The Expanded Self: Society as Self 259“9x6” b2726 Self and the Phenomenon of Life: A Biologist Examines Life from Molecules to HumanityIn this instance the organisms live longer but sacrifice their rate of pro-
creation. Both strategies seem to work, as evidenced by their coexistence
over eons of Earth history.
But there is a third strategy, which involves cooperation instead of
competition. Cooperation takes place within species and also between
species. Formation of an alliance (a form of expanded self) between dis-
parate species provides a competitive edge over those outside the alli-
ance, a reason why evolution did not allow a single species to drive all
others into extinction.
Cooperation between species is called mutualism, whose extreme
form is symbiosis. Mutualistic coexistence happens in our body, as we
harbor trillions of E. coli bacteria (ten times outnumbering the total
human cells) in our intestine, which suppress the growth of harmful
bacteria and provide us with certain essential nutrients like vitamin K.
Rumination of herbivores such as cows, sheep, and horses depends on
mutualistic gut fauna that help them break down cellulose from plants
they eat. Likewise, termites owe their wood-eating ability to microbes
living in their gut. Coral reefs are formed as a result of mutualism
between coral organisms and the photosynthetic algae that live inside
them. Mutualism also exists between plants and the mycorrhizal fungi;
the former fix carbon from the air, whereas the latter help in extracting
minerals from the ground. Other types of mutualism include pollination
of flowers by honeybees. Some plant species and insect pollinators are
so interdependent that one will not survive without the other, resulting
in co-evolution. Other plants expel harmful insects by attracting insect-
eating carnivores. Even a simple relationship with the food we eat is an
example of cooperation. Take apples for example. We cultivate apples
to satisfy our taste and nutrition, but the apple trees entice us to help
perpetuate their species by giving us tasty fruits.
Intra-species cooperation occurs all the time. This happens even
among non-sibling members. A glaring example is seen in the greater
anis (Crotophaga major), a neotropical cuckoo. These birds form monog-
amous pairs that are not immediate relatives. Groups of up to four pairs