Saving the World

Teacher seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person.
-- Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn

Have you ever wanted to save the world? Or just felt trapped in a world you don't want to live in -- or wondered whether we're worth the destruction we cause?

Daniel Quinn's books -- Ishmael, The Story of B, Beyond Civilization, and more -- suggest that this isn't the only way things can be. That our civilization is merely a deviant offshoot of humanity, and not humanity itself. That the loneliness and stress so many people feel, our destruction of species and ecosystems, and the other ugly aspects of our everyday life are all part of our society, and not written in human nature. That our fatal flaw is merely in our worldview, and not in our destiny; and a worldview can be changed.

Does Quinn propose a utopia? No. He proposes a social structure and worldview that have worked for so-called "primitive" people the world over. He proposes a way of life that isn't perfect or blissful or saintlike -- but one that works and will continue to work if left undisturbed. If you want to know more, you can get one of Quinn's books, go to his website, read this introductory essay by Don Neeper, read my list of common misconceptions about Quinn's ideas, and check out my list of links.

Another thought from Quinn: The world will not be saved by old minds with new programs, but by new minds with no programs at all. In other words, people aren't likely to halt environmental destruction with new and better protection programs, but they can do it by changing the way they relate to the world.

Of course, Quinn doesn't have a patent on his fairly understandable ideas, nor is he the leader of our revolution. We can learn about these ideas and express them ourselves, like stories that are told and retold and passed on to the next generation. The more these ideas become part of our culture and our ways of thinking, the closer we come to saving the world we live in. With this in mind I have created the World Hall, an area of the Gallery intended for writing and art influenced by or relevant to Quinn's writings. View other people's work; so far there are a few pieces up. Please submit your own works (by email or through the Guestbook) and express your own worldview, your difficulties living in civilization (and beyond), and your hopes for the future.

Daniel Quinn's main website, The Ishmael Community , contains quotes from his books, the texts of his speeches and other writings, and a question and answer database -- resources that will help you learn about his ideas in greater detail. The Ishmael Community Forum has a message board for friends to communicate and debate different ideas, and so does the Ishmael Discussion and Links site.

"But what can I DO?" is the question everyone asks when they learn things like this. It's obvious that we can't go on doing exactly what we did before, knowing what we do now. I've listed many ideas for things we can do (though my list is hardly complete).

Another common question is "How can I learn more? And how do I know what he's saying is right?" Research might be a start. Go to my list of links, list of books and resources, and list of alternative booksellers.

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This section was last altered (slightly) March 28, 2001.

Go to EcologyFund.com and SaveRainforest.net and click the buttons on each site to save tiny amounts of land, free. (And check out more sites in the Links section.)

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