Man seldom appreciates greatness in its time. I choose to defy this convention; Niadu: The Dawn of the New Muntu or The War of Ideas, is a great piece of literature. A masterpiece. A step towards rational living, individualism, and the highest realms of freedom.
The following are my thoughts, understanding, interpretation, misinterpretations and reflections on the book.
Must we, as humans, be connected to something greater than ourselves? Something or someone superior. Supreme. A god.
As a student of human nature and evolution, I struggle to find how this came to be and how it helps our progression as a species. Niadu talks about the genesis of a new man—the New Muntu. Man becoming a god. Could this be the ultimate solution? A fully rational hominid, optimally self-aware, the highest form of himself. He bears no need for a higher being. This is a compelling promise.
Who decides the ideas to be supported? Those that need propagating. Is it the state? If so, what is meant by ‘the state’? Must we have one? An institution of human conditioning. A group of people decide for others what is right from wrong, and they choose what is allowed and what is prohibited independent of logic.
Someone might argue the need to be indoctrinated and to indoctrinate others is innate and inescapable. It courses through our veins. We want to believe in something together as a group. Each member is to bear absolute and unquestioning loyalty to the tribe. “I have no logical defense in what I believe in, but I believe in it because my family does,” says a member of such a group/tribe.
Do we only fight to break free from one doctrine to create another? A better one. Where the new man is sovereign. Completely rational. Immune against degenerative memes. A god slayer. Is this not a doctrine in its very essence? A new course. A progressive culture replaces a regressive one. This, I would embrace.
What is the role of human nature in our tendency to embrace mediocrity? Are we too weak to accept strong ideas? To accept rationality and live by it. To what extent can we be irrational? Maybe some people are to be stupid. They are statistically selected to represent the extremes of irrationality. I cannot help but entertain such a thought. Think about it. Probably it has crossed your mind. Every sphere of life demands to be filled. Every idea demands propagation. Ideas speciate the mind to ensure their survival. Can we just let stupid ideas be?
The book promises a new man, indifferent beings devoid of human nature as it has hitherto been understood. Is it the only way to rise above irrationality? Killing weak ideas.
How long will it take? How will we get there? Future gods will exist because the New Muntu will allow them to. Present gods exist and have existed only because we have let them. We support their prevalence. Withdrawal of support could/will lead to their death in human culture. A ‘war’ worth fighting in.
Let us talk about morality. Where do you draw the line between morality and logic/science? Is morality inherent? Evolutionarily programmed into us by the forces of life. Can morality be explained empirically? Can it be predetermined? Predicted? What fuels behavior? Why do we believe in what we believe in? Such questions torment my mind. Humanism seems like a good answer.
Lend me your thoughts about the above statements and questions. Above all, feel appreciated in this, our time. It is through you I began to read philosophy. And now you are writing it.
Dangerous is the man who can write. Putting words into thoughts coherently is a superpower. For this, I salute you.
A Few Words from the Author Ridge F K
I believe that the anxiety I had set out to establish by writing Niadu is expressed wholly in this review by James. We must properly/scientifically indoctrinate/educate our fellow beings. Understanding the origin of concepts such as morality is one of the surest ways of seeing through the veil of lies that past generations accepted unquestioningly. I would recommend that you read BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL by Friedrich Nietzsche.
The trick has always been asking the right questions and being patient enough to get an unbiased answer that can be reproduced almost perfectly in the minds of other rationalists.
Thanks for the review; it motivates me to keep advancing science and free thinking.