Books explore cooperation between humans and nature
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Evolutionary ecologist Rob Dunn authored “The Language of Symbiosis”, a book examining the mutually beneficial relationships between humans and the natural world.
Dunn explains “symbiosis” as a relationship where multiple species interact and benefit from each other, citing examples like birds pollinating flowers in exchange for nectar and ants protecting trees in exchange for shelter. He argues that people now behave as if separate from other living things, despite historically cooperating with other species.
Dunn points to urbanization and technological development as factors that have increased the distance between humans and nature, and the book details ways humans and other species have collaborated through symbiosis. Additionally, anthropologist Christine R. Godsil wrote “Everyday Utopias”, a book exploring utopian thinkers and communities throughout history who reorganized home life to differ from established social norms. Godsil researches different cultures and languages to understand how people have sought more harmonious ways of living.
The book includes examples such as Plato’s proposal for communal child-rearing where neither parents nor children knew each other, and a co-living experiment in 19th-century France that lasted over a century. Godsil emphasizes that utopian visions and experiments reappear repeatedly, and people consistently seek inspiration from them during times of upheaval. Both books were recently published in South Korea.
