Lessons from the Biosphere

There are two main types of lessons that we gain from knowledge about the biosphere. In the first, we apply patterns of local or global ecology (Gaia theory) to promote the material structuring and thus well-being of humanity. My example here will focus on the "principle of recycling as the way toward wealth." As a primary message, I will show how nature amplifies life by hundreds of times via recycling. For global prosperity, we should and must do the same. I will compare terrestrial to marine systems and look into how nature deals differently with various elements, such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and calcium. The second main type of lesson is more metaphysical. It concerns the transfer of patterns from ecology into mental values, attitudes, goals, ideals. Examples here, I will suggest, can help create models for our psychological selves in the context of the ever-complexifying social mind.