Table of Contents for Metaman: The Merging of Humans and Machines into a Global Superorganism

Preface 13
 
THE NATURE OF METAMAN 17
 
1. Planetary Superorganism
GLIMPSES OF A PROMISING FUTURE 19
Organisms and Superorganisms 23
Crossing the Threshold 26
Society Transformed 29
Our Passage to a New Era 32
 
2. The Birth of Metaman
EXTENDING LIFE S PATTERNS 37
Of Living Things and Human Intuition 43
The Fundamentals of Life 45
An Evolving Metaman 52
 
3. A Fusion of Technology and Biology
THE NONHUMAN CONSTITUENTS OF METAMAN 53
Toward Machine Intelligence 55
In Biology's Footsteps 60
The Living Parts 65
 
4. Inner Workings Explored
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE SUPERORGANISM 68
Essential Systems of the Metabody 69
Commerce and the Regulation of Metabolism 73
An Inexorable March 78
 
5. The Mind of Metaman
AN EVOLVING GLOBAL BRAIN 80
Sensing and Interpreting 81
From Human Brain to Global Mind 84
Responding 89
 
METAMAN TODAY 93
 
6. The Foundation for Our Future
ACCELERATING TOWARD GLOBAL UNION 95
Tribal States and Global Government 95
Toward Global Culture 99
The Dynamic of Metaman 106
Change Is the Only Constant 110
 
7. Rites of Passage
PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBAL CONCERNS 112
The Fading Threat of Nuclear War 114
Population Growth--The Challenge of Our Era 116
Global Warming--Larger Perspectives 121
Dawn of the Solar Age 128
Living with Security 132
 
8. Man and Metaman
THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE SUPERORGANISM 135
A Place for Individual Action 137
At the Periphery 142
 
THE FUTURE 147
 
9. Beyond Homo sapiens
INTIMATIONS OF HUMANITY'S FUTURE 149
Human-Machine Hybrids 152
Biological Design Comes of Age 159
Rewriting the Code 163
 
10. Environmental Transformations
THE CHANGING NATURE OF NATURE 172
Our Planet's Unceasing Change 174
The Natural Environment in thevAge of Metaman 182
 
l 1. The Trajectory of Social Change
A STORY OF RISING EXPECTATIONS
The Impacts of Technology 199
An End to Self-reliance 207
 
12. Power and Choice
CHALLENGES TO HUMAN VALUES 211
The Dilemmas of Power 213
Aging and Death 218
 
A NEW VISION 223
 
13. Darwin Extended
THE EVOLUTION OF EVOLUTION 225
The Changing Face of Evolution 226
The Tree of Life 231
 
14. A New Mythology
METAMAN AND OUR QUEST FOR MEANING 237
 
Glossary 247
Notes 251
Index 350