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December 09, 2005
The idea of 'the ship of fools' is concerned to give a reason for the wayward behavior of human beings in a fallen world. The causes are related to foolishness, wherein foolishness, depending on circumstances, is another word for ungodliness. This lead to the prospect of divine damnation.
The initial moral allegory was by the distinguished humanist Sebastian Brant was published in Latin as Sultifera Navis in 1494 and it contained a number of woodcutsthast are judged to be a early examples of intentionally comic illustration in the printed book.
Chris Madden
The conception is that the passengers on a ship traveling from X to Y represent society at large in that era. We are voyaging through the seas of time on a ship, a small ship, that is representative of humanity. Sadly, every one of the representatives is a fool. This is how we live--we eat, dring, flirt, cheat, play silly games, pursue unattainable objectives. Meanwhile our ship drifts aimlessly and we never reach the harbour.
Presumably, the new fools are the economists because their obsessive concern with increasing economic growth as the end of government makes them blind to environmental destruction that is caused by that growth. This leads to the tragedy of the commons (eg., the destruction of our rivers), and so we are obliged to live with the wretchedness of economic folly. We are the new fools if we believe the illusions and myths of the economists.
The Grateful Dead have a song a called Ship of Fools on their 1974 'From the Mars Hotel':
 This is the post Ron "Pigpen" McKernan band that had been structured around Pigpen's haunted R&B howls. He had died in 1973 after a long illness. The lyrics of Ship of Fools:
Went to see the captain
strangest I could find
Layed my proposition down
Layed it on the line;
I won't slave for beggar's pay
likewise gold and jewels
but I would slave to learn the way
to sink your ship of fools
The song, by Garcia and Hunter, which works with a sense of self-criticism, includes themselves on the ship of fools.
The bottles stand as empty, as they were filled before.
Time there was and plenty, but from that cup no more.
Though I could not caution all, I still might warn a few:
Don't lend your hand to raise no flag atop no ship of fools.
Ship of fools on a cruel sea, ship of fools sail away from me.
It was later than I thought, when I first believed you,
Now I cannot share your laughter, ship of fools.
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