My Ishmael Calliope part 2

Question one: How is Ishmael using the word anthropomorphism in the text on page 82?

Answer:  I guess it's because I think he's saying humans think themselves to be above everything else.  That we see our selves 'better' than all other life forms because of our intelligence.  It's described to say that humans want everything for any(one/thing) must be earned under our conditions, and since animals do not comprehend this system of ours they tend to think it's every one's land.  We see that if you do not earn whatever you have through our system then you are some kind of threat.  For example most of our trading and exchanges are through money and that is how we earn what we have.  Since animals are incapable of doing this than we see them as 'value less'.

Question 2:  In this chapter Ishmael leads us through the evolution of the Awks on planet Calliope. They start out as Awks and then some evolve into Bawks and then a few evolve into Cawks. These Cawks live in tribes and have a cultural heritage. They practice the strategy of ‘Erratic Retaliation’.

Part A:  How does Ishmael define ‘Erratic Retaliation’? How does it work in the case of then Cawks?

 Ishmael defines erratic retaliation as a peacekeeping system for the Cawks because it is a way of serving justice for what one member has done to another.  It allows them to settle the two individual's rather than having the situation explode and get two whole tribes at each other.  The Cawks developed it so people would get what they deserve but keep it down to a certain limit and keep the whole race from eradicating it's self.  

Part B:  Why is Erratic Retaliation a peacekeeping method?

Erratic retaliation could be considered a peace keeping method because it allows the Cawks the ability to control a dispute amongst parties (creatures, tribes etc.).  By doing so problems can be solved without destroying too much or killing to many other creatures

Part C:  Why don’t the Cawks just annihilate each other (instead of just doing the occasional attacks?

The Cawks might be separate from each other since they separate into tribes but they do not annihilate each other because they cannot continue their species inside of just one tribe.  Their tribes are too small to reproduce between the people in that one group.  They need the other tribes to find more mates and keep the race going.  If they killed each other and one tribe was the final victor then they would be forced to mate with a small amount of other Cawks and keep it to a minimum.  As long they do the occasional attacks a tribe can establish its dominance and still have more breeding options. 

Ishmael blog post

Question 1: What are Ishmael’s two general rules on how to identify people from our culture? Do you agree with Ishmael when he says that people from all over the world are part of the same culture? Why or why not?

Answer: Ishmael defines people 'from our culture' as normal humans, and people who live in around the same general area.  However I don't think that people from all over the world are part of the same culture.  We all have different values and ideas for different things such as food and architecture.  We all have the same needs like food, shelter, and water.  Different cultures view different things as beautiful or bad or ugly, so we don't all belong to the same one, we have different religions that change our ideals or way of ever day life.  The definition of culture is : The quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.  Not every country's ideas are the same as another, not every country views the same art as beautiful or modern, not every country has the same mannerisms like "thank you" or "hello" or shaking hands.  

Question 2: Ishmael disagrees with Mother Culture’s voice that says that humans are inherently flawed. After reading through page 66 of My Ishmael do agree or disagree with him? Why?

I actually agree with what Mother Culture says in the book, humans are inherently flawed.  Humans are not perfect and I really feel what is stated in the book about humans not being so simple they do not seemed flawed, but we are not high and mighty enough to develop some Earth saving machine.  This put it into perspective to see how we are flawed.  We do not have the intelligence to solve the big problems like wars and world hunger but we can make life a bit easier and give our selves some luxuries.  We do not have any technology that can save us.  So I disagree with Ismael, when Julie mentions the perfection of simpler creatures how they are so basic they live because they are adapted to the simple life

  

Question 3: Ishmael uses a parable of Tunes and Dancers to explain his idea of Takers and Leavers. Who are these Takers and Leavers and how do they relate to American culture?

Answer: I guess the Takers in the book are kind of like everyone here in the U.S.A because we are all consuming and getting it only from working.  Just like the dancers in the story they work for what should be given to us simply because it is a human necessity (in this case it would be food) and we shouldnt have to work for.  In which case just like us we work for things we should get anyway.  The leavers in this society are more like the criminals.  They choose to abandon the laws of the people they live with and try somthing crazy, for better or worse.  

Sustainability

1. What does it mean to live sustainably?

To live sustainably would mean to able to live in a manner where all your needs are taken care of and is at least some what enjoyable.  It would mean you have obviously some hard times but it means you are content with what you have available.  If you live sustainably that mean would you have all that you need.  It could also fall into the category that you get everything you want (materialistic), but that's a little more than sustainably.

2. How much freedom and independence do you have as a 14-16 year old in our society?

In our society 14-16 year olds have a pretty decent amount of freedom.  At 16 you get to drive a car and in our school epically we get a lot of freedom to do what we want.  At around 14 most people tend to give us more freedom but more responsibility in order to help us learn for when we go off to college and/or start a life of our own.  The responsibility we get at around this age tends to increase as we get older.  All in all people in this age group tend to get a pretty good amount of freedom and at the same time responsibility.

3.As a 14-16 year old, how can you currently live your life more sustainably?

In the age group of 14-16 there are many ways to live your life more sustainably.  You could get a job and try get your money rather than asking your parents for money that way you give your parents more spending money for food, mortgage etc.  Also I guess working hard at school could also help with that because then it helps with college and could be considered a investment for the future.  You could also use less energy or find some other way to cut down on the resources you use thus saving your guardians some money.