Quote:
Originally Posted by Gideon
I don't believe these books are available in eBook format, but I'm anxious to get some other viewpoints about these books and hopefully, bibliophiles that we are, others have read them.
I read Ishmael a couple of years ago, and just finished reading The Story of B for a class I'm TA-ing (it's being used as a sort of intro book for a lower division class on meaning and culture - just something approachable to get some of the less trained students in the game.)
At any rate, finishing the Story of B I was really left with exactly the same impression I had of Ishmael... "Hmm... that sounds about right, I suppose. Now what?" Now, letting go of all the factual issues.. his essential thesis is the way we are living is not a way that can sustain us indefinitely. Pretty easy to agree there. And the books are long explanations of that from evolutionary and cultural perspectives....
But Quinn never actually gives you anything to work with in the end! It's great that someone is explaining some of these problems (I suppose) but "Now what?"!! The best I can gather is he is suggesting some sort of neo-tribalism, which is clearly out of the question. And thus his ideas more or less become nonsense.
Anyway, that is my frustration. I'm anxious to hear other ideas.
|
Having read all three in the series I can only agree with you. Definitely left with a feeling of "yeah that's great and totally spot on but what do we do about it?". Unfortunately Quinn doesn't seem to have any suggestions in that direction, or at least no concrete workable ones.
Obviously the main point Quinn was driving at was the fundamental difference between how "tribes" view the world and how we in "modern culture" have come to view the world. His idea of Takers and Leavers. At the crux of this difference is the
false belief we in modern culture seem to hold so dear that states how we live, the path we have taken, etc is just "human nature", implying that it can be no other way. His examination of this belief in the light of the fact that tribal societies have lived for thousands of years, and continue to do so today, quite differently to us is an attempt to open the readers mind to the possibility that things can be different. This is the first step in finding a solution to the problems we are faced with.
I think the books work very well in that regard. Many I know who have read the books have been left with the same feeling of "what now?" but they have also been left thinking about the issues and thinking about what they may do personally to make a difference. Hopefully as this idea/message spreads, someone might eventually read the book and be prompted to think of the issues and might just be the person who does come up with a workable suggestion.
Cheers,
PKFFW