The biosphere is formed by structures and processes that are useful for the continuation of life: we have lungs in order to breathe; eyes with which to see. Darwin’s discovery is that we understand why there are these structures by reversing the order of cause and effect between their utility and their existence: their function (to see, to eat, to breathe, to digest . . . to contribute to life) is not the purpose of these structures. It is the other way around: living beings survive because these structures are there. We do not love in order to live: we live because we love.
