From an early age, author Karmak Bagisbayev has pondered the purpose of human life. In this book, he presents his ideas cast in the form of a dialogue between the author and an unconventional God.
The fundamental law ruling human life, claims Bagisbayev, is “the Law of Gene Preservation,” the urge in living beings to pass on their own genes. The author interprets a range of human behaviors, from monogamy, to gender roles, to homosexuality, in light of this genetic imperative to reproduce.
Bagisbayev speaks like a biological determinist until the second part of his work where he presents his “Law of Freedom of Choice,” which gives human beings an inalienable right to choose their own path. The author’s world moves between the twin poles: the need to procreate balanced with our faculty of free will. His “Law of Humandynamics” states that freedom will increase over time.
The book’s third section reinterprets traditional religious beliefs in light of the author’s three Laws.
Using dialogue to make philosophy a more entertaining read is a strategy as old as Plato, and this format allows the author to introduce humor and social commentary into his work. He appears to be sowing the seeds of an atheistic faith while offering a set of solutions to his own lifelong questions, perhaps in search of readers who share them. But this goal is only implied, and some may wonder what he ultimately hopes to achieve in creating these dialogues with God.
Nonethless, Bagisbayev offers an argument that follows logically from his chosen premises, and he presents a coherent and interesting worldview. His book will be an entertaining read for the philosophically minded, with many wry and surprising solutions to the questions he poses.
Also available as an ebook.
