Letter: We are the monsters

Sir: David Aaronovitch's article (16 May) on the extinct Ediacaran way of life was spot on, both as a description for the lay readers, and for the high sense of humour and insight by which he made links to how we view ourselves biologically and ideologically.

There is, indeed, a school of thought developing that life could have taken many different turns from its inception, and that there is nothing "natural" about the forms of biology as we have them today and their "natural" selective history. This sometimes comes as a blow, even to professional biologists, weaned as they are on the selfish-genery vulgarity of Richard Dawkins and its relentless inner drive towards mean and lean life-forms. We are all monsters now.

GABRIEL A DOVER

Professor of Genetics

University of Leicester