The Value of Humanity

Do the things that make us human have value? Vonnegut asks this fundamental question. All the art, literature, philosophy, and science of human civilization is appreciable only by human beings and has meaning only in the context of human life. Mandarax and the Bahía de Darwin both embody the uselessness of human knowledge and accomplishments outside of human society. Even within human society, despite all human accomplishments, human beings live in misery, inflict misery on each other, and destroy their environment. Is human culture really valuable, considering all the horrors of humanity?

In Vonnegut's future, the human race has been wiped out by a disease that will prevent reproduction among any humans who ever return to the mainland. In Galapagos, human beings evolve to fit their environment as fisher-people who are more animal than human. Vonnegut compares these events to biblical stories. The virus...