health
Togetherness by Rowan Hooper review
This corrective to our habitual emphasis on competition had me writing ‘wow’ in the margins again and again
TL;DR
- Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, popularized as 'survival of the fittest', aligned with the competitive, colonial, and capitalist society of his time.
- Rowan Hooper's book 'Togetherness' argues that evolution also heavily relies on cooperation and collaboration, aspects often underplayed.
- Symbiosis is presented as a common and essential state in nature, seen in lichens (fungi and algae partnership), corals (animals and algae), and root fungi (mycorrhizae) supporting plants.
- The human microbiome, consisting of bacteria in and on our bodies, is crucial for health, with disruptions leading to disorders and even potential treatments through fecal transplants.
- Endosymbiosis, where one organism permanently merges with another, has driven major evolutionary leaps, such as the origin of chloroplasts and mitochondria.
- The resistance to ideas of cooperation in evolution, particularly Lynn Margulis's endosymbiosis hypothesis, may have been influenced by sexism and a focus on 'selfish genes'.
- Interdependencies are vital for biosphere health, as seen in coral reefs' vulnerability to warming oceans due to the loss of symbiotic algae.
- Hooper criticizes current philosophical and economic systems for failing to recognize ecological interconnectedness, which he believes is the root cause of the nature crisis.
- A feeling of oneness with nature reflects our best scientific understanding of life and is essential for conservation efforts.