[3] Fear causes the organism to seek safety and may cause a release of adrenaline,[4][5] which has the effect of increased strength and heightened senses such as hearing, smell, and sight.
Organisms also evolve while adapting – even thriving – in a benign environment (for example, a marine sponge modifies its structure in response to current changes, in order to better absorb and process nutrients).
[7] If perceived reproductive potential is low enough, self-destructive behavior (i.e., the opposite) is not uncommon in social species.
Animals in a social group (of kin) often work cooperatively in order to survive, but when one member perceives itself as a burden for an extended period of time, it may commit self-destructive behavior.
The desire for self-preservation has led to countless laws and regulations surrounding a culture of safety in society.
In addition, when a myocardiac arrest – a heart attack – occurs, it is actually the cardiac myocytes entering a state of hibernation in an attempt to wait out a lack of resources.
He makes an analogy between the survival practices such as hygiene and the ritual nature within small human groups or the nations that engage in religious warfare with the complex survival mechanisms of multi-cellular organisms that evolved from the cooperative association of single cell organisms in order to better protect themselves.