Nature's Holism & Human Evolution
Explore the interaction of evolution and ecology - how nature arrived at the bee and the flower!
By examining how species associated within the same habitat evolve (coevolution), I will show you a holistic view of nature and ecosystems, where interdependence between long-associated species within an ecosystem is significant.
Evolutionary processes lead naturally to interactions and behaviour that provide a degree of compatibility between long-associated organisms. A compatible animal exhibits behaviour reducing its effect upon the habitat or ecosystem upon which it depends for survival.
Ecologists call the role of the creature, the niche of the creature. An ecological niche requires a multidimensional description of an organism's total environment and way of life. This niche includes physical factors such as temperature and moisture, biological factors such as food resources, parasites, predators and behavior, including social organisation and diurnal activities" (Lewontin, 1978). "Although we can imagine many niches, the only niches are occupied niches" (Cohen & Stuart, 1994). People retreat to nature, for recreation, recognising some type of harmony and peace there that brings peace of mind. In nature, we find relaxation, peace, aesthetic qualities, and a serenity that humanity cannot recreate in a city. There is a spiritual quality to nature that is not easily defined. An observer of animals in nature soon recognises the interdependence and balance that exists.
Many have recognised this idea of the niche of an organism: "The crocodile isolated from his environment was not the same animal" (Savory, 1988). "The place of a living individual (human, animal, or plant) can be evaluated meaningfully only when it is seen in its integrative, collective, ecological context" (Peet, 1992). "Every species depends on other species for food and for providing its habitat" (Diamond, 1991). "A species is what it is where it is" (Rolston, 1992). "An environment is what a creature knows - and knows in a certain way." "The creature is, in this way, part of its environment, though one could as truly say that the environment is part of it" (Cooper, 1992). "It is quite impossible to think of an organism without an environment" (Begon et al, 1986)."
In ecosystems, the individual organisms are components of the system that interact locally to varying degrees. As a result of these interactions and the dynamic process of natural selection, a global property for the system emerges. The main property elaborated in this book is the emergence of compatibility. THIS PROPERTY OF COMPATIBILITY SYMBOLISES A FORM OF FEEDBACK THAT INFLUENCES THE BEHAVIOUR AND FORM OF THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE INTERACTING AND EVOLVING. Order arises out of a complex dynamical system due to the constraints and limits of the system. !
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