On Ways of Living (Part 18) — From "150 Words"
Right now, on this Earth, each and every one of us is living our own life equally within the "symbiosis of life," an extraordinary connection of life that has continued for 3.8 billion years. Where could there be any meaning (value) that surpasses this?
From "What Rachel Carson Thought" (Chikuma Shobo, 2015)
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This proposition is a philosophy that seeks to find the value of human existence not in "competition" or "possession," but in the very continuity of biological evolution that has lasted for 3.8 billion years. In this view, humans are not special beings separated from nature, but are understood as part of the history of countless lives.
First, the expression "an extraordinary connection of life that has continued for 3.8 billion years" contains a grand sense of time regarding biological evolution. All life currently living shares a common origin that traces back to ancient single-celled organisms. Humans, birds, trees, and microorganisms all exist at the tips of a long chain of life. From this perspective, the existence of "I" is not an isolated individual, but becomes the "flow" itself that inherits the entire history of life.
Furthermore, the term "symbiosis of life" has both ecological and ethical meanings. Within an ecosystem, no life can survive alone. Plants create soil together with microorganisms, insects carry pollen, forests circulate the atmosphere, and humans also live supported by countless lives. In other words, survival itself is the result of "symbiosis." This proposition attempts to accept that fact not merely as scientific knowledge, but as a value system.
What is even more important is the part that says, "each and every one of us is living our own life equally." Here, a view of life that transcends anthropocentrism is presented. In society, humans are often valued by their ability, status, and economic power. However, from the perspective of life, every life is the culmination of the miracle of 3.8 billion years of evolution, and its very existence is irreplaceable. This is a philosophy that resonates with Rachel Carson's view of nature and Albert Schweitzer's "reverence for life."
The final question, "Where could there be any meaning (value) that surpasses this?" is also a quiet critique of modern civilization. Modern society has placed economic growth, efficiency, competition, and consumption at the center of its values. However, as a result, environmental destruction, war, and isolation are deepening. This proposition presents "the connection of life itself" as a fundamental value that transcends those things.
In other words, this proposition speaks of:
That humans are part of the history of life
That living means existing within symbiosis
That life itself is a fundamental value
That civilization should be reconstructed around that value
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This is not merely environmental thought, but can be called a bio-philosophical proposition that asks, "What is a human being?" and "Where should civilization head?"
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The symbiosis of life is the highest value for humanity
People are currently living on this Earth within an extraordinary connection of life that has continued for 3.8 billion years. We often think of ourselves as independent beings. However, essentially, humans are not isolated individuals. We exist as part of a flow of evolution that has continued uninterrupted from ancient life. Our bodies, our breathing, our food, and our language are all established within relationships with nature and other lives. In that sense, humans are beings who live within the "symbiosis of life."
Looking back at the history of life on Earth, life has never existed alone. Plants formed soil together with microorganisms, insects supported ecosystems while interacting with flowers, and forests have circulated the atmosphere and water. And humans, too, live supported by the work of countless lives. Even taking just the oxygen we breathe, it is the result of photosynthesis by plants and marine plankton. In other words, the very act of living is established through symbiosis with others.
However, modern civilization is beginning to forget this fundamental fact. Economic growth, efficiency, competition, and mass consumption have become the central values of society, and humans have come to treat nature as a "resource." As a result, global environmental crises such as deforestation, ocean pollution, loss of biodiversity, and climate change are progressing. Furthermore, within human society itself, isolation and division due to intensified competition are deepening, and a civilization that was supposed to pursue "affluence" is instead creating spiritual poverty.
However, what are the values truly necessary for humanity? They are not about winning against others, nor about possessing more. It is about realizing that within the 3.8-billion-year chain of life, we ourselves are also being kept alive as a single form of life. From this, awe and gratitude for life are born. And from this, an ethic of living together not only with oneself, but with others and nature, begins to sprout.
If we stand from this perspective, we understand that human value is not determined by ability or status. Every life is a miracle that exists at the end of 3.8 billion years of evolution, and it possesses an irreplaceable value in itself. A small insect, a nameless flower, and a single human being all essentially carry the history of life equally. This philosophy leads to a new view of civilization that transcends anthropocentrism.
What is needed in the coming era is a shift from a "civilization of domination" to a "civilization of coexistence." Science, technology, and the economy should fundamentally exist to enrich life, and must not be used to destroy life itself. Precisely because we are in an era where AI and biotechnology are advancing rapidly, humanity must once again re-examine the questions of "what is life" and "what is human."
People are currently living within the great flow of life that has continued for 3.8 billion years. To understand that miraculous connection and to live together while respecting each other's lives—that is the deepest meaning and the highest value for humanity.
(Co-created with ChatGPT on May 14, 2026)
The above is a personal opinion and is not related to any organization I belong to.