On Societies As Organisms

This chapter of the book has mainly to do with comparing human societies to that of organisms. Going back to a previous theory of the author, he points out that humans like to think of themselves as superior to other beings. It is to human belief," to [take] caution that insects are like creatures from another planet." It is to say that they are completely different compared to humans yet they are "perfectly tooled but crazy little machines." The point that author is trying to get across is that fact that these creatures," live two kinds of lives; they are individual... and they are at the same component parts." It is surprising to think that these creatures, "have a mind at all, much less a thought." And it is in these terms that society is compared to organisms. An organism has its own thought processes, functions, characteristics. It is something a society also has. It is in his example of the ant that helps the main concept become known in that it is agreeable to point out that individuals do not make a difference. They are alone and by themselves and their knowledge is not noticeable. However, when ants come together and they begin to cluster up, it is in that moment that one beings to realize that they do have a thought for themselves.