individual versus group- systems ecology perspective
From: mark a demaio (mdemaiojuno.com)
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 20:57:03 -0700 (MST)
Wow! The listserv has been very hot and emotionally charged lately. As a
chronic lurker to the list and right brain type, I?ve wanted to respond
to this for some time, but had some fear of being flamed too much by all
the heat, not being the most eloquent around. Anyway, here?s a log if
anyone is interested!
In grad school systems ecology class (a mix between industrial systems
engineering and natural ecology), I remembered our youngest professor
challenging us to find examples of selfless community behavior and
synergies where "group selection" of the trait occurred. Idealistic
youngsters that we were, we thought they would abound. Predator prey
relationships- I think not. Ants farming aphids- there is little benefit
to the enslaved organisms. Mycorihiza on tree roots ?we might have a
winner here, but alas- both fungi and trees evolve seperately to take
greater advantage of what the other provides, but must develop feedback
mechanisms so that they don?t get destroyed by the other. Herding
mechanism among animals serve to have an individually protective
mechanism from a predator, who has also been the product of individual
selection in the ability to peel Saturday night supper off from the pack.
Oh wait, we have one, what about the bees that die for the sake of the
queen when cold arrives? Nope sorry, they are merely all genetic clones,
such that a beehive might actually be characterized as an individual more
than separate bees.
And I recall after that class how upset I was of a likely error in my
perceptions that a mechanism existed to how the good in the world could
grow by humankind evolving en masse to the point that selfless synergies
and community could further develop. apparently Darwin was in the way. I
kept trying to think up an example of genetic evolution of synergy or
"group selection", but couldn?t find one that couldn?t be shot down. But
the bottom line is, interestingly, hereditary propensity for grouping and
synergy is an individually selected thing. Only recently have I thought
of it from an "it?s all good" perspective. That we have the power of the
genetic selection on the side of the community movement, at the
individual level. Thus group evolution and growth is really co-evolution
among various individuals.
Interestingly, genetic selection operates at the individual level.
Ecologically speaking, synergy and groups only exists and develops when
it benefits the individual. When successful individuals harvest the
fruits of synergies, they become more effective competitively only to the
point that the individual becomes more successful and the successful
trait/gene may appear to be selected for in a population, but is merely
passed on by the individual. Groups and associations tend to not exist
where they do not have some superior benefit to the individual.
So maybe when we concede for the benefit of the group, we are really
conceding for the benefits the group provides us individually. As I
really do believe that groups exists for the benefit of the individuals
and would not or should not even be an entity without them.
Then there was my psych professor who clearly showed that heredity
predisposes potential, while the environment is what molds that
potential. So without the continuim of community socially being passed
down from generation to generation, the relatively (compared to
environment) mild hereditary effects of predisposition to community don?t
get unleashed. It?s truly amazing how a culture can be segwayed (breaking
the information chain) for a generation or two of "nuclear family" to the
point that it becomes dysfunctional at other levels of community.
Unfortunately, most of our community skills are learned skills among
humans and not instincts. So in some ways one could argue that the
community movement is as important in protecting and largely reinventing
a nearly devastated social legacy of interconnectedness in the american
version of western society. Almost as important as regulating cloning and
protecting species diversity is to protecting our highest information
source, genetic information.
Mark DeMaio, PE, Concord (CA) Oasis Ecohousing
Seeking future owners for a new straw bale flexible floor plan home.
925-687-2560(message), 530-694-9501(weekday eves), concord [at] Ecohousing.org
www.Ecohousing.org http://communities.msn.com/ecohouse
newspaper article(s):
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/12/29/HO110081.DTL
whose divorced parents are tickled pink about living in 50+ gated
communities, even though I?ve tried to, as the CSN song states "teach,
your parents well". If only there was a 50+ cohousing-like community I
could show them?..

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