A Canticle for Leibowitz ALMOST changed my mind

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller is one of my all-time favourite books. It holds this distinction for me as it is one of the few works that nearly made me change my world view on a difficult moral issue – Euthanasia.

The plot of a Canticle for Leibowitz is as follows. At some unknown point in humanity’s future, we manage to effectively destroy ourselves in a great conflict – probably nuclear. The remnants of society are scattered and have little to no knowledge of the technology that we once harnessed. A group of monks, who follow a religion inspired by Catholicism, are the inheritors of a library that contains the only known collection of ‘pre-apocalypse’ humanity. Unfortunately, the monks have no way of understanding the contents of their library, due to language barriers and the lack of understanding of the scientific method to put the knowledge in context.

The story follows the monastery over many hundreds of years as humanity eventually develops enough to understand then utilise the knowledge.

I’ll leave the plot description there, as I don’t want to add spoilers. But essentially, the rest of the story revolves around humanity seeking to push forward technologically at an alarming rate while the monks preach caution and attempt to protect what they have saved.

This is where we come to the difficult issue of Euthanasia. In New Zealand, Euthanasia is a matter of heavy and topical debate. Euthanasia is currently illegal in New Zealand but it appears that the public is gradually moving towards a ‘right to die’ attitude. Before reading A Canticle for Leibowitz, I was firmly in the camp for the ‘right to die’. In a way, I still am. But this book has definitely opened my mind to the alternative argument and has made me listen more carefully to its opponents.

The crux of A Canticle for Leibowitz arguments is that every life matters and by introducing an easier way out, it absolves humanity of its obligation to care for, and strive for a better society. In the book, euthanasia becomes an easy solution for governments to implement in the face of the horrible destruction they have wrought on their own people.

On RadioNZ earlier this week, there was a debate between proponents and opponents. The proponents delivered many of the arguments that I have heard before and agree with – death with dignity, promoting choice and reducing suffering. The opponent of euthanasia, Dr Sinead Donnelly, delivered a very similar argument to that found in A Canticle for Leibowitz.

From her perspective, society has an obligation to the dying. Euthanasia would change this dynamic and would make dying a person’s obligation to society. Without suffering, humanity has no further purpose to strive for. If we take away our fear of suffering, would society invest and progress in the way that it has, to eliminate the causes of that suffering – be it improvements or more democratic forms of governance that hold leaders to account for the decisions that increase suffering.

If we look at it from this perspective, offered and described in A Canticle for Leibowitz, we need to ensure that our society is fully prepared for Euthanasia, and the intense break it will have on society’s relationship with death and suffering.

Did this book actually succeed in changing my views? No. But it nearly did. And for that reason, it is one of my all-time favourites.

You can pick up a copy here: A Canticle for Leibowitz