We Are Agora : How Humanity Functions as a Single Superorganism That Shapes Our World and Our Future

Discover a groundbreaking new way of thinking about life, society, and the future of our species that bridges science and human history. Could humans unknowingly be a part of a larger superorganism—one with its own motivations and goals, one that is alive, and conscious, and has the power to shape the future of our species? This is the fascinating theory from author and futurist Byron Reese, who calls this human superorganism “Agora.” In We Are Agora , Reese starts by asking the question, “What is life and how did it form?” From there, he looks at how multicellular life came about, how consciousness emerged, and how other superorganisms in nature have formed. Then, he poses eight big questions based on the Agora theory, including: If ants have colonies, bees have hives, and we have our bodies, how does Agora manifest itself? Does it have a body? Can Agora explain things that happen that are both under our control and near universally undesirable, such as war? How can Agora theory explain long-term progress we’ve made in the world? In this unique and ambitious work that spans all of human history and looks boldly into its future, Reese melds science and history to look at the human species from a fresh new perspective. Told with his characteristic wit and compulsive readability, We Are Agora will give readers a better understanding of where we’ve been, where we’re going, and how our fates are intertwined. Could humans unknowingly be a part of a larger superorganism—one with its own motivations and goals, one that is alive, and conscious, and has the power to shape the future of our species? This is the fascinating theory from author and futurist Byron Reese, who calls this human superorganism “Agora.” In We Are Agora, Reese starts by asking the question, “What is life and how did it form?” From there, he looks at how multicellular life came about, how consciousness emerged, and looks at other superorganisms in nature to figure out how they form. Then, Reese poses eight big questions based on the Agora theory, including: If ants have colonies, bees have hives, and we have our bodies, how does Agora manifest itself? Does it have a body? Can Agora explain things that happen that are both under our control and near universally undesirable, such as war? How can Agora theory explain long-term progress we’ve made in the world? In this unique and ambitious work that spans all of human history and looks boldly into its future, Reese melds science and history to look at the human species from a fresh new perspective. Told with his characteristic wit and compulsive readability, We Are Agora will give readers a better understanding of where we’ve been, where we’re going, and how our fates are intertwined. Introduction SECTION I LIFE Questions The Cell What Is Life? DNA The Origin of Life Why Do Things Die? Multicellular Life Emergence Consciousness What Are You? Superorganisms Bees Ants, Termites, and the Human Body Planetary Superorganisms Conclusion of Section I SECTION II FORCES The Mammoth Hunters Energy Information Communication Cognition Specialization Technology Conclusion of Section II SECTION III AGORA Meet Agora Human Hives Cities Can We Survive on Our Own? Conformity Why Are We Here? The Verdict SECTION IV MEANING The Past The Present The Future Acknowledgments Appendix Index