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Richard Dawkins asks that exact question in his "Selfish Gene." For example humans cannot survive without it's gut bacterial flora. So is human a single organis

Richard Dawkins asks that exact question in his "Selfish Gene." For example humans cannot survive without it's gut bacterial flora. So is human a single organism without it or not? Where's the boundary? He also explores self replicating organisms (like mentioned seagrass) and explains benefits of evolution "introducing" sex based replication.

lkuty 4y ago
According to Buddhism, there is no boundary. Between a human and the "external" world. This point of view is very interesting.
- LesZedCB 4y ago
  James Lovelock's Gaia Hypothesis is more or less the scientific equivalent of this. think systems theory of life, planet, rock, gas, organism, etc.
- steve_adams_86 4y ago
  I’ve begun to think we’re only distinct from other things in the context of consciousness, which is entirely subjective and manufactured by our neurons. The further you go down that rabbit hole, the more you might realize reality as we understand it is totally illusory and not even fully shared across humanity, let alone species. It’s a trip. We are as much a part of the systems we live in as anything. In a sense we aren’t distinct from the external world because there is no internal world to differentiate from. It’s imaginary - it exists only in our neurons, an abstraction to help us navigate reality, just impulses firing along various pathways in a brain.
whatisjmg 4y ago
I always thought that biology delineates these organisms from their relationship? They are still clearly seperate organisms, as a human does not require a particular bacterial cell, only that at least one is present in its proper place (the same as all the other cells in the human body). Thus, the "human organism" is an emergent organism from many cells, bacterial or not, acting and interacting non-deterministically. The bacterial cell by its existence allows for the existence of the larger organism. A baby relies on adults to survive as well, but it is not biologically claimed that they are the same organism as the adults they rely on for survival. We all require consumption of living and dead cells to survive as well. We do not claim organic-unification with these other organisms.

lkuty 4y ago

According to Buddhism, there is no boundary. Between a human and the "external" world. This point of view is very interesting.

LesZedCB 4y ago
James Lovelock's Gaia Hypothesis is more or less the scientific equivalent of this. think systems theory of life, planet, rock, gas, organism, etc.
steve_adams_86 4y ago
I’ve begun to think we’re only distinct from other things in the context of consciousness, which is entirely subjective and manufactured by our neurons. The further you go down that rabbit hole, the more you might realize reality as we understand it is totally illusory and not even fully shared across humanity, let alone species. It’s a trip. We are as much a part of the systems we live in as anything. In a sense we aren’t distinct from the external world because there is no internal world to differentiate from. It’s imaginary - it exists only in our neurons, an abstraction to help us navigate reality, just impulses firing along various pathways in a brain.

whatisjmg 4y ago

I always thought that biology delineates these organisms from their relationship? They are still clearly seperate organisms, as a human does not require a particular bacterial cell, only that at least one is present in its proper place (the same as all the other cells in the human body). Thus, the "human organism" is an emergent organism from many cells, bacterial or not, acting and interacting non-deterministically. The bacterial cell by its existence allows for the existence of the larger organism. A baby relies on adults to survive as well, but it is not biologically claimed that they are the same organism as the adults they rely on for survival. We all require consumption of living and dead cells to survive as well. We do not claim organic-unification with these other organisms.