Eugene Gallagher-We must protect the living Earth.

“The truth is: the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it.” —David Attenborough.

As biosystems evolve they create new possibilities via new combinations becoming more complex. A non-technical usage of “combinatorial innovation” describes how new ideas arise through the combination and testing of ideas that already exist.

[1-2] It could be argued that a key distinction between physics and biology is that while physics contains a fundamental standard model encompassing its phenomena, there is no such thing in biology.

[2-2] Life innovates, creates new niches and possibilities, and interactions, in ways that cannot be predicted in advance. Unlike in physics, in biology, the space of possibilities is forever unpredictably expanding.

The only way that we’re ever going to make it to any kind of sanity, any kind of healing, any kind of transformation whatsoever is when we sense within ourselves that we live in an interconnected world. Inexplicable, perhaps, but connected nonetheless.

What we’re ultimately looking for is a sense of connectedness to the living Earth. And whenever we have any ills it is possible it’s because there’s a disconnect, a sense of separation from nature.

We can find what we really need right here on Earth for almost infinite lengths of time. Of course, that’s if we take good care of the living Earth. What we need is to build an understanding of what it is to be a human living in an interconnected natural world.

For humanity to survive, there are things that we must not do, such as destroying the Earth's ecosystems and polluting the air we breathe and sometimes even the water we drink.

[1-2] The socio-biologist E. 0. Wilson (1929-2021) devoted much of his life to a kind of environmentalism that is geared towards the conservation of the living world, the place we all share with the rest of life on Earth.

[2-2] Such an approach is something that could unify people across the globe, at least the majority of people. For Professor Wilson: “Surely one moral precept we can generally agree on is to stop destroying our birthplace, the only home humanity we will possibly ever have.”

[1-2] A living thing is a spontaneous, self-maintaining system, sustaining and reproducing itself, executing its program, making a way through the world. It can reckon with vicissitudes, opportunities, and adversities that the world presents.

[2-2] It could also be said that something more than physical causes are operating within every living thing. There is information superintending the causes, without it the living thing would collapse.

Science is far too focused on observation in isolation and both education and mainstream belief systems view nature as being useful to humanity rather than all things natural being part of a complex web in a constant state of dynamic flux.

The Hunter-Gatherer peoples seemed to have an inherent understanding and respect for nature in their everyday lives. However, more recent human history reflects a concern to locate values in human experiences while devaluing nature.

[1-2] Across centuries of what is known as civilization, there has been little compassion for animal life and even less concern for the rest of nature. Today there is ample scientific evidence that much of the living Earth can enjoy life and suffer pain.

[2-2] Today there is a reassessment by a growing number of thinkers concerning human obligations to the rest of the natural world. It seems odd to claim that nature needs our sympathy, odd that we should consider its wellbeing. Nevertheless, we depend on that well-being.

Across centuries of what is known as civilization, there has been little compassion for animal life and even less concern for the rest of nature. Today there is ample scientific evidence that much of the living Earth can enjoy life and suffer pain.

[1-5] The momentum of industrialization is often indistinguishable from the momentum of war. Giant companies, national and international, are used to getting their way and getting away with whatever they can. They will, without compunction, make a wasteland and call it progress.

[2-5] This is progress that is cold and profit-driven, that views the planet not as a living entity - our nurturer and, indeed, part of us - but rather as some great prize awarded to the most powerful, to be consumed, used up, abandoned.

[3-5] The paradox, of course, is how well this has worked, at least for those on the powerful side. By declaring ourselves independent of the natural world, and trying to be its master, we've built great throwaway civilizations beholden to their own preservation.