Evolution on deep ecology

Philosophers and scientists have made the same mistake: they assumed the environment was fixed

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Whenever philosophers and scientists have tried to explain how life evolved, they have made the same mistake: they’ve assumed that the environment was fixed and that the organisms simply adapted to it. But that’s not how it works.

The romantic vision of biotic nature as a cooperative venture is scientifically accurate

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The romantic vision of biotic nature as a cooperative venture is far more scientifically accurate than the view of nature as violent and competitive.

The view of evolution as chronic bloody competition dissolves before a new view of cooperation

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The view of evolution as chronic bloody competition among individuals and species, a popular distortion of Darwin’s notion of ‘survival of the fittest,’ dissolves before a new view of continual cooperation.

quote bacteria are the hidden alchemists of lynn margulis

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“Bacteria are the hidden alchemists of the planet, shaping the atmosphere and the future.”
— Lynn Margulis
Acquiring Genomes (2002)

quote evolution is not a tree but lynn margulis

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“Evolution is not a tree but a web. Symbiosis is the driving force.”
— Lynn Margulis
Acquiring Genomes (2002)

quote life did not take over the lynn margulis

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“Life did not take over the globe by combat but by networking.”
— Lynn Margulis
Microcosmos (1986)

quote symbiosis is not marginal. it is lynn margulis

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“Symbiosis is not marginal. It is the key to evolution and survival.”
— Lynn Margulis
Acquiring Genomes (2002)

quote the human body is not a lynn margulis

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“The human body is not a single being but a consortium of species.”
— Lynn Margulis
Symbiotic Planet (1998)

quote to understand life, we must understand lynn margulis

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“To understand life, we must understand the partnerships that make it possible.”
— Lynn Margulis
Microcosmos (1986)

quote we are walking communities of microbes, lynn margulis

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“We are walking communities of microbes, proof that cooperation drives life forward.”
— Lynn Margulis
Symbiotic Planet (1998)

quote: "gaia is a tough bitch: she..." lynn margulis

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“Gaia is a tough bitch: she has endured cataclysmic change for billions of years.”
— Lynn Margulis
Symbiotic Planet (1998)

Quote: Joanna Macy; "The sorrow, grief, and rage you feel is a measure of your humanity and your evolutionary maturity..."

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“The sorrow, grief, and rage you feel is a measure of your humanity and your evolutionary maturity…”
– Joanna Macy

Source: Greening of the Self (2013)

Profile: Elisabet Sahtouris

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Elisabet Sahtouris is an American and Greek evolution biologist, futurist, and author whose work emphasises how cooperation and symbiosis, rather than competition alone, drive evolutionary processes. Similarly to Lynn Margulis Her research on living systems theory offers scientific foundations for ecological worldviews that recognize nature’s inherent cooperative and self-organizing aspects.

Trained in evolution biology and microbiology, Sahtouris has dedicated her career to making evolutionary science accessible to wider audiences while revealing its implications for human society and economics. Her concept of “mature ecosystems” proposes that natural systems evolve from competitive to cooperative relationships, offering models for sustainable human civilization.

Profile: Lynn Margulis

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Lynn Margulis (1938-2011) was an American evolutionary biologist whose endosymbiotic theory proposed that complex cells arose through symbiotic mergers of simpler organisms. Her work emphasized cooperation and symbiosis as drivers of evolutionary innovation alongside competition.

Margulis proposed her theory in 1967, suggesting that complex cells with nuclei (eukaryotes) arose through symbiotic mergers of simpler bacterial cells. Her hypothesis that mitochondria and chloroplasts were once independent bacteria that became incorporated into larger cells faced initial resistance. Her paper “On the Origin of Mitosing Cells” was rejected by fifteen journals before publication. One grant application received the response: “Your research is crap.”