This book presents a long line of argumentation and the reader may find it helpful to see the most important facts and conclusions briefly recapitulated here. In his book on the origin of species, Charles Darwin argued that the different species do not represent individual acts of creation, but all stem from common ancestors. He presented an enormous wealth of evidence for this theory and demonstrated that man is also an integral part of the evolutionary process. Since the descendents of the individual species are not exact carbon copies of each other, but show variable traits, natural selection inherently ensures that the best adapted organisms survive and reproduce. Over long periods of time this led to a higher development in which natural selection became the controlling mechanism.
The present book contends that mankind, in contrast to widely held opinion, is not the momentary epitome of this development. Rather, from a functional perspective, each human being is on a level comparable with that of those unicellular organisms that gave rise to multicellular organisms. Just as every multicellular organism continues to stem from a single cell (the germ cell), the even larger and more capable entities I have termed hypercell organisms always stem from a human being: our own subjective viewpoint has hampered us from recognizing the evolutionary significance and status of these hypercell organisms. Every working person along with his/her tools, workshops and businesses is a component of these larger organisms: in the progression involving uni- and multicellular organisms, they represent a third era in the evolution of life. In the subsequent development, the many new species spawned by hypercell organisms gave rise to even larger and more powerful organizations, above all business enterprises. Depending on the form of endeavor, these in turn gave rise to numerous additional species whose success and further development continue to be subject to natural selection. Although a range of new criteria were developed to evaluate these entities, the efficiency of the new species remains subject to the same fundamental, quantifiable criteria that are decisive for uni-, multi- and hypercell organisms. Similarly, their evolution is inherently controlled by natural selection.
Traditional biological thought holds that the physical structure of organisms and their organs as well as their behavioral repertoire are the key criteria for their selective value. Nonetheless, I have presented numerous examples, especially in Chapter 1, of how the very same capabilities can often be delivered by very different body structures, organs and behaviors. More than one road usually "leads to Rome". From this I conclude that the decisive factors determining selective value are not material structures or behaviors, but capability. And, as I have stressed, this can be attained by any number of different means. Advances via mutation and recombination at one level can be surpassed by advances at an entirely different level that was not even originally developed for the particular function. I contend that six fundamental capabilities are decisive for all organisms – and I place hypercell organisms and their business enterprises in this category – and I treat these in more detail. Briefly recapitulated, these are: energy gain, acquisition of substances, defense against adverse and utilization of favorable environmental factors, reproduction and structural improvement. All fundamental capabilities are accompanied by numerous supplementary capabilities that enable specialization and which form the hierarchic makeup of the former. Wilhelm Oswald pointed out that every organ and all tools fashioned by man can be viewed as energy transformers whose respective configurations allow them to convert consumed raw energy into useful energy. I share this opinion and consider this insight to be a cornerstone of my theory.
To date, quantifying the selective value of various species was considered possible only in exceptional cases because the activities of species are so intricately interrelated. If, on the other hand, organisms are viewed as capable entities rather than material bodies – a standpoint that confronts conventional thought with considerable problems – then it becomes apparent that their efficiency can be evaluated based on the same universally applicable, quantifiable criteria. I term these criteria cost, precision and time required for the task. Obtaining even more precise data requires distinguishing between the build-up and functional period of the capability-providing organs. In the latter period, a further distinction can then be made between operational times, quiescence, and phases in which functions changed. I present a number of examples for this as well.
In uni- and multicellular organisms, organs arise through various differentiation processes. In Chapters 2 and 4, I argue that organs need not necessarily be firmly attached to the cellular body and that the material from which and the manner in which they are formed is of no consequence. The key criterion is their capability. A wide range of examples shows that many plant and animal species use innate behavior to form additional organs that are separate from the body (the spider’s web) or that consist of inorganic material (the clay nests of certain birds) or have not been produced by the organism itself (the empty snail shells that hermit crabs convert into their protective organs). Even other organisms can be transformed into organs of another capable entity (the foster parents that the cuckoo induces into brooding its eggs). The same also holds true for hypercell organisms that are paid to provide services for others. In uni- and multicellular organisms, limits were placed on the degree to which capability could be enhanced by such additional organs because their formation is governed by innate control mechanisms in the central nervous system; they arise by mutation and recombination and are therefore bound to the genetic code.
