A discussion after Ishmael.

Our future and evolution.

Connor Forsyth
Sep 2, 2018 · 4 min read

Recently my good friend Natascha gifted me the book Ishmael by Daniel Quinn which proposes answers to questions regarding humanity’s place in the world.

I’m not going to review the book. However, it is beautifully written and incredibly fascinating. You are not required to have read Ishmael to make sense of this article. However, I do recommend picking up a copy all the same. Many people have vouched for the book as one of the most important books ever written.

In short, Ishmael divides humanity into two different groups; the Leavers, and the Takers. Takers are the dominant culture who seek progress, development and the ability to control the earth’s environment. Taker society began when humans gained the ability to control their food supply. Leavers, on the contrary, are those who; ‘take what they need and leave the rest.’ They live more simply and are best characterised as tribal, or nomadic groups.

Ishmael presents an array of issues with ‘Taker’ culture. For example; how Takers are not aware of the impact they are contributing to the surrounding environmental systems.

Ishmael essentially suggests:

The best hope for the survival of the Earth would be for humanity to revert back to a Leaver society.

While this is a highly romantic gesture. It presents a few ethical dilemmas which do not fit well in today’s world. While there is validity to the concept, it is improbable and unrealistic to assume all of humanity would adopt these ideas as gospel.

A small step towards Ishmael’s theory would be to suggest everyone to willingly give up smartphones to make us more conscious and connected in our everyday moments and relationships.

This could be a great thing in certain circumstances. However, smartphones aren’t inherently evil. The purpose of them is actually to allow us to be closer together. The problem actually lies in how humans manage their relationships with technology.

Instead of abolishing tech tools, humans require some serious workshopping to educate healthy relationships with technology. And advise appropriate guidelines for how this technology should be used to mitigate unhealthy habits arising.

I’m not suggesting laws and legislation should be implemented to impede on their recreational activities! In a perfect world, there would be no need for formalised laws to regulate the actions of individuals. People would follow an intuitive moral compass acquired through stories and experiences.

The utopian perfect world is where morality is absolute and agreed upon by all beings. This is what Ishmael suggests, and it not a viable proposition of this world.

In today’s age, a Leaver society is ethically challenging as it presents a ‘survival of the fittest’ culture as a centrepiece for human development. Darwinian style development is morally reprehensible and shouldn’t be looked to as a responsible course of action for humanity.

Without a mature knowledge of social interactions; Leaving disputes ‘as they are’ or letting them ‘pan out’ over their own accord mostly leads to ‘pack’ mentality, hate and discrimination.

Without a broad perspective and education on global issues; human psychology is stuck at the microscale. Not becoming someone's lunch, is our embedded priority. Therefore it is unrealistic to expect all of humanity will willingly compromise their individual security of survival by giving up their UberEats account to begin foraging in their local park.

It is vital to have responsible systems of government in place to look after the best interests of humanity and the world as a whole. There are different political philosophies aiming to solve these problems. And at the end of the day, they essentially all want the same thing. They just have different approaches to achieve this.

Due to man’s interference; evolution is no longer in the hands of god.

Humans, have dislodged themselves from the natural system, and with our godlike influence over the world; all the worlds ecosystem’s chances for evolution and development have been removed.

I agree. The traditional, organic sense of ‘evolution’ does not exist anymore due to humanity’s influence. However evolution is continuing, only it’s in the shape of something new.

In my eyes, humanity’s biological integration with technology is inevitable. Our trajectory certainly attests to this; we are all already cyborgs. Computers already connect our brains with the entirety of humanities of knowledge in only a few clicks away. It is only the bandwidth speed between the computer and the brain that needs to be improved until this becomes completely integrated and instantaneous. Whether this is a good thing or not, it’s only a matter of time before it happens.

Humankind’s mission is to conquer, to reproduce and to survive.

The biological integration of humanity and technology presents a plausible concept for human consciousness to survive indefinitely. Cells are continually dying and being replenished. Your consciousness has already transferred through a seemingly infinite amount of biological forms. Consciousness is always present, your consciousness from a minute ago has already died.

Consciousness is forever transferring, and there is a genuine possibility that our consciousness could eventually transfer into digital form. This would minimise the dependence of our food supply to the energy required to fuel our digital servers containing our consciousness. #uhohMatrix

In summation, I do not believe that evolution is dead. However, it’s certainly not perfect Darwin’s theory due to humanity’s influence and dominance over the earth.

The question is: Whats next? I certainly have a theory. However, I want to develop it a little bit further before sharing with you.

One thing is for sure; streamlining our evolution to digital consciousness will minimise the need for biological reproduction to survival and conquer. Therefore humanity’s pursuits and purposes are going to adapt.

If you want to read up on other sources which discuss Transhumanism check this out: https://bit.ly/2NI9DAX

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Connor Forsyth

Written by

• Melbourne Based • Life Based • Design Based • @connorwforsyth

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade