Abstract
A study of human social systems at planetary scale examines whether our technology, economy, culture, and flows of information are component-processes in a unified, living system. Through a biological lens of structure, function, and geographic mapping of social systems, we consider collective humanity from evolutionary and developmental principles. We focus on how such a system could be evolvable, and the role for planetary scale information and communications technology in facilitating evolvability. Massively interconnected global technology has established a novel form of niche construction, stabilizing modes of collective inheritance while catalyzing innovation in cultural and economic spaces. Increasingly, this network appears to support goal-oriented cognitive processes that could facilitate a major evolutionary transition to a planetary-scale organism. We conclude that the total human ecosystem is more than mere ecosystem, but can be analyzed as an integrated, developmental process, driven by evolutionary mechanisms.
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A study of human social systems at planetary scale examines whether our technology, economy, culture, and flows of information are component-processes in a unified, living system. Through a biological lens of structure, function, and geographic mapping of social systems, we consider this total human ecosystem from evolutionary and developmental principles. The health of this system depends on its capacity for preservation and innovation, that is, beyond mere survival. We focus on how principles of evolvability are utilized by planetary-scale systems for innovation and plasticity. Information and communication technologies irreversibly interconnect humanity: the preservation of this socio-technological niche, and further innovation thereof, could facilitate a major evolutionary transition from ecosystem to organism. Here, we explore how this principle of evolvability underpins the One Health of the total human ecosystem, as a resilient, planetary-scale human organism.
https://doi.org/10.32942/X2B916
Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences
major evolutionary transitions, Planetary cognition, niche construction, Technosphere, Evolvability, Planetary cognition, Niche construction, Technosphere, evolvability
Published: 2024-12-02 08:33
Last Updated: 2025-01-24 17:10
CC-By Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Conflict of interest statement:
None
Data and Code Availability Statement:
All data is publicly available
Language:
English
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