The Upside Down World

 

By Beth Rudkin  BSc,  MA (Phil)

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How it Began

 

It was 2018, and I was in Greenland, on a small cruise ship.  Each day a few of the passengers gathered in the ‘lab’ of a young marine biologist, to see what he had found the previous day in the Arctic.  One day he showed us a piece of seaweed – unimpressive until he turned it over and showed us a tiny, almost transparent creature on its underside.

 

‘This is a copepod,’ he declared.  ‘There are trillions of these things, in every kind of water, both fresh and saline.  They are vital to the food chain.  If some dreadful virus wiped out all the copepods, the whole food chain would be affected.’

 

A young man behind me said: ‘What would happen if some dreadful virus wiped out all the human beings from the earth?’  There was silence for a moment.  Then the young biologist slowly answered: ‘Then the whole Planet would jump for joy.’

 

It was a moment I shall remember all my life.  The following musings came eventually as a result of that moment.

 

Introduction:

 

The order of importance on our planet is not as we perceive it to be.  We see humans as the significant factors.  They have intelligence, are top of the food chain.  But from the planet’s point of view, the factors of significance are the less expected ones.   This study intends to examine some of the factors that make a difference to this planet. All of them will have some effect.  Some of them will make a difference for the collective good of the planet. Some will do harm.

 

Every factor cannot be examined, but I hope to show enough to bring about some surprising results.

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It is not a scientific investigation, although the author will use scientific facts to back up her theory.  I prefer to call it a philosophic examination. The more I have considered other organisms, the more I have been convinced that we humans, intelligent, amazing as we are, are less significant than our ego driven selves will have us believe.  It is not from a moral perspective.  No organism is consciously trying to help other organisms.  It is simply how it is. 

 

Following the eighteenth century philosopher Jeremy Bentham, I intend to produce what he called a calculus, which will give a suggested value to the contribution of each section of life studied, whether positive or negative, from the point of view of our planet.

 

But first we must define what we mean by The Planet’s Point of View.

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The Planet's Point of View - click here

The Beginnings of Life on Earth -  click here

The First Big Advance, Cyanobacteria, - click here

Fabulous Fungi,  - click here

Vegetation - click here

Insects - click here

Earthworms and Birds - click here

Mammals, including humans - click here

Water based life - click here

The Calculus - click here

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