Ecosexuality – Page 9

5 of 5 – EcoSex @ U Conn – Margulis and Sagan’s Mystery Dance – Student Response: Michael’s Take

Dear Earthlings:

The EcoSex course at U Conn is in process. It’s a great experience. We are reading amazing books. Thinking out of the box and across disciplines. Students are sending their responses in, with discussion questions. In class, we connect the dots: a holograph of what we’ve read together, the “required readings.” Multiple perspectives and good synergy. Here, we offer a glimpse. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Mystery Dance was one of two theory-of-science books. We got four responses: from John, Alissa, Rhiann, Adam, and Michael.

Here’s Michael‘s take:

Response to Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Mystery Dance: On the Evolution of Human Sexuality

An issue that arises for me when reading Mystery Dance and the other books assigned by Lynn Marguiles is that I feel I at times focus too much on the trees and miss the broader forest of her points. Having said that, I really enjoyed this book as it presented a nice synthesis of philosophy, zoological evolution and microbiology all of which I like. I did however have some issues with some of the evidence she presents and manner in which she argues for her points. On page 27 when she talks about the idea of a sexual bacterial ‘super-organism’, I find this idea very intriguing because research that has occurred in the 20 years since this book was published has only added evidence supporting the notion of cooperation and altruism between various certain bacterial species that goes beyond her basic examples of their ability to recycle each-other’s metabolites for their own use. I think this if anything is how I view the idea of Gaia, and while the DNA exchanges that occur are the prototype upon which sexual reproduction evolved I think Marguiles should also have mentioned the antagonistic relationship that these organisms share as well. While cooperation does occur, many of these bacteria are also at war with each-other, particularly if they share the same metabolites so there is a degree of antagonism that occurs as well. I think this should have mentioned because it paints a fuller picture of this ‘super-organism’ and because it provides an interesting analogy to the antagonistic war of the sexes in the reproduction of various animals that she documents subsequently. I found she often engaged in the same kind of chauvinistic use of biological evidence that she addressed as what was wrong with how Social Darwinists and others utilized biology in the past. This occurs problematically, in my mind at least, throughout the book, but is most egregious in her discussion of the rise of the patriarchy and phallocracy on page 54 as a consequence of the evolution of Homo sapiens. Earlier she references the descent of Homo erectus as the beginning of our abandonment of chimpanzee-like promiscuity towards monogamy and the protection of females due to the physical power of men which she again references here via her examples of early hunting by males and gathering by females. Based on my experiences taking some anthropology classes on early man and reading the book Born to Run, I would disagree with her use of evolutionary biology to place the origins of the patriarchy at this point in humanity’s existence. Homo erectus differentiated himself from the last common ancestor we share with chimpanzees and other apes because of his ability to run. This is the primary method humanity used throughout the bulk of its history over the last 50,000 years to procure food. There is a greater discrepancy between the sizes of male and female apes like gorillas than between male and female early humans because the physical size of males was actually counterproductive for running and males began shrinking via the selective pressure of these long distance hunts. Born to Run also presents a myriad of evidence of the fact that as you increase the distance of an endurance run the difference between male and female competitors disappears. Ultra-marathoning of the kind ancient tribes utilized to hunt created an equal playing field between the sexes’ roles in survival unlike any seen prior to that point in primates. Similarly, the archaeological evidence of shamanistic rituals I encountered within anthropology also painted a picture of shared shaman roles between the sexes, if not a slant towards female shamans. I’d instead argue that the rise of the patriarchy began much later in human history, only at the dawn of organized agriculture and with it organized religion, within the last 10,000 years, where the larger physical strength of males would present an advantage that they did not necessarily have earlier in hunting by running animals to death.

Question: At a point in the first Chapter, Marguiles uses her arguments about ritualistic violence inherent in males and sperm competition to offer an explanation for gang rapes. Do you agree with her perspective or not? Why?

Michael Maranets
Published with permission

WGSS 3998 – Ecosexuality and the Ecology of Love

Prof. Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio

U Conn, Storrs, Spring 2013

Course Announcement and Description

Dear Earthlings:

Let “nature” be your teacher in the arts of love. Education is the heart of democracy, education to love. Come back for more wonders: Students Responses to appear every Tuesday. Book Reports to be scheduled soon, every other Thursday. Check out our summer offerings: Ecosexuality in Portland, OR, July 17-21. Info and Registration here!

Namaste,

Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio, PhD

Gilf Gaia Extraordinaire

Author of Gaia, Eros, and many other books about love
Professor of Humanities

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Follow us in the social media

Poly Planet GAIA Blog:
http://polyplanet.blogspot.com/

Website: www.serenagaia.com

Be Appraised of Ecosex Community Project PostaHouse
Become a Fan: www.facebook.com/GaiaBlessings

Author’s Page/Lists all books:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JS1VKA

YouTube Uploaded Videos: http://www.youtube.com/SerenaAnderlini

http://polyplanet.blogspot.com

4 of 5 – EcoSex @ U Conn – Margulis and Sagan’s Mystery Dance – Student Reports: Adam’s Take

Dear Earthlings:

The EcoSex course at U Conn is in process. It’s a great experience. We are reading amazing books. Thinking out of the box and across disciplines. Students are sending their responses in, with discussion questions. In class, we connect the dots: a holograph of what we’ve read together, the “required readings.” Multiple perspectives and good synergy. Here, we offer a glimpse. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Mystery Dance was one of two theory-of-science books. We got four responses: from John, Alissa, Rhiann, Adam, and Michael.

Here’s Adam‘s take:

Response to Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Mystery Dance: On the Evolution of Human Sexuality

I thoroughly enjoyed “Mystery Dance” by Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan. These women proved to me, once again, that they are competent, brilliant story-tellers, as well as scientists. I was captivated from the start; the interdisciplinary nature of the book, touching on biology, feminist perspectives, paleontology, microbiology, psychology, etc. appealed to my intellect and made it impossible to label the book as too one-sided or bland.

As an evolutionary biology major, I am fascinated by any news or information on evolution and all the process entails. “Mystery Dance” took an approach to the concept of evolution that I had not deeply considered before; the ‘stripper’ motive endowed the concept of evolution with an air of sexuality and, just as importantly, layers. As a child, I viewed evolution like links in a chain – mutations that resulted in the beginning or end of a species. As I have grown, I have learned that evolution if far less cut and dry than that, and this book articulates that superbly.

Another thing I loved about this book was how Margulis and Sagan focus on the human sex organs, and their relation, in comparison, to our fellow primates and, more broadly, to the other species in the various kingdoms and phylum. I had a decent understanding of these concepts before my reading of this book; I had done my own novice research because of interest on the subject. However, “Mystery Dance” took what I already knew and vastly expanded upon it. Why female Homo sapiens have permanently distended breasts after puberty, why male Homo sapiens generally have much larger genitalia than those of our fellow primates, how we associate sex with the primal, and therefore uncontrollable, dirty parts of our bodies – all are questions that I did not even know I had, now answered.

My question: Looking at current trends, can one predict how human sexual physiology will change in the future, assuming we continue existing as a species?

Adam Kocurek
Published with permission

WGSS 3998 – Ecosexuality and the Ecology of Love

Prof. Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio

U Conn, Storrs, Spring 2013

Course Announcement and Description

Dear Earthlings:

Let “nature” be your teacher in the arts of love. Education is the heart of democracy, education to love. Come back for more wonders: Students Responses to appear every Tuesday. Book Reports to be scheduled soon, every other Thursday. Check out our summer offerings: Ecosexuality in Portland, OR, July 17-21. Info and Registration here!

Namaste,

Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio, PhD

Gilf Gaia Extraordinaire

Author of Gaia, Eros, and many other books about love
Professor of Humanities

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Follow us in the social media

Poly Planet GAIA Blog:
http://polyplanet.blogspot.com/

Website: www.serenagaia.com

Be Appraised of Ecosex Community Project PostaHouse
Become a Fan: www.facebook.com/GaiaBlessings

Author’s Page/Lists all books:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JS1VKA

YouTube Uploaded Videos: http://www.youtube.com/SerenaAnderlini

http://polyplanet.blogspot.com

3 of 5 – EcoSex @ U Conn – Margulis and Sagan’s Mystery Dance – Student Responses: Rhiann’s Take

Dear Earthlings:

The EcoSex course at U Conn is in process. It’s a great experience. We are reading amazing books. Thinking out of the box and across disciplines. Students are sending their responses in, with discussion questions. In class, we connect the dots: a holograph of what we’ve read together, the “required readings.” Multiple perspectives and good synergy. Here, we offer a glimpse. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Mystery Dance was one of two theory-of-science books. We got four responses: from John, Alissa, Rhiann, Adam, and Michael.

Here’s Rhiann‘s take:

Response to Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Mystery Dance: On the Evolution of Human Sexuality

I was surprised by much of Mystery Dance. One section that stood out to me was titled, “Opposite or “Neighbor” Sexes?” The authors highlight historian, Thomas Laqueur’s, analyzation of the one-sex model from the Renaissance period. It surprised me that men and women were considered neighbors then as opposed to opposites. To me, these definitions should be the other way around. It seems to me that considering men and women neighbors is more forward thinking then considering them opposites. As I write this, I wonder if any of my peers feel the same? Does anyone believe that the thinkers of the Renaissance knew more about intercourse then we do? I would say that in some cases this is definitely true. I also feel that viewing our bodies as neighbors instead of opposites would make for more liberating sex.

However, the woman was still the inferior partner in both definitions. Why is that? How is it that cultural constructs of femininity and sexuality span centuries? Perhaps, this phenomenon comes from biology. Anatomically, the vagina is the receiver during intercourse. Maybe this is where these ideas of inferiority come from. It is very interesting to me that this concept is the same in both definitions of neighbors and opposites.

Additionally, I wanted to comment on the language. It’s noted that in several languages during the Renaissance the uterus and scrotum were labeled with the same word. These words expressed a shared type of human body. Currently, there are more specific labels for the genitals of both males and females. However, can that only be chalked up to science and medicine? Why do we have to distinguish? Could we distinguish medically and not sexually? I cannot decide if the double label from the Renaissance is under developed or ahead of its time. Overall, I was very surprised by the concepts brought up in this section and the parallels that can be drawn between the Renaissance and modern culture.

Rhiann Peterson
Published with permission

WGSS 3998 – Ecosexuality and the Ecology of Love

Prof. Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio

U Conn, Storrs, Spring 2013

Course Announcement and Description

Dear Earthlings:

Let “nature” be your teacher in the arts of love. Education is the heart of democracy, education to love. Come back for more wonders: Students Responses to appear every Tuesday. Book Reports to be scheduled soon, every other Thursday. Check out our summer offerings: Ecosexuality in Portland, OR, July 17-21. Info and Registration here!

Namaste,

Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio, PhD

Gilf Gaia Extraordinaire

Author of Gaia, Eros, and many other books about love
Professor of Humanities

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Follow us in the social media

Poly Planet GAIA Blog:
http://polyplanet.blogspot.com/

Website: www.serenagaia.com

Be Appraised of Ecosex Community Project PostaHouse
Become a Fan: www.facebook.com/GaiaBlessings

Author’s Page/Lists all books:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JS1VKA

YouTube Uploaded Videos: http://www.youtube.com/SerenaAnderlini

http://polyplanet.blogspot.com

2 of 5 – EcoSex @ U Conn – Margulis and Sagans’ Mystery Dance – Student Responses: Alissa’s Take

Dear Earthlings:

The EcoSex course at U Conn is in process. It’s a great experience. We are reading amazing books. Thinking out of the box and across disciplines. Students are sending their responses in, with discussion questions. In class, we connect the dots: a holograph of what we’ve read together, the “required readings.” Multiple perspectives and good synergy. Here, we offer a glimpse. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Mystery Dance was one of two theory-of-science books. We got four responses: from John, Alissa, Rhiann, Adam, and Michael.

Here’s Alissa‘s take:

Response to Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Mystery Dance: On the Evolution of Human Sexuality

When first reading the book I thought it was strange to focus on animals and the reproductive instincts and habits of animals. As the novel continued it became clearer how close humans and mammals like apes tend to be. I learned about natural selection in biology, but I could never distinguish why this applied to humans. Certain things I tend to think do not apply as much in today’s society, but I can see how it is important in some cultures, religions or societies. The author talked about how men sought women who were virgins because their sperm would have a better chance of fertilizing and it eliminated the risk of his wife or partner carrying another man’s offspring. Reading about the various signs that show whether a woman is fertile or not to give a man an advantage or disadvantage tied in with evolutionary aspects. When a woman is ovulating, how that is hidden from males and specific examples such as that made me wonder who has the advantage in natural selection. Women (humans) are more selective when mating because they have fewer eggs and have to carry around the fetus for 9 months before it is born. It makes logical sense that the women would be more careful when choosing a mate because they will be doing the nurturing and the majority of the raising the child. I understand that men can raise children too, but they cannot breast feed and children’s first “imprint” tends to be on their mother since that have that biological bond.

I thought that the author gave an interesting twist to the common evolutionary standpoint of natural selection not only with animals but with the human race. She focused on the interactions between men and women and how in certain societies things are done differently. She successfully spotlights women and where things may have strayed over the years. When thinking of the act of sex men are the ones who are thought of first. Society focuses on pleasing men and women fall to the wayside. The author finally gives women their spotlight spending at least a chapter on the female orgasm and what it insinuates. She goes as far to include how in some societies boys once they reach maturity must learn how to properly satisfy a woman before themselves. While reading that portion I thought in that culture that this “training” was excessive, but the importance remains on the women. This section made me realize that the female orgasm is seen as a more private and sensitive subject in society showing the gender bias that has occurred. This also relates to the concept how a man that sleeps with multiple women is a “stud” or a “player”, more positive terms as opposed to a woman who sleeps with multiple people; she is “whore” or “slut.” To me these terms should be reversed because when a man is sleeping with multiple women it can be seen through the survival of the fittest model. He is sleeping with an excessive amount of women to better his chances of fertilizing an egg and having his genes live on. I know that most men are not sleeping with multiple women in hopes that they impregnate all of them and have children to carry their genetic traits. Viewing sex from a biological and natural selection standpoint gives the reader and alternate perspective to see the way society works and has evolved.

I do not understand the imprinting process and how this leads to people liking men, women, being homosexual or heterosexual?

Why do you think that men could be disadvantaged more than women from the natural selection viewpoint?

Alissa Maus
Published with permission

WGSS 3998 – Ecosexuality and the Ecology of Love

Prof. Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio

U Conn, Storrs, Spring 2013

Course Announcement and Description

Dear Earthlings:

Let “nature” be your teacher in the arts of love. Education is the heart of democracy, education to love. Come back for more wonders: Students Responses to appear every Tuesday. Book Reports to be scheduled soon, every other Thursday. Check out our summer offerings: Ecosexuality in Portland, OR, July 17-21. Info and Registration here!

Namaste,

Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio, PhD

Gilf Gaia Extraordinaire

Author of Gaia, Eros, and many other books about love
Professor of Humanities

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Follow us in the social media

Poly Planet GAIA Blog:
http://polyplanet.blogspot.com/

Website: www.serenagaia.com

Be Appraised of Ecosex Community Project PostaHouse
Become a Fan: www.facebook.com/GaiaBlessings

Author’s Page/Lists all books:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JS1VKA

YouTube Uploaded Videos: http://www.youtube.com/SerenaAnderlini

http://polyplanet.blogspot.com

1 of 5 – EcoSex @ U Conn – Margulis and Sagan’s Mystery Dance – Student Reports: John’s Take

Dear Earthlings:

The EcoSex course at U Conn is in process. It’s a great experience. We are reading amazing books. Thinking out of the box and across disciplines. Students are sending their responses in, with discussion questions. In class, we connect the dots: a holograph of what we’ve read together, the “required readings.” Multiple perspectives and good synergy. Here, we offer a glimpse. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Mystery Dance was one of two theory-of-science books. We got four responses: from John, Alissa, Rhiann, Adam, and Michael.

Here’s John‘s take:

Response to Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Mystery Dance: On the Evolution of Human Sexuality

I came across the same problems with this book as I did with her last one. Lynn Margulis seems to know what she’s talking about scientifically (I assume, I simply don’t have the scientific background to vouch for it) but she can’t, or won’t draw conclusions. The bookend theme of Mystery Dance is the image of the ouroboros: the serpent that curves around and eats itself, creating more of itself in the process of destruction. She ends her introduction with a note on time, and ends the whole book reminding us that sexual evolution hasn’t ended. But I think the overarching theme of her book is on page 11: “The slang word for coitus simultaneously means making love and an act of aggression.” Margulis seems to imply that between modern human society and our bacterial ancestors, there was a lot of rape that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing because it contributed to human evolution. I’m not sure I agree with that.

This theme of “rape has its benefits” might not be exactly what she was aiming for, but it’s clear that Margulis believes her science leads to that conclusion, even though she doesn’t want to outright support rape (not that she, or anyone, should). She writes,

According to John Alcock, the feminist hypothesis that rape is solely an instrument of social oppression against women – a violent means of male domination without biological basis – cannot be completely correct. Alcock points to the fact that raped women are not usually in positions of social power, but, rather, they are young, often poor, and relatively defenseless women in the peak of their childbearing years… Perhaps women of childbearing age are most often raped because the mothers of rapists, perceived by the weak infant to be Godlike in their power, were also usually young women… Nonetheless, the question lingers as to whether sexual violence is partially the result of the reptilian brain developing – or misdeveloping – in sexually arousable young people. (132)

The problem I have with this isn’t so much the evolutionary implications, but that she tries to connect it to human terms. Margulis makes the connection that rape as any sort of mental activity is reptilian, base, and as close to biologically or genetically wrong as can be said, but she also says that nature has no morals, and the whole point of this book is to show us how undifferent from animals we actually are.

I have no problem with learning from animals, personifying animals, and treating animals with kindness and dignity. Those are all of the marks of an evolved culture. But evolution is kind of the point. Two mating alligators don’t view what they’re doing as sexual violence, it’s just mating to produce offspring. There is a significant lack of animal perspective in her writing on sexual violence.

I don’t have a problem with what Margulis writes, I just have a problem with the implications of the way she writes it. I think Mystery Dance is a little obsessed with the stripper allusion that she can’t draw a significant enough distance between viewer and viewed. Going to a strip club is supposed to excite and entice someone. The stripper is supposed to draw you in, not repulse you with the thought that all of her negative qualities are yours as well.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Does sexual violence have a significant role to play in human evolution?

2. Can it even be viewed as “violence” or even “sex” outside of biological terminology?

3. Is there anything inherent that separates us from animals? Or are rapists just alligators in human skin?

John Nitowski
Published with permission

WGSS 3998 – Ecosexuality and the Ecology of Love

Prof. Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio

U Conn, Storrs, Spring 2013

Course Announcement and Description

Dear Earthlings:

Let “nature” be your teacher in the arts of love. Education is the heart of democracy, education to love. Come back for more wonders: Students Responses to appear every Tuesday. Book Reports to be scheduled soon, every other Thursday. Check out our summer offerings: Ecosexuality in Portland, OR, July 17-21. Info and Registration here!

Namaste,

Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio, PhD

Gilf Gaia Extraordinaire

Author of Gaia, Eros, and many other books about love
Professor of Humanities

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Follow us in the social media

Poly Planet GAIA Blog:
http://polyplanet.blogspot.com/

Website: www.serenagaia.com

Be Appraised of Ecosex Community Project PostaHouse
Become a Fan: www.facebook.com/GaiaBlessings

Author’s Page/Lists all books:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JS1VKA

YouTube Uploaded Videos: http://www.youtube.com/SerenaAnderlini

http://polyplanet.blogspot.com

3 of 3 – EcoSex @ U Conn – Margulis and Sagan’s Symbiotic Planet – Student Responses: Adam’s Take

Dear Earthlings:

The EcoSex course at U Conn is in process. It’s a great experience. We are reading amazing books. Thinking out of the box and across disciplines. Students are sending their responses in, with discussion questions. In class, we connect the dots: a holograph of what we’ve read together, the “required readings.” Multiple perspectives and good synergy. Here, we offer a glimpse. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Symbiotic Planet was one of two theory-of-science books. We got three responses: from Alexandra, John, and Adam.

Here’s Adam‘s take:

Response to Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution

As someone who values and appreciates scientific inquiry and exploration, I was delighted by “Symbiotic Planet, A New Look At Evolution”, by Lynn Margulis. An exceptional writer, Margulis is able to artfully and intelligibly pen parallel stories with an impressive fluidity; the tales of her commencement into the world of science and subsequent career, and her knowledgeable explanations of evolution, meiotic sex, the flexibility of taxonomy, serial endosymbiosis theory, etc., transition and intersect gracefully in a way that gripped me without difficulty.

I have a decent understanding of biology, geology, chemistry, bacteriology, ecology, and evolutionary theories, but I was still challenged by this book. I have never thought about science in a romantic, chimerical way, but Margulis required that I do so to comprehend her points. I had never heard of Gaia Theory before, and to view the Earth as an actual physiological system, as a geophysiological entity with a consciousness and attributes like that of a living body, rather than as merely a platform on which chemical and physical changes occur, was a bit of a stretch for me. Margulis offers a fierce, highly educated defense for her theories though, and I found it impossible to refute her hypotheses through cursory conjecture.

Another thing I found interesting is the different way in which we can view evolution that Margulis advocates throughout the book; rather than evolution being solely a ‘kill or be killed’, brutal method of survival, she makes the distinction that evolution is just as much learning to co-exist and benefit from what something else has to offer, much more so than merely killing off opposition, as we usually perceive evolution.

My discussion question is this: can humans have a positive impact on Gaia (Earth systems, etc.) outside of just being more energy efficient? I refer to genetic engineering, etc. Or is meddling with Earth’s natural systems something to be wary of?

Adam Kocurek
Published with permission

WGSS 3998 – Ecosexuality and the Ecology of Love

Prof. Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio

U Conn, Storrs, Spring 2013

Course Announcement and Description

Dear Earthlings:

Let “nature” be your teacher in the arts of love. Education is the heart of democracy, education to love. Come back for more wonders: Students Responses to appear every Tuesday. Book Reports scheduled every other Thursday. Check out our summer offerings: Ecosexuality in Portland, OR, July 17-21. Info and Registration here!

Namaste,

Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio, PhD

Gilf Gaia Extraordinaire

Author of Gaia, Eros, and many other books about love
Professor of Humanities

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Follow us in the social media

Poly Planet GAIA Blog:
http://polyplanet.blogspot.com/

Website: www.serenagaia.com

Be Appraised of Ecosex Community Project PostaHouse
Become a Fan: www.facebook.com/GaiaBlessings

Author’s Page/Lists all books:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JS1VKA

YouTube Uploaded Videos: http://www.youtube.com/SerenaAnderlini

http://polyplanet.blogspot.com

2 of 3 – EcoSex @ U Conn – Margulis and Sagan’s Symbiotic Planet – Student Responses: John’s Take

Dear Earthlings:

The EcoSex course at U Conn is in process. It’s a great experience. We are reading amazing books. Thinking out of the box and across disciplines. Students are sending their responses in, with discussion questions. In class, we connect the dots: a holograph of what we’ve read together, the “required readings.” Multiple perspectives and good synergy. Here, we offer a glimpse. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Symbiotic Planet was one of two theory-of-science books. We got three responses: from Alexandra, John, and Adam.

Here’s John‘s take:

Response to Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution

I’m horribly science illiterate. It was hard for me to focus on passages like this:

No one claims to have “solved” the origin of life problem. Yet although we cannot create cells from chemicals, cell-like membranous enclosures form as naturally as bubbles when oil is shaken with water. In the earliest days of the still life-less Earth, such bubble enclosures separated inside from outside. As Harold J. Morowitz, distinguished professor at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, and director of the Krasnow Institute for the Study of Evolution of Consciousness, argues in his amusing mayonnaise book, we think that prolife, with a suitable source of energy inside a greasy membrane, grew chemically complex. These lipidic bags grew and developed self-maintenance. They, through exchange of parts, maintained their structure in a more or less increasingly faithful way. Energy, of course, was required. Probably solar energy at first moved through the droplets; controlled energy flow led to the selfhood that became cell life. By definition, the most stable of these droplets survived longest and eventually, at random, retained their form by incessant interchange of parts with the environment. After a great deal of metabolic evolution, which I believe occurred inside the self-maintaining greasy membrane, some, those containing phosphate and nucleotides with phosphate attached to them, acquired the ability to replicate more or less accurately. (71-2)

I have the vaguest idea of what any of that means. And there were at least two solid chapters that went pretty much like that.

That said, I really do love the general philosophy of the book Margulis outlined in the beginning and ending chapters. The thing is, I feel kind of gripped. Gaia Theory is beautiful, but it’s hardly unique. Margulis struggles to really define the theory outside of the context of the personified goddess “Gaia” but not so clinically in the field of science. Even though it’s a poetic and beautiful description, Margulis “regrets” the personification of Gaia because “many scientists are still hostile to Gaia, both the word and the idea,” (118). I suppose this is probably a mistake because by choosing the name of a being that has a distinct personality and mythology attached, the movement became personified. It’s impossible to think of “Marxism” without reference to Marx, though his ideas are far from unique.

This is why, when I initially heard the term “Gaia” I was also a little skeptical of it. Things are so Eurocentric already, why not K’un Theory? The Chinese ba gua (see below) is a model of the universe. It associates (among many other things) north, winter, earth, receptive, and mother energies under the same symbol (seen at the direct bottom of the diagram):

Unlike Gaia, there is no personal connotation ascribed to K’un. It is a force, an energy, not a deity. This seems like the sort of thing Margulis wishes could come across in Gaia Theory because she, “cannot stress strongly enough that Gaia is not a single organism. My Gaia is no vague, quaint notion of a mother Earth who nurtures us,” (123).

The Ecosexual movement could profit greatly from infusion of Eastern thought and philosophy. Referring to sex as more than just the act of copulation, sex has a special place in a lot of Eastern systems of thought. Tibetan mythology contains a symbol called yab-yum (lit. father-mother) which shows a male deity in sexual union with a female consort. The male deity represents compassion, while the female partner wisdom. It’s a rather common tantric symbol, but it doesn’t just look at sex as sin or a matter of procreation (as contemporary Christianity does, and science seems to be a simultaneous extension and reaction toward). Here, sex is the universe. Margulis seems to come very close to this opinion on page 103, “Sex, like symbiosis, is a matter of merging. But it is also a matter of periodic escape from the merger… cell symbiosis is a deeper, more permanent and unique level of fusion. In the great cell symbioses, those of evolutionary moment that led to organelles, the act of mating is, for all practical purposes, forever.”

This reminds me of Osamu Tezuka’s biography of the Buddha. As a monk in the Forest of Uruvela, Siddhartha meditated and was visited by a young girl Sujata. Gradually, Sujata fell in love with Siddhartha but since Siddhartha was not only already married, but was also on a path to enlightenment, he refused to marry or sleep with Sujata. Since she couldn’t handle unrequited love, Sujata allowed a poisonous snake to bite her. Sujata’s father found Siddhartha and demanded that he heal his daughter. Not knowing medicinal arts, Siddhartha was once told he had psychic powers to use. He entered Sujata’s mind to bring her soul back from the brink of death and instead was greeted on the edge of reality:

The Brahma: Now look around, Siddhartha. These are all pieces of life.

Siddhartha: Pieces of life…?

The Brahma: Mm-hmm. And that huge ball is the universe.

Siddhartha: Universe? And what’s the universe?

The Brahma: All of heaven and earth.

Siddhartha: But that thing is moving… it’s always changing shape…

The Brahma: Indeed. The universe is alive.

(Buddha 4: The Fores of Uruvela, 210-1)

I guess this is why Gaia Theory doesn’t shock me or isn’t particularly hard to understand: because Buddhists have been aware of this concept for 2,500 years. Looking at Deborah Anapol’s Seven Natural Laws and Margulis’ SET theory, it reminds me of how to put it into practice in the finale of Tezuka’s biography of the Buddha:

If you are rich, you can give to those who suffer. If you are strong, you can support those who suffer. If you are neither rich nor strong, you can listen to them and offer your sympathy, telling them you are sorry. That is good enough… [for] you will have suffered for another. Let us call this spirit ‘mercy’… Mercy! It resides in every human soul. That is why, when you show pity to someone who is suffering, another will show you pity when your day has come to suffer. If you help someone, believe me, another will help you someday because we are all connected to each other, every living thing.

(Buddha 8: Jetavana, 320-2)

If we replace “mercy” with “love,” I think the quote still works for the Ecosexual movement.

Questions for Discussion:

1. How does the science promote (or does it just confuse) the social movement?

2. Should the social and cultural aspects be separated from the science?

3. Can they?

John Nitowski
Published with permission

WGSS 3998 – Ecosexuality and the Ecology of Love

Prof. Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio

U Conn, Storrs, Spring 2013

Course Announcement and Description

Dear Earthlings:

Let “nature” be your teacher in the arts of love. Education is the heart of democracy, education to love. Come back for more wonders: Students Responses to appear every Tuesday. Book Reports scheduled every other Thursday. Check out our summer offerings: Ecosexuality in Portland, OR, July 17-21. Info and Registration here!

Namaste,

Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio, PhD

Gilf Gaia Extraordinaire

Author of Gaia, Eros, and many other books about love
Professor of Humanities

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Follow us in the social media

Poly Planet GAIA Blog:
http://polyplanet.blogspot.com/

Website: www.serenagaia.com

Be Appraised of Ecosex Community Project PostaHouse
Become a Fan: www.facebook.com/GaiaBlessings

Author’s Page/Lists all books:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JS1VKA

YouTube Uploaded Videos: http://www.youtube.com/SerenaAnderlini

http://polyplanet.blogspot.com

1 of 3 – EcoSex @ U Conn – Margulis and Sagan’s Symbiotic Planet – Student Responses: Alexandra’s Take

Dear Earthlings:

The EcoSex course at U Conn is in process. It’s a great experience. We are reading amazing books. Thinking out of the box and across disciplines. Students are sending their responses in, with discussion questions. In class, we connect the dots: a holograph of what we’ve read together, the “required readings.” Multiple perspectives and good synergy. Here, we offer a glimpse. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Symbiotic Planet was one of two theory-of-science books. We got three responses: from Alexandra, John, and Adam.

Here’s Alexandra‘s take:

Response to Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan’s Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution

As an English major, I am not too fond of science. I did briefly go through a phase in which I was a marine biology enthusiast, grasping at any information on oceans and the creatures that inhabit them, but after that brief explosion of passion, I retired science for pencil and paper and books-lots and lots of books. I have tried since to ignite a spark for biology once more, and have failed, and failed, and failed. Symbiotic Planet, however, strikes my fancy.

Now, I am not saying that science will once more possess me due to this book. I am only pointing out the fact that Symbiotic Planet appeals to people who aren’t science based through its use of poetic language and beautiful facts, as well as it’s mix of hard science and personal experience.

The author, Lynn Margulis, places stunning excerpts at the start of each chapter. Whilst reading through the book, my mind attempts to connect these whimsical words with the theme of each chapter. This search for connection makes reading the more monotonous (at least in my eyes) scientific facts interesting. I have not yet found many feasible links, but I am intrigued.

Furthermore, I find Lynn Margulis’ emphasis on the interconnectedness of all life forms to be beautiful. Awe-stricken by the perfect dependence of the earth’s species on each other, I can’t help but to inhale the author’s words. The idea that symbiosis has such a profound effect on evolution, on the now, and the future, is almost spiritual. Despite the endless wars, the disgusting ways in which we slaughter animals, and the general cruelty of a variety of species, including the homo sapiens, the children of the earth-the fish, the bugs, the lions, humans- must depend on each other to further evolution and therefore to enhance the planet.

This idea intertwined with the theory titled Gaia, forms an elaborate web of beauty. Looking at the earth as a living organism, further connects every being on this planet, for in Gaian theory, every species is part of earth, and is thus part of the same organism. By viewing all species as one, humans strengthen their link with nature. This thought is a powerful one, for it has the power to spur a movement of care. If we believe that humans share something innate with the earth, will we not cease to destroy it and her creatures? I believe that a dearth of emphasis on individuality, specifically the idea that humans are higher or better or just different than the rest of Mother Earth’s creatures, will decrease our craving for money and other superfluous things. My belief stems from the idea that when we link ourselves with the grandeurs of nature, we will realize how insignificant we, as humans, are. This feeling of insignificance however is not painful or detrimental. It instead is beautiful, for it gives perspective. It places shifts our focus from greed and ambition to the things that really matter, such as the well being of others, kindness, and happiness.

To digress from the above rant, I will now write of a statement I found especially intriguing. Lynn Margulis speaks of how a “modern woman must be almost octopoid in her attention if she is to survive. Holding the infant in one arm… she stirs the pot with the other, while she watches the toddler”(18). This statement leads me to the following questions:

Do you agree with this claim?
What does this mean for women, working or not, of today?

Why do women feel the need to balance everything?

Why is not acceptable for women to focus only on one thing?

Alexandra Mayer
Published with permission

WGSS 3998 – Ecosexuality and the Ecology of Love

Prof. Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio

U Conn, Storrs, Spring 2013

Course Announcement and Description

Dear Earthlings:

Let “nature” be your teacher in the arts of love. Education is the heart of democracy, education to love. Come back for more wonders: Students Responses to appear every Tuesday. Book Reports scheduled every other Thursday. Check out our summer offerings: Ecosexuality in Portland, OR, July 17-21. Info and Registration here!

Namaste,

Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio, PhD

Gilf Gaia Extraordinaire

Author of Gaia, Eros, and many other books about love
Professor of Humanities

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Follow us in the social media

Poly Planet GAIA Blog:
http://polyplanet.blogspot.com/

Website: www.serenagaia.com

Be Appraised of Ecosex Community Project PostaHouse
Become a Fan: www.facebook.com/GaiaBlessings

Author’s Page/Lists all books:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JS1VKA

YouTube Uploaded Videos: http://www.youtube.com/SerenaAnderlini

http://polyplanet.blogspot.com

4 of 4 – EcoSex @ U Conn – Anapol’s The 7 Natual Laws of Love – Student Responses: John’s Take

Dear Earthlings:

The EcoSex course at U Conn is in process. It’s a great experience. We are reading amazing books. Thinking out of the box and across disciplines. Students are sending their responses in, with discussion questions. In class, we connect the dots: a holograph of what we’ve read together, the “required readings.” Multiple perspectives and good synergy. Here, we offer a glimpse. Deborah Anapol’s The Seven Natural Laws of Love, was one of two introductory books. We got four responses: from Alissa, Rhiann, Adam, and John.

Here’s John‘s take:

Response to Deborah Anapol’s The Seven Natural Laws of Love

–>

Contrary to others’ expectations, I liked this book and not just because it had footnotes and all. (The difference being that Dr. Anapol is talking about esoteric topics here. You can talk about esoteric things all you want without citing statistics or sources but it certainly helps; Weiss was declaring numbers and scientific experiments without actually saying where she got her information from before making alarmist claims). I really like the idea of applying spirituality to solving material problems. Thich Nhat Hanh, His Holiness Dalai Lama XIV, and Aang Sun Suu Kyi are all on board with this idea, all of them subscribing to Engaged Buddhism.

I really have no criticisms of this book. I think it’s an interesting philosophy. It’s one that she not arrives logically and experientially, but also provides Exercises to put her Laws into practice (something a lot of philosophers fail to do).

That said, it was something of an emotional read. Dr. Anapol writes on pg. 20,

… sometimes people have the experience of hearing the words ‘I love you’ but inwardly feeling the words are a lie. Instead of trusting the gut feeling, they believe they should feel loved. They may judge themselves for not being open to the love or decide that they are damaged and unable to tolerate being loved. If they later learn their intuition was accurate, they may go on to become mistrustful of others and doubt that the words and the love could ever be congruent.

I’ve experienced this in different forms. My mother, for example, was so sensitive to the tiny phrase “I love you” that she wouldn’t even allow the word “hate” in the house (in any context) saying that it would invite us to hate each other. She once accused me of loving our dog more than her, which made it difficult to respond, “I love you.” Accusing is typically not a loving action.

The same thing happened with my relationship a year ago. The woman I was in love with encouraged me to say those words as if they held a certain magical power. Apparently the only power they held was to unravel the relationship. As soon as we said them to each other, our relationship fell apart. My friends remember that time saying I was “less than a month away from alcohol poisoning.” I’m still trying to work through the exact definition of “love” and this book helped me move past that incident just a little bit.

Obviously, I found a lot of stuff in this book that directly applied to my own experiences. My most recent relationship ended just before reading this book. We hadn’t spoken in days precisely because we didn’t know how to talk to each other any more. Our conversations always became offensive or taken in the wrong context. We slowly retreated from each other because we were always walking on pins and needles. Finally, when we finally decided that we needed to address our communication issue, we became completely honest with each other, explained our hurts and attempts at communication and why we were so unresponsive, there was a strong connection that suddenly developed and breaking up seemed like a horrible idea, but a necessary one. Then this line on page 78 hit home,

Have you ever noticed that whenever someone honestly expresses whatever they are feeling – with no blame, defensiveness, self-deception or hidden agenda – you feel a surge of love? Even if what’s been said is not what you wanted to hear, the very act of vulnerable self-disclosure draws love like a magnet.

This is the perfect description of what happened between us. It’s something that I’m not sure I would have been able to fully understand without experiencing it first hand, and I’m very happy I did.

I really enjoyed reading this book and feel like I need to go through it a second time to digest fully the experiences Dr. Anapol had with these spiritual masters.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Did you find any quotes that you might not have understood without experiencing them first?

2. Are there “types” of love? For example, is there an inherent difference between the parent/child love and what one would experience during an intimate sexual relationship?

John Nitowski
Published with permission

WGSS 3998 – Ecosexuality and the Ecology of Love

Prof. Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio

U Conn, Storrs, Spring 2013

Course Announcement and Description

Dear Earthlings:

Let “nature” be your teacher in the arts of love. Education is the heart of democracy, education to love. Come back for more wonders: Students Responses to appear every Tuesday. Book Reports scheduled every other Thursday. Check out our summer offerings: Ecosexuality in Portland, OR, July 17-21. Info and Registration here!

Namaste,

Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio, PhD

Gilf Gaia Extraordinaire

Author of Gaia, Eros, and many other books about love
Professor of Humanities

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Follow us in the social media

Poly Planet GAIA Blog:
http://polyplanet.blogspot.com/

Website: www.serenagaia.com

Be Appraised of Ecosex Community Project PostaHouse
Become a Fan: www.facebook.com/GaiaBlessings

Author’s Page/Lists all books:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JS1VKA

YouTube Uploaded Videos: http://www.youtube.com/SerenaAnderlini

http://polyplanet.blogspot.com

3 of 4 – EcoSex @ U Conn – Anapol’s The 7 Natural Laws of Love – Student Responses: Adam’s Take

Dear Earthlings:

The EcoSex course at U Conn is in process. It’s a great experience. We are reading amazing books. Thinking out of the box and across disciplines. Students are sending their responses in, with discussion questions. In class, we connect the dots: a holograph of what we’ve read together, the “required readings.” Multiple perspectives and good synergy. Here, we offer a glimpse. Deborah Anapol’s The Seven Natural Laws of Love, was one of two introductory books. We got four responses: from Alissa, Rhiann, Adam, and John.

Here’s Adam‘s take:

Response to Deborah Anapol’s The Seven Natural Laws of Love

I found “The Seven Natural Laws of Love”, by Deborah Anapol, to be a pleasant surprise. I am an emotional person, but I prefer to put up a stoic front and regard talk of love from a distance. Needless to say, I started this book with trepidation, but that dissipated almost immediately. Anapol writes in a warm, relaxing manner about topics which make many people, myself included, uncomfortable, and she succeeds at getting the reader to let down their guard.

One thing I found truly pleasant about the book was that each chapter, in addition to articulately, if not somewhat fancifully, exploring the seven laws of love, had exercises for the reader to undertake. I performed some of them over the course of the week, and found them to be eye-opening. This interactive quality made the book more entertaining and animated.

I will say though that I did not really feel a deep connection to Anapol’s book. I felt rather unrepresented; the target audience being young, heterosexual women, I felt overlooked by Anapol’s study and research – as if it did not truly apply to me, being a non-heterosexual male. My view of love also differs from Anapol’s. I do not disagree with much of what she says and believes; in fact, I completely agree with many of her main points, some of which being that the true source of love is one’s self and that truth and forgiveness are essential for a loving relationship. However, I got the sense that Anapol views love as a deeply spiritual, ethereal enigma. I view love, more or less, as a flood of hormones, some of which being dopamine and serotonin, and various psychological attachments. I am not a very spiritual person – I do not believe that Anapol’s view of love is wrong and mine is right, and I am not trying to undermine the importance of love. I am merely saying that her phrasing of love and her experiences seemed, in a way, foreign to me.

All that said, I am glad that I read The Seven Natural Laws of Love. It was enjoyable, and I walk away with some very practical, true, useful advice and knowledge.

Adam Kocurek
Published with permission

WGSS 3998 – Ecosexuality and the Ecology of Love

Prof. Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio

U Conn, Storrs, Spring 2013

Course Announcement and Description

Dear Earthlings:

Let “nature” be your teacher in the arts of love. Education is the heart of democracy, education to love. Come back for more wonders: Students Responses to appear every Tuesday. Book Reports scheduled every other Thursday. Check out our summer offerings: Ecosexuality in Portland, OR, July 17-21. Info and Registration here!

Namaste,

Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio, PhD

Gilf Gaia Extraordinaire

Author of Gaia, Eros, and many other books about love
Professor of Humanities

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Follow us in the social media

Poly Planet GAIA Blog:
http://polyplanet.blogspot.com/

Website: www.serenagaia.com

Be Appraised of Ecosex Community Project PostaHouse
Become a Fan: www.facebook.com/GaiaBlessings

Author’s Page/Lists all books:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JS1VKA

YouTube Uploaded Videos: http://www.youtube.com/SerenaAnderlini