Ishmael sends the student away because the student needs to think for himself. If the student sits and listens to Ishmael talk he is learning to listen well, but not learning to think and discover for himself. By learning through Ishmael's thought process, the student is missing out on the problem-solving aspect. The student wanted to have a teacher for life because he wanted to have the answers. The student was seeking out the answer to the question, What is the correct way to live? Without a teacher how was he supposed to acheive this? Ishmael wished for the student to think on his own so that he could answer his own questions and further elaborate the world around him.
Question #5- Why would we not evolve if we continue to live as the Takers, but evolve if we live as the Leavers? Do you find Ishmael's argument here to be valid-why or why not?
Takers evolve by conquering and expanding their empire, and essentially their lifestyle. There is no cultural evolution because all culture change in a Taker society comes from the ideas of others. Takers work on convincing others to join them and live the "right" way, but then destroy an idea if it does not follow the correct philosophy. At the same time, any good ideas in a conquered culture are carried over and used by the Takers. This is not evolution, but rather stealing. The argument is very valid in that Leavers have constantly been refusing the ways of the Takers, and refuse to give up their personal customs. Therefore, survival requires evolution in which to survive. This survival is on their own, without stealing from others. This idea is TRUE evolution. The Takers are arguably "cheating the system" in their evolution process.
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