New Books in Animal Studies Oren Harman, "Metamorphosis: A Natural and Human History" (Basic Books, 2025)
Feb 8, 2026
Oren Harman, historian of science and biographer of ideas, explores why so many animals undergo dramatic life changes. He discusses jellyfish that reverse aging, starfish with two simultaneous forms, and links between animal transformation and human identity. He also traces cultural influences and considers parenthood and futurism as forms of metamorphosis.
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The Immortal Jellyfish Reverses Its Life Cycle
- Harman explains the life cycle of Turritopsis dornii, the so-called 'immortal jellyfish', which can revert from adult medusa back to an earlier life stage.
- He frames this as a natural instance of 'aging backwards' where the genome can persist indefinitely though individuals can still die.
Metamorphosis Is A Fuzzy Biological Category
- Harman defines metamorphosis as dramatic post-embryonic development but emphasizes the definition is fuzzy and arbitrary.
- He argues this fuzziness shows change is often judged 'in the eye of the beholder' across philosophy, theology, and science.
One Genome, Two Simultaneous Forms
- Starfish development produces larval and adult forms that coexist despite sharing the same genome, challenging human categories like parent and offspring.
- Harman uses this to show our language and metaphors often fail to capture radical life-history relationships in nature.
