Lives on Earth

Reflections on Evolving, Surviving and Being Human

Brock Haussamen

Theme: I’ve looked to evolution to better understand myself. What do I believe in? How should I conduct my life? What is life itself? How can I face death? I hoped to find answers in nature.

I’ve found some perspectives that make sense to me. The long view of life over 3.8 billion years—from the first fossilized signs through the emergence of cells, plants, other animals, people—brings glimpses of enduring commonalities among living things. Organisms seek to remain alive–replenishing, repairing, and reproducing themselves. Evolution sorts us out as we compete and collaborate for survival. My small potted Boston fern dates back 400 million years to the first plants that moved from the water on to land. Ferns flourished alongside the dinosaurs and long before the flowers. The leafy icon reminds me daily of the long story of living things in which we all have a place.

The essays: These 140+ pieces were written over eight years as a blog but are now a fixed collection. Below, a Topical Table of Contents outlines the main topics with links to a few relevant writings for each. On the next page, the Titles Index provides links to all of the posts.

Topical Table of Contents

1. The Cosmos and the Origins of Life. We don’t know exactly how living things got started, but we know a lot about the probable process and approximately when it took place.

2. The First Two Billion Years: Single Cells. The evolution of the groundwork of life was slow, complicated, and vital.

3. Plants

4. Animals

5. The Processes: Emergence and Natural Selection

6. The Human Body: How we emerged and how our body works. First, we walked on two feet—without a tail.

7. Thinking and Feeling. Our brain gets us by, with a little help from emotion modules.

8. Competition and Cooperation. Organisms have competed against and collaborated with each other for a long time. We take the second process too much for granted.

9. Aging and Dying. Death worries me less when I think about the long linkages of lives before me, around me and after me.

10. Religion and Spirituality. Religions can tell us our Story, reassure us about life after death, and guide our conduct. Can Naturalism be as productive and beneficial?