The intellectual capacity of early humans, however, had advanced to the point that they were able to form additional organs for specific purposes and of using language to convey to their descendants and other fellow humans the instructions on how to produce and utilize these organs. This marks the first time that an organism gained the ability to form and apply a wide range of such units (for example tools, weapons, clothes). We became specialists in manifold specialization. A division of labor soon developed in the groups that early man formed, with some members specializing in producing goods, others in providing services required by the community. Money became the universal mediator that enabled a person – through his or her own work – to enjoy services provided by others. The result was that such newly arising hypercell organisms split into a large number of species, whereby natural selection continued to determine which ones were successful and multiplied; this also set the compass for the evolution of a steady stream of new species. Reproduction between different species – a key evolutionary advance – also became possible in the era of hypercell organisms. All hypercell organisms are composed of human beings which, as the controlling core, enjoy the fruits that the former produce. A blacksmith is under no pressure whatsoever to invest his profits in further blacksmiths. Each individual is therefore in a position to form quite different hypercell organisms. This allows individuals to both change their professions and therefore their species – yet another advantage. Since information can be transferred over ever greater distances (by letter, telephone, radio, television, email), advances are being made at an ever greater pace.
Energy gain through exchange processes adds a third variant beyond that found in plants (photosynthesis) and animals (gain of foreign organ structures, release of the chemical bond energy contained therein): the prerequisite for this is money as a mediator. Money is earned by producing goods and services; these in turn can be used in a second exchange process to purchase food and other necessities. I have therefore termed this type of energy gain in hypercell organisms "gain through two-fold exchange". Parallel to this, many species of hypercell organisms (hunters, fishermen, farmers) made use of the predatory habits inherited from their animal predecessors or specialized in forcibly procuring money and objects that can be turned into cash (thieves, robbers, blackmailers). In most armed conflicts, the theft of foreign territories and valuables was an elementary motivation if not the sole incentive. Additional forms of energy gain were continuously being added. Tools and weapons were originally powered by the body’s own energy, an uneconomical condition. In the course of the successive energy transformations – which begin with the search for prey and continue when that prey is consumed and digested, whereby energy reaches the cells via the bloodstream and is then set free and converted into special tasks – the total losses amount to 80-99% of the free energy. This is converted into heat that is lost to the environment. A much more rational strategy is to utilize the free energy available in the environment, such as that contained in wind and rivers, and later also to harness that contained in wood, coal and crude oil to directly power additional organs (sailboats, water mills). The losses here are considerably lower. In this case, electricity proved to be a universal mediator comparable to money. It enabled one form of energy (e.g. hydropower) to be conveyed over great distances and to then be converted into kinetic energy (machines), light energy (light bulbs), and heat (heating ovens). This gain of external energy, as opposed to nutritional energy, is considerably more economical in powering additional organs (especially all manner of machines) and greatly promoted the evolution of hypercell organisms and mankind. It also determines the course economic development, whereby efficiency remains the key criterion. Human intellect is not the true controlling factor here. Although our intellect created much, only those creations that proved successful were able to persevere. Natural selection, which weighs ever new factors that determine success, therefore also controls the entire sector in which additional energy sources are developed.
