Life, the Universe, and Everything
Biohermeneutics relies on three key concepts: the life-functions, the life-forms, and the life-force.
Life-functions. The life-functions represent a dramatic re-conceptualization of the nature of life. Life is usually understood as a phenomenon inhering in the bodies of individuals – that is, in individual lives. The notion of the life-functions, by contrast, interprets life as a series of fundamental processes. The processes are: reproduction, metabolism, sensation, locomotion, purpose, memory, expression, perception, emotion, and cognition. This grand series comprises everything that living things do – biological processes, physical and mental actions, and social behaviors. In one sense, the entire panorama of life is nothing other the ongoing and differential operation of the various life-functions. From this vantage, the individual becomes merely a vector, or instance in time, of broader functions. Living things perform the life-functions, but the life-functions also constitute the individual. The several life-functions literally give rise to the individual’s existence, survival and essence. The life-functions perform the individual, as much as vice versa.
Life-forms. Life consists of an array of life-forms: viruses, microbes, plants, insects, fishes, reptiles, birds, mammals, primates and humans. These are the great kinds of life: each life-form displays an absolutely distinctive suite of structural and behavioral features. Structure and behavior unite, in the case of any given life-form, to generate a unique mode of being in the world. In short, the life-forms are defined by differences of fundamental ethos. This conceptual scheme clearly differs from a “Linnaean” classification based on phenotype alone. Substantial differences of phenotype are neither necessary nor sufficient to define a life-form. Rather, the concept of life-forms represents a certain neo-medievalistic, “moral” focus. Phenotypic difference matters if and only if it represents and enables a transformation of basic character. Conversely, a revolutionary change in organismic ethos need not be reflected in significant alterations of physical structure. As it were, the life-forms articulate the differences which make a difference.
Life-force. The life-force is a name for a principle of multiplicity which infuses life. Life does not and cannot occur in solitude, but is always already a social phenomenon. Social life take various forms, of which the most simple is reproduction and the most advanced is communication. The entire sequence of manifestations of the life-force, indeed, is: reproduction, exchange, solidarity, collaboration, imitation, reciprocity, communication, cooperation, mutuality (or altruism), and coordination. These social phenomena are not merely accidental properties or behaviors of individuals, but are actually constitutive of the individual. Individuals depend on the life-force for their existence, survival, and thriving. From this vantage, the individual is no more than a temporary vector of the life-force. In short, the life-force is a principle co-equal with individualism. The relation between the two is dialectical: the life-force creates individuals, while individuals are the only possible embodiments of the life-force. The dance between the two principles just is the march of life.