If you’re looking for truth, odds
are you’re going to end up trampling on someone else’s truth somewhere along
your quest. Prime example: the age-old tension between science and faith, which
is readily apparent in Cat’s Cradle.
On page 36:
“Magic,”
declared Miss Pefko.
“I’m sorry
to hear a member of the Laboratory family using that brackish, medieval word,”
said Dr. Breed. “Every one of those exhibits explains itself. They’re designed
so as not to be mystifying. They’re
the very antithesis of magic.”
Breed is
offended that Miss Pefko reduces the work of scientists to miracles and
inexplicable phenomena; however, someone like Miss Pefko might be disenchanted
with science’s sterile and jargon-laced approach to the universe’s wonders.
Similarly, San Lorenzan president “Papa” Monzano shuns Bokononism (or at least
pretends to) and names Frank Hoenikker as his successor because he “has
science.”
But what if
you decide that you need neither faith nor knowledge to be the central tenet of
your life? In short, what if you decide that knowing “the truth,” is not only
impossible, but unnecessary?
This is how
I see the religion of Bokononism: an apparatus for coping with daily life, a
manufactured set of beliefs presented as just that, a choice between miserable
poverty and slightly-less-miserable poverty. Bokonon seems to make the point
that’s it’s perfectly all right not to seek truth—simply settle on whatever
works best for you. Because really, what difference
does it make? If our lives are predetermined, or if there’s no such thing
as free will, or we’re all just tiny marionettes existing on the head of a pin,
or if we’re all just chillin' out in bathtubs with tubes sticking out of us,
Matrix-style—if any or all of those things are true, will I (or whatever I identify as “I”) still wake up tomorrow,
eat breakfast, and go to class? Yeah, probably. Bokonon’s approach seems
practical, and I kind of like it. Maybe mankind is overthinking things, and the
only real happiness and truth we need can be found in a session of really
intense footsie.
Your description of Bokononism is spot-on. How can you go wrong (or right[?]) with a religion / philosophy that so readily embraces its contradictions? Sweet, sweet lies indeed. Does anyone know where one might procure a book of Calypsos?
ReplyDeleteBokonoism reminds me of naturalism, which is the belief that nothing exists besides the natural universe and if it does, it has no affect on the natural universe. The similarity is that you can't think too hard about things that do not necessarily involve you. The whole concept of this "religion" makes my head spin because by creating this way of life, Vonnegut is making point to blur the lines of fact and fiction within his story. When you say, "it's perfectly all right not to seek truth" I feel as if that encompasses the whole book and class because you have to find variations of the truth that you are able to relate to.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find most interesting about Bokononism is the fact that it is a religion centered around no central religion. Yes, there are key tenants of Bokononism, but at the center of it is a sense of emptiness that each believer fills with what they need. I believe here that Vonnegut is just trying to stretch the definition of religion to its furthest and prove just how nonsensical a religion can be and still have followers. Despite all this though, I am up for a choose-your-own-beliefs religion; I think the world could use a little less structure in that department.
ReplyDeleteI just realized our posts follow a similar theme. Needless to say, I completely agree with your take on Bokononism. The gist of Bokononist practice in my opinion is thinking about the impossible as if it were possible, and accepting that nothing is "absolutely true." Spending time searching for answers and explanations is pointless because they do not necessarily exist.
ReplyDeleteFollowing off of what others have said, not only does there seem to be no need to know the truth, but pursuing the truth in a scientific manner is purposefully put down. While people call Frank Hoenikker a great man, they also whisper "monster" behind his back. Also as you mentioned Mary, science's approach to discovering truth seems to have turned off ordinary people from science, a reaction evident in the behavior of the secretaries. The pursuit of scientific truth not only seems unnecessary but also unwanted.
ReplyDelete