We all assume levels, nested hierarchies, single cells becoming multicellular organisms, organisms becoming ecologies. People forming societies, organizations, even marriages. Wholes becoming parts of larger wholes.

Now, how do such levels happen? The popular answer is synergy, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Larger wholes evolve because there are advantages to being in a group, sort of like united we stand, divided we fall, we’re all one, and Kumbaya. That might explain why larger wholes are useful but not how they evolve, and anyway, we like our independence and are wary about giving up our autonomy. Joining things is constricting. Ask any married person.

If you’re not a joiner or have some ambivalence about surrendering your freedom, compromising yourself to belong to something larger, you’ve experienced a challenge to the kumbaya assumption.

Biologists and sociologists are beginning to notice how lost autonomy may explain how synergy happens. If an individual stumbles on an external source of something they would otherwise make for themselves, they may lose their ability to make it for themselves and end up dependent, in effect addicted to the external source.

For example, 35 million years ago, primates, like all other mammals were able to produce their own vitamin C. We found our way into trees where fruit was a reliable alternative source of Vitamin C. With two sources, we could afford to lose one. We stopped generating our own so now we’re married to fruit, addicted, locked into a relationship with external sources of Vitamin C.

Likewise, your ancestors used to be able to farm their own food. Then came stores and they no longer had to farm. Now, many of us can’t farm and are in a co-dependent relationship with grocery stores.

This page is about synergenesis, how synergies happen. It has all sorts of implications for how you think about your commitments and obligations.