And I believe it is this imagined sense of superiority over animals, and each other, that provokes and allows us to behave in ways that make us the single most dangerous and destructive species to ever infest our world. We behave en masse exactly like a cancer that is consuming the flesh and resources of the Earth Herself while we grow and spread unchecked. Our arrogance allows us to ignore all the signs and symptoms of the "disease" we represent.
As I understand it (and please check me in comments if I am mistaken, as I have only my memory and cant knowledge to rely upon here; I can't go to a library or check the Internet as I'd like) a cell must exhibit three qualities in order to be classified as cancerous: The ability to reproduce unchecked; the ability to access and consume resources unchecked; and the ability to circumvent the host body's natural defenses. The additional ability to migrate and survive in different parts o the body is what makes an ordinary cancer cell metastatic, and notoriously the most dangerous and deadly of all cancers.
As a species, we humans have acquired and exhibit all four of these qualities! We can obviously migrate and survive in all but the harshest regions (i.e. North and South poles). And our ability to reproduce unchecked has been a long recognized "problem". But it wasn't until relatively recently that we've developed the means to access and consume resources without limit, and to stave off the natural "immune responses" of the Earth Herself, such as famine, plagues, and massive manslaughter (a.k.a. "war" --- of course we still have many small scale wars around the globe, but nothing compared to the mass slaughters of the 19th and 20th centuries, which I believe were a natural response to over-population).
Of course I'm making it a lot simpler than the reality. Our ability to reproduce unchecked is linked to our ability to acquire and consume resources, and all that is potentially limited by more than just wars and famines and plagues. But the fundamental patterns of how we reproduce, consume resources, defeat natural checks and balances, and propagate our kind is undeniably the same as cancer. The only question is, where will it lead?
I don't believe cancer itself is just a disease. In fact, I believe it is a natural and necessary phenomenon that is ultimately an incredible part of evolution itself. I have no real evidence to support this idea, but I believe it may well be possible that our separate organs and body functions began as the result of "cancerous growths" that became functional systems, like eyes, stomachs, and lungs. If you study how our cells "differentiate" after fertilization you will start to see patterns that this differentiation that are remarkably similar to the way some cancers can be passed from one generation to the next.
The mutations that cause certain cancers do not manifest as cancer until certain conditions are met, such as exposure to nicotine, asbestos, or some other "stressor". People who do not carry these "mutations" (i.e. genes) can be exposed to the carcinogens without developing cancer. This is remarkably similar to the way the mere presences o enough fetal cells causes some of the cells to behave differently (i.e. "differentiate") even though they all share the same genes.
So, are we doomed? I hope not. if I'm wrong about cancer being a natural part of evolution then we most likely will ultimately destroy our host body's (the Earth's) ability to sustain higher life forms. But, if I¨m right, then maybe the Earth Herself has the natural ability to "process" cancerous organisms, such as humankind, far more efficiently than individual animal's bodies can. In other words, regardless of our hubris, Mother Earth may have plans for us yet! Let's hope so.
As I understand it (and please check me in comments if I am mistaken, as I have only my memory and cant knowledge to rely upon here; I can't go to a library or check the Internet as I'd like) a cell must exhibit three qualities in order to be classified as cancerous: The ability to reproduce unchecked; the ability to access and consume resources unchecked; and the ability to circumvent the host body's natural defenses. The additional ability to migrate and survive in different parts o the body is what makes an ordinary cancer cell metastatic, and notoriously the most dangerous and deadly of all cancers.
As a species, we humans have acquired and exhibit all four of these qualities! We can obviously migrate and survive in all but the harshest regions (i.e. North and South poles). And our ability to reproduce unchecked has been a long recognized "problem". But it wasn't until relatively recently that we've developed the means to access and consume resources without limit, and to stave off the natural "immune responses" of the Earth Herself, such as famine, plagues, and massive manslaughter (a.k.a. "war" --- of course we still have many small scale wars around the globe, but nothing compared to the mass slaughters of the 19th and 20th centuries, which I believe were a natural response to over-population).
Of course I'm making it a lot simpler than the reality. Our ability to reproduce unchecked is linked to our ability to acquire and consume resources, and all that is potentially limited by more than just wars and famines and plagues. But the fundamental patterns of how we reproduce, consume resources, defeat natural checks and balances, and propagate our kind is undeniably the same as cancer. The only question is, where will it lead?
I don't believe cancer itself is just a disease. In fact, I believe it is a natural and necessary phenomenon that is ultimately an incredible part of evolution itself. I have no real evidence to support this idea, but I believe it may well be possible that our separate organs and body functions began as the result of "cancerous growths" that became functional systems, like eyes, stomachs, and lungs. If you study how our cells "differentiate" after fertilization you will start to see patterns that this differentiation that are remarkably similar to the way some cancers can be passed from one generation to the next.
The mutations that cause certain cancers do not manifest as cancer until certain conditions are met, such as exposure to nicotine, asbestos, or some other "stressor". People who do not carry these "mutations" (i.e. genes) can be exposed to the carcinogens without developing cancer. This is remarkably similar to the way the mere presences o enough fetal cells causes some of the cells to behave differently (i.e. "differentiate") even though they all share the same genes.
So, are we doomed? I hope not. if I'm wrong about cancer being a natural part of evolution then we most likely will ultimately destroy our host body's (the Earth's) ability to sustain higher life forms. But, if I¨m right, then maybe the Earth Herself has the natural ability to "process" cancerous organisms, such as humankind, far more efficiently than individual animal's bodies can. In other words, regardless of our hubris, Mother Earth may have plans for us yet! Let's hope so.
[J.D. January 31, 2020]
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