The Myth of The Predator

Although chaotic on the surface, the ecosystem is incredibly simple in its core operating principles.  But when studying ecosystems and climate systems, we always overcomplicate things.  We focus only on the chaos and conflict between species and between weather elements, forgetting about the principle of balance that supersedes them.  This is because we choose to see all these elements as rivals rather than interdependent pieces of the superorganism.  We try in vain to explain our observations of the ecosystem based on interspecies competition and conflict rather than the overall harmony which balances species and climate forces against each other.  The overarching harmony of the ecosystem is invisible to us, because we have always been on a mission to understand nature through narratives of conflict: “who is on top” and “who is at the bottom” of the food chain, as if there are villains and heroes, “good” and “bad” species.

We seem to only want to understand the ecosystem as a series of power struggles and bitter rivalries, as opposed to balanced relationships between natural competitors.  It is no wonder we have destroyed much of Earth’s ecosystem already, having seen our role as a warrior engaged in conflict with all other life forms.  We may consider ourselves formidable predators, but every species within Earth’s ecosystem is both predator and prey.  The only ultimate predator is Earth itself:  it is who decides whether a species still has what it takes to remain on the planet, or not.  If it no longer offers anything to the ecosystem, it is naturally decommissioned by evolution itself.

In order for the superorganism to stay alive, it must nourish all 10 million species it consists of.  Although different life forms within the superorganism are often engaged in brutal conflict as they antagonize each other, consume each other, or compete for the same habitat, everyone has enough to eat in the end.  Resources are finite and fairly distributed so that, despite all of the competition within, the superorganism survives as a federation of 10 million species.  There are no winners or losers, predator or prey, sentient or non-sentient life forms within this ecosystem.  There is only balance and unity.  There is no life and death either.  We are all molecules being recycled and repurposed perpetually, travelling from one species to the next.

George is an author, researcher, molecular biologist and food scientist.

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