Digital ecology

In evolutionary biology digital ecology is a current of thought that posits the fusion or union of the virtual (digital information) and the real (basic life forms). It suggests that all life forms are networks. An important writer in this field is Lynn Margulis, with the speculations on her work made by the cultural historian William Irwin Thompson.

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Concept

In the early stages of development, simple cells act in a random chaotic way and there is no creative development because the individualistic behaviors cancel out each other. At some point, perhaps by accident, the cells fall into an entrainment or union that networks or yokes their behaviors into some common purpose. A bunch of cells may suddenly find that they are all pointing in the same direction. Then the whole group (herd, gaggle) is propelled through space creating the function of directed (non-chaotic) motion which may be very important for locating new food sources or getting away from enemies.

Once a function is established by evolutionary advantage it becomes firm and will be included and built upon in future developments creating an endless process of transcending and including. As these functions are networked into increasingly complex and coordinated behaviors, life forms emerge and maintain vitality so long as they can "hold it together." What we refer to as "death" is simply the loss of union. To be "alive" means that there is a functioning network of information and behaviors.

At first there is much chaos and randomness of individual behaviors. Then the individual comes to see advantages in networking - often it can be little more than the search for friends by isolated and alone people - communities and functions are born. In this context, creative intelligence can be defined as the ability to interact. The advantage will fall to those whose ability to adapt to and evolve with changing conditions is greatest. The new paradigm of the information age simply gives higher priority to networking and process than to ownership and property.

The maintenance of established forms (property) is essential as a tool but, as is the case for a wise carpenter, it is important to know when not to use the hammer. The maintenance and defense of established forms may be so energy depleting that the advantage lies with those who can move unencumbered into the flow. This is the game plan of the free culture, open source, creative commons crowd. But it is not an either-or situation. It is, rather, a shift of emphasis and attention away from possessiveness toward creativity. The activist of the information age is simply placing faith in an evolving creative intelligence that can be made firm in a network.

External links

• James Boyle
• Lawrence Lessig
• Ecology: a bridge between science and society - Edward Goldsmith
• Ecologia Digital - Jose Murilo Junior
• Event: Cultural Environmentalism at 10 - A Center for Internet and Society Symposium