Proposal Questions for Takers

I suppose that John D. Ramage's idea "What should we do about this thing?" would be able to tie in with Ishmael's lecture. In his lecture, the Takers seem to make the world for only one species, humans. If Takers find any difficulties for humans in the world, they improve it and require advantage and benefit for only them. For this statement, I would like to insist that the people's criterion for worth and value is different and depending on the society, the community, the world that they live in. As an example, I introduce one of my experiences in the activities of a Non Profit Organization in the slums in Cambodia.

In fact, the organizations that are active in the slum are not only our organization but also other organizations from several countries. Because our main field is Japan, even though the active slum is in Cambodia, we are always hard to observe the then current situation of the slum. Actually, although our stay is often long, we cannot visit Cambodia more than twice or three times in a year. Anyway, two years ago, when we visited a kind of school in the slum, there was a rebuilt school building from one of the other organizations. Although we already knew the information in Japan, we still could not expect what kind of things would happen in the school because we were apprehensive about the material of building from woods to bricks. Of course, the children seemed to be please with the new one because they always wish to contact any new matters and information which is things from so-called "developed countries".

However, there happened a problem when temperature inside of the school building warmed up, because the building had windows of glass in spite of the material, bricks. Furthermore, it did not have even air-conditioner inside of the building because of the restricted supply of electricity. Of course, the temperature in the country is always really hot. Therefore, there was a problem that every class could not work because the student could not concentrate on the lecture.

Ishmael insists that "So now we have a clearer idea what this story is all about: The world was made for man, and man was made to rule it" (p.72). We would be able to figure out the statement that we tend to consider what the good things for us must be also good for everyone. However, Ramage explains that "That is, ask yourself, For whom is the problem a problem? Who is paying the cost of the problem? Who will benefit from the solution? And who will pay the cost of the solution?" (p.120). That is, I believe that a good thing for some is not always necessarily adaptable for others. Even though our technologies have much advantage for Takers, they could not be adapted to other animals. That is, we should evaluate from not only our point of view but also from other different position.

Finally, I also post the pictures of Today's class. These pictures will introduce new students in my university. Till now, I have really enjoyed this class and learned so many things. I will never forget everything about this class. It became my precious memory in the United States. Thank you to everyone.