Bruce Bagemihl - Biological Exuberance

Biologists have also observed that eating—the consumption of one organism by another—is not a necessary component of life. Why, for example, don’t all species manufacture their own food the way plants do? In fact, compared to the efficiency (and self-sufficiency) of photosynthesis, much more energy is “squandered” when one animal consumes another or consumes plant material. In nature, death itself seems to be elevated to “lavish” proportions, often reaching a “profusion” of its own. Hundreds of baby turtles, after hours of struggling to break through their eggshells, finally reach the sea, only to be picked off by the waiting jaws and beaks of predators—just one of countless examples throughout nature. This “squandering” of life hasn’t escaped the attention of biologists, who usually speak of it in terms of the inexorable mechanics of the food chain—otherwise known as the “cruelty” of nature. Yet it, too, is part of an overall pattern of abundance or excess.

In addition to making scientific sense, the concept of Biological Exuberance also makes common sense—it is intuitively accessible. We can all think of examples of the “extravagance” of nature in our own lives—maybe it’s the overwhelming lushness and beauty of the plants in our garden, the endlessly varied patterns of snowflakes or frost on our window, the infinite and subtle hues of autumn leaves—or perhaps simply our dog or cat, one of many hundreds of different breeds and hybrids. The examples multiply when we turn our attentions to other areas of the natural world, or to human society. Appreciation of the diversity and “exuberance” of life is, of course, nothing new—scientists and artists alike have sung its praises throughout history. The brilliance of Bataille’s work lies not so much in his recognition of this concept, but in the importance he accords it. Conventional thinking regards the diversity and extravagance of life as the result or by-product of other, greater forces—evolution, the laws of physics, the progression of history, and so on. For Bataille, this relation is reversed: exuberance is the source and essence of life, from which all other patterns flow.

Most importantly, the concept of Biological Exuberance sheds new light on the phenomenon of homosexuality. If, as Bataille suggests, life is characterized by what appear to be “wasteful” activities, then what could be more “wasteful” than homosexuality and nonprocreative heterosexuality (and gender systems)? If sexual reproduction itself is a means of using up excess biochemical energy, then obviously sexual or social activity that does not itself lead to reproduction will be an even greater “squandering” of such energy. 119Homosexuality/transgender is simply one of the many expressions of the natural intensity or “exuberance” of biological systems. Contrary to what we have all been taught in high school, reproduction is not the ultimate “purpose” or inevitable outcome of biology. It is simply one consequence of a much larger pattern of energy “expenditure,” in which the overriding force is the need to use up excess. In the process, many organisms end up passing on their genes, but just as many lead lives in which reproduction figures scarcely at all. Earth’s profusion simply will not be “contained” within procreation: it wells up and spills over and beyond this…. Lives of intense briefness or sustained incandescence—whether procreative or just creative—each is fueled by the generosity of existence. The equation of life turns on both prodigious fecundity and fruitless prodigality.

The concept of Biological Exuberance encapsulates a number of converging lines of thought in a wide range of scientific disciplines. In essence, it is a new way of looking at the world—but in a sense, it is not new at all. This “modern” worldview is uncannily similar to the perspectives of indigenous peoples around the globe, whose ancient “cosmologies” often bear striking resemblances to the most sophisticated recent theories of particle physics or deep ecology. Perhaps the most significant aspect of the intersection of chaos science, post-Darwinian evolution, and biodiversity/Gaia theory is its potential to initiate a return to indigenous sources of knowledge.

A number of scientists in each of these “new” scientific disciplines are starting to acknowledge the teachings of aboriginal cultures. Some of the most prominent and respected researchers in biodiversity studies, chaos theory, and the new evolutionary paradigms are waking up to the fact that their innovative ideas are echoed in aboriginal belief systems around the world. For instance, Edward O. Wilson invokes the visionary insights of indigenous Amazonian shamans, as well as the classificatory expertise of native New Guineans, to illustrate the biodiversity and “exuberance of tropical rain-forest life.” 122Pioneering chaos mathematician Ralph Abraham recognizes that ancient and tribal cultures are cut through with “chaotic” patterns, such as the “fractal architecture” of the indigenous peoples of Mali. 123There is even serious discussion among respected scientists of “respiritualizing” our relationship with nature and looking to indigenous cultures for guidance, faced as we are with the global destruction of ecosystems and massive losses in species diversity. 124Indigenous knowledge of natural history among the Inupiaq (Eskimo) and Koyukon people of Alaska, the O’odham and Yaqui people of the Southwest, and the Fore and various other New Guinean tribes is offered as a model for Western scientists addressing biodiversity issues. 125The indigenous concept of an animal’s “spirit” is embraced by wildlife biologist Douglas Chadwick, who suggests that a view of animals as “beings with languages and elaborate societies of their own” and perhaps even “some shared quality of consciousness” is useful for an integrated scientific understanding of their behavior and role in the ecosystem. Renowned conservation biologists such as Michael E. Soulé and R. Edward Grumbine also point to Native American spirituality—such as the shamanic Bear ceremonialism of many First Nations (including the Bear Mother myth)—as an important part of the solution to our current biodiversity crisis. 126

Gaian and post-Darwinian evolutionary theorists such as Peter Bunyard and Edward Goldsmith are also calling for a return to indigenous worldviews as a way of understanding the nonlinear complexities of nature. 127Many of these aboriginal cosmologies, like that of the Amazonian Ufaina people referred to above, involve sophisticated conceptualizations of the flow of “life energy” that parallel contemporary environmental and economic theories, including Bataille’s theory of General Economy. Others are in accordance with some of the basic tenets of chaos and Gaia theory in recognizing the importance of “exceptional,” statistically rare, or apparently paradoxical phenomena. Frank LaPena, a traditional poet and artist of the Wintu tribe as well as a native anthropologist, succinctly captures this perspective, which is simultaneously ancient and modern: “The earth is alive and exists as a series of interconnected systems where contradictions as well as confirmations are valid expressions of wholeness.” 128