From what I remember in Genetics, there were the following classifications of Relationships:
Mutualism: Both benefit each other
Commensalism: One benefitcs, other other is neither harmed nor helped (or probably more realistically, not harmed/helped to a significant degree)
Parasitism: One benefits, the other is harmed
Antagonism: One is neither harmed nor helped, the other is harmed
Competition: Both are harmed by each other's presence.
Also a relationship where neither is harmed nor helped... I don't think that one has a name either, but seriously, that's just a "normal"/boring relationship, isn't it?
Well back to the point. Obviously the best type of relationship for any living organism to have is Mutualism, but it doesn't always work out that way. That being said, Commensalism really isn't a bad thing and I'm not sure why some people would get irritated or angry if one person benefits while the other isn't really harmed (or helped). I mean why not?
Parasitism is something I'd be more against for moral issues. Logically the person with the advantage can do it because it is benefited, but if another is getting harmed its really quite grating on the mind. The person being benefited will easily become classified as "selfish" and will not likely recieve much sympathy from people if those people think like me. However, when breaking it down to basics everything is basically "Parasitism"; I mean, as people with a need for consumption, we need to eat and therefore eliminate one to benefit another. However the general thought process is "If there's an alternative that's better, or you won't lose anything in the first place, its best to avoid this type of relationship".
Consequently, there is another form of "Parasitism" where instead of one guy taking advantage of another, it is another sacrificing him/herself to let the other become benefited. I think this is called Altruism or something. While ideal romantic stories, I don't think this situation is typically realistic and people that come to this conclusion are either in an extremely rare and dire situation (therefore the relationship is acceptable) or just stupidly noble (which is stupid).
Antagonism is something that cannot be understood, and only happens in human nature. In general you never would want to harm anything unless you get something out of it (Parasitism). However Humans will "take revenge" or do something irrational just to see others get hurt. In most cases, this is the WORST relationship because there's no reasoning behind it.
Competition would be worse than Antagonism if it weren't for the fact that in many cases Competition is unavoidable. Food stock, for example, forces animals to evolve and become more "fit" in order to be the one less harmed by a declining or changing food stock. The curious thing about this relation (again pertaining to human relationships) is that many people would engage in competition just because. Both are harmed, one comes out more harmed than the other, but everyone is still like "lets do it!" However, because both are being detrimented I am feeling slightly less critical towards this kind of relationship, since both are recieving some sort of damage. I'm just more or less confused at why anyone would want to engage in a relationship like that.
So in summary, Mutualism > Commensalism > Competition > Parasitism > Antagonism.
I bet what a wrote is totally different from what people would think what would be here judging from the title. :D
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