Our universe contains a huge variety of “things”, such as protons, atoms, molecules, living cells and human beings. It’s clear that there is some sort of hierarchy in this variety – for example, human beings are made of cells, which are made of molecules, which themselves are made of atoms. There are things that contain smaller things, and are themselves part of bigger things.

We usually try to understand the universe by taking things apart, to find out what they are made of. From this point of view, an atom appears as a unitary thing that can be disassembled into a nucleus and a number of electrons. However, if one looks forwards, rather than backwards, and views the universe as it evolves, then it’s clear that these unitary “things” are actually communities. So, now a number of electrons come together around a nucleus to form a community that we call an atom.

Similarly, a community of atoms come together to form a molecule; a community of molecules gather to form a living cell; a community of specialised cells comprise a complex organism; and a community of neurons – one type of specialised cell – form a brain. The universe now becomes a vast, complex community – in fact, a hierarchy of communities.

A simple pattern emerges, and our known universe can be seen as a hierarchy of eight levels of communities, ascending from protons and neutrons to human society. Each level in this universal hierarchy is a community of individual entities that are bound together by an endless sequence of exchanges. The universe is not a static edifice, like the stones piled one on top of another in a column, but is endlessly, dizzyingly active.

These, then, are the key ideas in “The Communal Universe” – a universe that is made up of communities, forming a hierarchy with a simple pattern, and with all communities bound together by processes of exchange.

“The Communal Universe” is based on well-established science, but presents a new synthesis, in terms of a hierarchy of communities, and a new emphasis on the incessant activities that sustain the communities at every level.

The book is written with a general reader in mind, who has a fairly good basic science education, such as a good pass in Science at 16+ level.

One diagram can explain something more clearly than a page or more of text, and the book is illustrated with nearly 150 original figures.