For a book that spends all but one of its chapters essentially demonstrating that the paradigms in which we live our lives by are not absolute and that we need to be less dogmatic and more tolerant, it’s odd that in the final chapter, Jerome Keating writes that we “must” adopt his suggested solution — which is to see Earth as a “global home.”
While setting aside our Earthly squabbles and seeing the planet as our house and the entire human race as our brothers and sisters is a noble idea, it’s very idealistic and brings up more questions than answers — which Keating acknowledges: “[This is] not a book of ultimate answers but one of questions, questions that nonetheless hope to make us consider where we as humans want to go.”
But it seems that Keating already has an answer in mind, and the questions that pop up after his final point is made revolve around how to carry out this shift in how the entire human race thinks and acts. These questions will presumably be discussed in Keating’s future work, as he promises that this is just the “first book in a series of short books on the human condition and predicament.”
The first six chapters introduce the idea of paradigms, how they can change and have changed and why we should question the current paradigms that drive people and the world. Keating uses the realms of physics, metaphysics and phenomenology to discuss the paradigms different people live by, and how adhering to them affect their lives and others. Tolerance is championed in a very lengthy and academic way — but it is well argued that nobody has the right to believe that their beliefs are absolute. Only when we stop being dogmatic can we can work for the greater good.
While it seems that Keating is repeatedly hammering home the same point in different ways, the book is still thought provoking. He even reminds the reader to reflect on several occasions: “At this point, readers can jot down what paradigms, visions or philosophy of life that they may still hold with dogmatic strength or certainty,” and so on. Each chapter finishes with a blank page for readers to record their thoughts.
While there are a lot of academic and philosophical concepts (along with pop culture references), Keating provides extensive explanations that make it digestible for the casual (but interested) reader.
However, one of the main ideas behind the book — the Kardashev Scale (Type Zero, Type One and Type Two civilizations and so on), in which Keating hopes that we move toward, only receives about half a page of discussion in the very beginning, but is frequently mentioned in later chapters, requiring the reader to do his or her own research.
Essentially, the idea (after we’ve set aside our differences) that our future destiny is in the stars — as Earth’s resources run out amid rampant consumerism and unbridled development, we will eventually self destruct. Keating (and Kardashev) suggests that the solution lies in expanding toward other planets, stars, galaxies and beyond.
Keating does admit that we are by no means ready for this move, and we must shift our paradigms to fix our planet and all that’s wrong with it first before looking outward.
The reader should probably try to suppress his or her inner cynic when they read the book. It’s a momentous task to even get one person to change his or her views on life, while Keating writes that “all people will hopefully see how they can change and develop” after understanding paradigms and paradigm shifts. Most people in the world don’t have the luxury to think about where human destiny lies, but Keating believes that this, too, can change with the “global home” paradigm, as eliminating poverty will become our “duty if we have regard for all family members.”
Finally, since this book is about raising questions, it’s not too far-fetched to wonder what we would do once we unite as a human race and expand beyond Earth. What happens if we run into an alien civilization that competes with us for resources? This situation mirrors what has been happening for millennia, with small tribes putting aside their differences to form confederations and countries, finally colliding with another civilization that’s doing the same thing.
Will we be so forward-thinking by then as to treat these aliens as “family” too? Or will history repeat itself on an intergalactic scale?
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