https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/18/the-self-delusion-tom-oliver-review

Forget the idea that humans are independent individuals. We need to grasp that we are part of ecosystems

Should we try to think of ourselves not as individuals but as parts of the physical and cultural ecosystem? Tom Oliver, an ecologist specialising in land use, the climate crisis and biodiversity, believes we need a major shift in that direction. His view is that science now demands this change, and that only by making it will we become capable of responding to global warming and a host of other problems. The idea of the self as a relatively closed system is a delusion that has often conferred advantage, but is now a dangerous trap. Moving through difficult science with valuable clarity, Oliver tells us why.

He starts with the science of the body. Complex forces make it, sustain it and break it down. Like the body itself, these forces are not closed systems with hard outer boundaries. The atoms that compose us derive from the fusion of hydrogen and helium in the big bang, and many come from far regions of the universe. The molecules that form our bodies have travelled the atmosphere and perhaps been in other animal body parts. Viruses and bacteria bring in new genes. Our cells live for seven to 10 years on average, some only for days, weeks or months. Oxygen, food and water enter our bodies, while heat and waste leave us for other parts of the system.