In this discussion, Professor Suegene Noh outlined how microbial function can be related to social function in human groups. She outlined how selective pressures in an amoeba species can create cellular aggregations that improve the fitness of the individual amoeba cells. This talk is an interesting divergence from the general tone of these speakers’ topics, where the subject matter is much more rooted in anthropology, and topics less grounded in science. As a biology major, I obviously appreciated the topic compared to others, because it combines my foremost academic interest and some interesting commentary on social dynamics. Adaptation is biology’s interpretation of the past dictating the future, and when looking at microbial evolution, professor Noh was able to parallel this small scale evolution to themes of human advancement through conflict.
This talk proved how the phrase “strength in numbers” applies to all levels of life, and a phrase that has applied to all levels of conflict as well. Looking through human history, it has been consistently advantageous for humans to form groups, societies, among other forms of aggregation, and this has helped various societies improve their fitness and continue to move forward generationally. This aggregation and subsequent conflict not only aids in genetic evolution, but in addition, can go toward helping towards psychologically bettering humanity through adapting through these conflicts. By learning from previous experiences and conflicts, humans can apply adaptation to the way their societies are run.
Additionally, the theme of symbiosis is one that is incredibly important not only for our bodily function, but in a more macro sense, human community organization. Relationships between the human micro biome ensure that our bodies remain healthy and certain bodily functions can remain as efficient as possible. When looking at community organization, most societies are optimized with its people occupying different niche roles, and bettering the aggregate (the community in this example).
As someone who is more trained in STEM, the way I look at some anthropological and philosophical issues is through a scientific lens, which is why this talk was an important one for me to further understand the theme of the seminar. In terms of human advancement, there is no better concrete example than genetic advancement and evolution. Furthermore, as organisms have advanced over millions of years, social evolution has been a very important part of the development of life, not just human life. Phenomena such as mutualism, commensalism, and altruism to name a few are all social evolutionary developments that are found in organisms such as gut microbes as well as animals much larger.