The Origins Of Sociable Life: Evolution After Science Studies

The Origins of Sociable Life Evolution After Science Studies Myra J. Hird The Origins of Sociable Life: Evolution After Science Studies Also by Myra J. Hird SEX, GENDER AND SCIENCE ENGENDERING VIOLENCE SOCIOLOGY FOR THE ASKING (co-edited) QUESTIONING SOCIOLOGY (co-edited) QUEERING THE NON-HUMAN (co-edited) The Origins of Sociable Life: Evolution After Science Studies Myra J. Hird Queen’s University, Canada © Myra J. Hird 2009 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries ISBN-13: 978-0-230-20213-9 ISBN-10: 0-230-20213-6 hardback hardback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 18 9 17 8 16 7 15 6 14 5 13 4 12 3 11 2 10 1 09 Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne Contents List of Figures and Tables vii Preface and Acknowledgments ix Chapter 1 After War Introduction Sokal’s long fuse And now? A nonmodern microontology 1 1 3 7 19 Chapter 2 Plenty of Room at the Bottom: Thinking Bacteria ‘Big like us’ Domains Archaea and Bacteria Ancient hyperthermophiles and thermophilic green nonsulfurs Green sulfur bacteria Proteobacteria Gram-positive bacteria Cyanobacteria Spirochetes Archaea: methanogens, hyperthermophiles and halophiles Forms of life Thinking (with) microbes Perception Communication and self-engineering Communities Social intelligence Meeting with bacteria A difference which makes a difference Natural, cultural, social 21 21 26 27 Chapter 3 Evolutionary Theory and Its Discontents Introduction Symbiogenesis theory Symbiogenesis theory and neoDarwinism A tangled web, or ‘On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection and All Sorts of Other Things’ Conclusions 58 58 59 62 70