Michel Serres, Le Parasite, Paris: Grasset, 1980; trans. by Lawrence R. Schehr: The Parasite, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982.
One of the seminal book behind the urbanibalist intuition is Michel Serres‘ Le Parasite, a fascinating history on the relation between humankind and the (invisible) parasites living at any level of the biosphere. The universal nature is described as an endless but affirmative parasitic chain: from microorganisms to God. Serres explores the points of convergence bewteen natural and human sciences; how human relations are identical to those of the parasite to the host body. Among Serres’ arguments is that by being pests, minor groups can become major players in public dialogue — creating diversity and complexity vital to human thought. This book was crucial especially for our research on fermentation and yeast: from ancient mythologies to modern cybernetics “everything ferments”…
Download a selection of quotes here [pdf].