CHAPTER V 



The Societal Organism 



Many multicellular organisms show a marked ten- 

 dency to associate with one another. This trend be- 

 comes particularly noticeable once the organisms 

 themselves have become fully integrated entities and 

 reached a fair level of complexity. This banding 

 together is a well-known pattern shown by many 

 species. It is referred to as ''sociability/' "herd forma- 

 tion" and by other descriptive terms. 



Specific examples of this trend towards association 

 can be found in creatures all the way along the evolu- 

 tionary ladder. Now, in most of these cases one deals 

 merely with a loose association of individuals, which 

 can hardly be described as a colony. However even the 

 most loosely organized herd shows at least some pattern 

 of organization. As the herd becomes more tightly 

 organized, which evidently has happened in many 

 species, the pattern of its organization assumes a very 

 clearly recognizable characteristic, which is repeated 

 from one generation to the next. 



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