It has been estimated that there are 150 species of bacteria in our gut with a megagenome correspondingly larger than the human genome; and that 90% of the cells in our bodies are bacterial [1].  This challenges a simple understanding of individual identity because on one level we are a collection of organisms, mainly bacteria, rather than a single entity.  The complexity is almost incomprehensible with 30 trillion cells in the human body each with about a billion protein molecules [2].  Each cell is apparently autonomous, making decisions about its role in the system based on information acquired through communicating and signalling with its neighbours, the rest of the system and the environment.  Its autonomy would appear to imbue it with a sense of individual identity which is shaped by its relationships within the network of cells [3].  This also holds for human beings within society although you could argue the network is simpler because the global population is only about 8 billion; however the quantity of information being communicated is probably greater than between cells, so perhaps that makes the network more complex.  Networks are horizontal hierarchies with no one or thing in overall control and they can adapt to cope with changes in the environment.  By contrast, vertical hierarchies depend on top-down obedience and tend to eliminate dissent, yet without dissent there is little or no innovation or adaptation.  Hence, vertical hierarchies can appear to be robust but are actually brittle [4].  In a network we can build connections and share knowledge leading to the development of a collective intelligence that enables us to solve otherwise intractable problems.  Our ability to acquire knowledge not just from own our experiences but also from the experience of others, and hence to progressively grow collective intelligence, is one of the secrets of our success as a species [5].  It also underpins the competitive advantage of many successful organisations; however, it needs a horizontal, stable structure with high levels of trust and mutual dependence, in which our sense of individual identity is shaped by our relationships.

References:

1. Gilbert SF, Sapp J, Tauber AI, A symbiotic view of life: we have never been individuals, Quarterly Review of Biology, 87(4):325-341, 2012.
2. Ball P, How Life Works, Picador, 2023.
3. Wheatley M, Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World, 2^nd Edition, Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc, San Francisco, 1999.
4. McWilliams D, Money – A Story of Humanity, Simon & Schuster, London, 2024.
5. Henrich J, The secret of our success: how culture is driving human evolution, domesticating our species, and making us smarter, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2015.