incorporate misuse of resources in their consumption of matter found in the world. Food, which is found in both plants and animals, is essential for human survival. However, misuse of freedom to access such food may entail actions that are destructive to the environment; actions such as destruction of forests to facilitate land availability for agricultural purposes. Such acts destroy the world and it is thus paramount that we establish a culture which promotes the protection of forests, and maintenance of the world’s resources for the benefit of all of the world’s inhabitants. We need to incorporate into our education systems the benefits of saving the world and upholding the rights of all its inhabitants. Education on the adverse effects of deforestation and forest degradation should be done is all levels of education; from early classes to the highest levels of education. Such education should encompass the comparison of the world, as it was a few decades back and how the world is now. Such factors as global warming and extinction of species from human encroachment into their habitats and destruction of the said habitats should be dealt with in a more educational manner. Through education, the current and future generations will get insight into the proper and morally upright ways to live which do not impede other creatures’ rights to existence and survival (Ishmael, p. 43). Global ethics on the importance of sustainable living and inclusion of other beings into the survival based mindset will allow for ensuring that other creatures’ rights to freedom and survival are not infringed. Moral codes, which encourage human beings to view the world as not only belonging to them but rather as a world where all beings are meant to live and enjoy themselves should be preached and upheld all over the world. Ethical codes will prohibit acts such as cruelty towards animals, destruction of their natural habitats and placing animals under captivity to further human beings need for economic gain. According to Ishmael, people need to feel scolded and guilty for any action that might have a damaging effect on other creatures of the world. The premise of the leaver culture should be embedded in cultural upbringing to ensure future generations accommodate all creatures in an effort to save the world and maintain the human race and other creatures’ existence and survival for many years to come (Ishmael, p.54). However, saving the world will also encompass political action from the elite. Setting up of rules and policies that criminalize actions that destroy the world is the first step to achieving our goal to save the world. Legislatures need to implement rules and laws that prohibit destruction through, for example, pollution of the environment. Pollution is a global issue that has led to crises such as global warming and inadequacies in food and water rations all over the world. While we may seek to achieve monetary gain through industrialization and development of systems that promote pollution, it is essential that human beings realize that they can play the roles of both destroyer and saver to the world. Economic gain should be measured against the maintenance of the environment rather than simply money gained. As Ishmael argues, civilization does not permit human kind to live as if it owns the world, but rather it should use its civilization to help enrich the world. Change does not only come from laws imposed on us but through switching our cultural mindset to save the world and accommodate other creatures. Such actions will not only save other creatures but our future generations, as well (Ishmael, p.19). Work cited Quinn, D. Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit. USA: Bantam/Turner Books. 1992. Print. Read More