Edward Osborne Wilson was a prolific biologist and entomologist who, through his studies, was able to reveal to us the most intimate and essential aspects of Homo sapiens, bringing humans evolutionarily closer to bees, termites, and ants. Eusociality is a level of organization found in some species and is characterized by the coexistence of individuals from different generations with distinct roles, mainly associated with reproduction and the care of offspring. Thus, each of these individuals, in an innate manner, has a clearly defined function within the social structure, fitting perfectly into a whole that allows each clan or small society to function coherently and reproduce and survive as a group, resisting natural selection as effectively as possible.
At first glance, we are not very different from other species that have evolved socially: we possess group awareness, understand the roles of each individual within a clan, and are fully conscious that we largely survive thanks to others. However, there is something important that, I believe, distinguishes us from social insects: the awareness of the individual.
It is curious how we maintain a strange love-hate relationship with our most fundamental nature: we are social, yet we also have the capacity to be extremely selfish. What differentiates us from ants is our awareness of our own existence and the will to survive because we consider—or rather believe—ourselves to be unique and special. In this way, each individual works within society but acts and operates for their own survival.
It is this social-individual duality that leads us to behave so differently from other animal species, placing us in a constant state of contradiction without truly knowing what is right or wrong, further intensified by the hormonal cocktail that largely governs us without our awareness. Human beings are capable of defending a behavior and repudiating it depending on the clan to which they belong, categorically asserting that they possess reason and an understanding of good and evil. This is why there are wars, genocides, and constant conflicts. This is why there are different social hierarchies, where within the same country, region, or social group, we are capable of both hatred and love depending on circumstances and on whom we believe we must defend ourselves against.
And it is here where sociability can break down under stress and fear when survival is threatened, reducing clans to small families or even to the individual alone. An opportunistic species cannot afford to disappear in order to save the collective; for example, ants die to protect the colony, but humans are ultimately capable of choosing. Our contradictory nature allows us to hold both group and individual awareness simultaneously in a strange and inexplicable way. Nevertheless, one thing is clear: we are not made to die without fighting to survive. It is here that the omnivore balances its need to subsist with the social life that simplifies existence. The gatherer knows when and where food appears because it has been studied carefully, and does not need to worry about anything else, knowing that the healer will cure them, the warrior will protect them, and the builder will provide shelter. We live and survive by trusting our environment, with the certainty that others will solve the problems we cannot, while also believing that we are special, unique, and that no one will survive better than we will in such a competitive, fleeting, and hostile environment.
Meanwhile, in an environment where we are not aware of our own nature, we live in cities and form large communities. We think we are better than those we consider our enemies, yet we likely survive unconsciously thanks to their work. And within this entire complex social structure, the gatherer continues to go out into the field to fulfill the most intimate desires of their own existence, bringing food home, feeling strangely fulfilled and satisfied by a mission accomplished, and comforted by knowing they have managed to overcome hunger and fear.
Daniel Agut
| Temporada 8. Capítulo 11 | Recolección de primavera |
| Recording date | April 2026 |
| Duration | 3:07 minutes |
| Data of issue | June 3, 2026 |
| Location | Multiple locations, Castilla la Mancha. España. |
| Image and sound | Daniel Agut |
| Edition | Daniel Agut |
| Opusculum | Daniel Agut |
| Music | Daniel Agut |
| Song | Campera |
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