Major business enterprises are particularly affected by this situation. Mass production was introduced: bit by bit, human capabilities were transferred to additionally formed organs, even functions of the brain as amply demonstrated by the advances in electronics, particularly in the computer industry. The ever-expanding and more powerful industries remain anchored in the business mode involving two-fold exchange. Here, the innate predatory instinct in humans tends to disturb good business practice by promoting predatory strategies. Customer-oriented, target group-oriented and co-worker oriented strategies are the product of rational considerations and are only gradually coming to replace the innate instinct program titled "still predators at heart" and "quick money". This new approach is the only avenue to build up a stock of customers (the key to success) and to bind good staff members, which are no less important, to the company. Also, businesses are more powerful because they globalize their activities and undertake long-range planning. On the other hand, the attendant supervision and control hierarchies make them more cumbersome; this ultimately leads such companies to split into smaller, more flexible businesses, a process in which natural selection continues to play a role. From the evolutionary perspective, the potential for social friction is clearly much higher in such mega-industries than in the considerably smaller and less complex hypercell organisms. The tight affiliation with government institutions is also affected.
My theory may well proffer a surprising explanation for the formation of states, a process that has been scrutinized by philosophers and state theorists for millennia. As I have laid out in this book, the additional organs formed by humans are the backbone for all organisms participating in the third and fourth phase of evolution. They allowed evolution to cast off the yoke inherent in the link to the DNA strands in the tiny nucleus of every cell in a multicellular organism’s body. I treated this largely neglected topic in more detail in Chapter 8, the final chapter. While additional organs have enormous advantages, they also have a particularly serious drawback. Since they are equally useful to others, and they lose virtually no value when transferred from one person to another, they must be protected from theft and robbery. The only conceivable and effective solution was a huge communal organ, the state: its task was to protect the property of its citizens, of hypercell organisms and of business enterprises. Armies, cannons and airplanes helped ward off attack by other states, while the legislature, police, courts and jails fended off predatory tendencies from within. Such an enormous organ can rather quickly be subjugated by a hypercell organism or a business enterprise through subversion and dictatorship.
The course of human history is paved by a large number of such dramatic events. On the other hand, democratic processes can also play a role in converting states into business enterprises. Examples include trade subsidies, tourist attractions, credits designed to stimulate the economy, etc. John Kenneth Galbraith pointed out symbioses between industrial giants and large nations (the USA in particular). We live in an age in which virtually every interest is interwoven with a range of other interests.
In Chapter 7, I demonstrated the curious role that humans play in the era of hypercell organisms and business enterprises. In contrast to the germ cell that gives rise to and is ultimately "lost" in the overall structure of each multicellular organism, human beings, who are not firmly attached to their additional organs such as workshops, factories, businesses and industries, have an entirely different status. We are fully mobile. Humans are, of course, to some extent bound to the hypercell organisms they control and to the businesses in which they are employed because the latter provide us with essential income. On the other hand, what we do with this money is largely up to the individual. Considering our palette of innate instincts, it is little wonder that we structure our lives to optimize our comfort, our sense of pleasure, and our pursuit of happiness. If sufficient funds are available, we tend to surround ourselves with an ever-increasing inventory of gratifying goods. We are almost left with the impression that humans are parasitic creatures that carefully explore and exploit every source of positive emotions slumbering within us. Nonetheless, this analogy does not hold. The hypercell organisms and businesses whose coffers are milked for their profits are in no way damaged by our inclinations. On the contrary, in the third and fourth era of evolution, this very underlying predisposition has become the strongest motor behind our effort to earn money. The market economy has every reason to fan these embers. A steady stream of new improvements, amusements and luxury items of every type are being produced and marketed, all made palatable by clever advertising; the consumer is constantly being lured into ever-new channels of consumption.
In the meantime this development has reached critical proportions. All signs unmistakably point to the fact that this endless line of products and activities has overwhelmed our planet and its finite resources. Their negative impact on the other inhabitants of Earth, on our atmosphere, on terrestrial and aquatic habitats and, ultimately, on our own species is becoming more noticeable by the day.
In the final chapter I briefly outlined these dangers
and the rather low odds that we will be able to resolve the situation,
which has caught us highly unprepared. Obviously these considerations are
tangential to the thrust of the present book, in which I have added some
further thoughts to Darwin’s great masterpiece. Whether this insight into
our phylogenetic development and our current situation can help us to better
resolve it remains to be seen.