A Japanese View of Nature by Kinji Imanishi Pamela J. Asquith

Author:Kinji Imanishi, Pamela J. Asquith [Kinji Imanishi, Pamela J. Asquith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781136131226
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2013-11-05T00:00:00+00:00

To say then, that members of a species are bound by kinship and territorial relations is to say that they have a similar form and function and survive in similar ways in the same locality. Taxonomically, a different morphology is usually considered diagnostic of different species, but these differences reflect the fact that their environments and living patterns are different. We cannot say, of course, that morphology reflects all the details of a living pattern. We find organisms which are indistinguishable in form yet which have distinct differences in habits. Yet the day when the details of the lifeways of all organisms are known will not come soon. Thus, we recognize that an organism’s form to some extent reflects its way of life. In other words, although the morphology of a dead specimen has a taxonomic significance, from an ecological standpoint, in which the true and original meaning of the form should be sought in its natural living conditions, we always connect the organism’s structure with its lifeway. That way, the form is not merely morphology, but fundamentally reflects the organism’s way of life. This we call the life form.62 In my opinion, it is more appropriate not to subsume the details of living in the form, but to consider the form as part of the details of living and to use the word ecology. However, I prefer not to define the word ecology at present, and will use life form for now. Thus, members of a species can be understood as being linked by kinship and territorial relations and which share the same life form.

Having said that the individuals of a species are not scattered but gathered within a certain range bound by blood and territorial ties, there are nonetheless some related forms which, depending on their lifeways, appear to us to be so distant from one another, we can call them isolated lives. Moreover, the gathering of individuals within a certain range is quite unlike the accumulation of trash at the waterside by the action of the environment, or the aggregation of domestic animals which are environmentally confined. Nevertheless, when we look at the dispersion of members of a species, we find that in every case there is a certain distribution range, just as the individual organism has a living space it needs. This implies that in species, as in individuals, we can recognize the life space of the species. I do not think anyone disagrees with the perspective that the individual organism which is born and dies in the species is nothing more than a constituent of the species. However, that does not provide an answer to questions such as what is the species, or what is the form of the species for an individual, or what influence does the species have on the individual.

The difficulty in thinking about this is that we usually ultimately focus on ourselves as individuals. Even if we talk about the race or the nation, the brains of individuals are doing the thinking.

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