Humanity, the Ecosystem

What would be possible if each of us thought of ourselves primarily as cells in a living community, driven by discovery of and collaboration with the larger whole(s) of which we are essential components?

Just over 50 years ago, a photo created the mainstream conditions for this concept of humanity. Everyone that lives and has ever lived on that sphere in that photo.

This answer is no longer broadly resonant, or even acceptable as a go-forward baseline in the circles that run Western civilization (ref The Davos Agenda). It’s clear that pursuit of maximal human dominance has led to widespread, intractable and potentially irreversibly negative impact on “the planet”, by which we generally mean those planetary eco... See more

there’s also a rising widespread realization that we must adopt this framing if we are to solve the humanity-level problems that it seems we must solve. We might say that viruses and glaciers and CO2 and storms and heat have only so much parental patience for our infantile, childish behavior.

Essential because this is literally what we are as humans — ecosystems are our essence. Animating because the ecosystems that comprise us and contain us are literally what gives us life. Actionable because this is a recontextualization of all of our action inside a new paradigm — and because context / framing is decisive.

Humanity is a new-ish term and concept. We are just getting our feet under us as humanity, thinking of ourselves as humanity, speaking and acting as humanity, at the level of humanity.

We are cells just realizing we are inside the body of a larger entity. Who/what is this entity? What is it doing, what is it about? My favorite question that has “humanity” as its subject is: What are we trying to do, as humanity? Or put another way, What is humanity doing / trying to do? Do you have a clear answer at the ready?

If humanity is not about maximizing its potential as an exceptional species, the rightful and divinely appointed ruler of Earth — then what is humanity about?

Mid-20th century the Western answer was easier: We exist to pursue human progress, to maximize human potential. It was about achievement in terms of technology, in terms of control and dominion over nature, over everything on the planet that isn’t human.