Daniel Quinn Shares What His Thoughts on the ‘Meaning of Life’

Daniel Quinn has a very different way of thinking about this world, it's history, and how we got to the point where we have gotten, than most people do. His way of seeing things is radically different than almost anyone else in this world, and he has a way of writing and reasoning that has greatly influenced many people with simple logic and deduction. He has rewritten the entire history of this global culture of ours, and identified where he believes we went wrong, and how we took a sick idea and not only made it seem normal and natural, but held it high, as the very mission statement of our global culture. Each individual country seems to have it's own version of this myth, but these nonetheless represent an extension of the myth, rather than any degree of real separation.

Quinn's writing is indeed powerful. His deduction of our culture's history, particularly emphasizing the stories in Genesis that we thought we knew so well, and redefining them completely, has been described by quite a few people as the version that finally makes sense of the story. His conclusions about the de facto mission statement of the culture that emanated from that, and which has subsequently taken over the world (which he defined as "Takers" in Ishmael, the work for which he is likely best know) easily identifies the error in our ways of thinking and doing things, with the particular emphasis on our automatic and unquestioning assumption of superiority and entitlement.

In essence, he argues that we are our own worst enemy, and our capacity to be completely convinced of our own superiority in this world, and by extension, of our divine right to rule over it as we see fit, without restrictions or limitations, has led us to a world that is overpopulated by human beings that have collectively exhausted the world's precious natural resources. We are bound for some kind of a disaster, although we tend to conveniently turn this uncomfortable topic of conversation away, to ignore what is increasingly becoming obvious: that what we are doing simply in unsustainable.

He would like us to avoid disaster, to change our ways while there is still time. However, he does not have great faith that we will, and his writings suggest that our managing to avoid disaster is nothing certain.

Indeed, Quinn brings a unique perspective, one hard to ignore once you get acclimated with it.

That makes what he has to say about things fascinating, and when I saw that he had written a couple of pieces on the meaning of life, it was definitely something that would be worth sharing here.

So, here it is, the meaning of life, in two parts, according to Daniel Quinn, one of the great thinkers and writers of our time:



Daniel Quinn: Another Interpretation of the ‘Meaning of Life’ BY NICOLAE TANASE ON MARCH 28, 2016:

https://excellencereporter.com/2016/03/28/daniel-quinn-another-interpretation-of-the-meaning-of-life/

Daniel Quinn: Another Interpretation of the ‘Meaning of Life’ (part 2) BY NICOLAE TANASE ON APRIL 5, 2016:

https://excellencereporter.com/2016/04/05/daniel-quinn-another-interpretation-of-the-meaning-of-life-part-2/