Thank you for your thoughtful response. I think we agree, although you may have misunderstood what I mean by "supra-organism". You said "Your term Supra-organism is another way of saying: Institution. A set of values and actions embedded within and supporting the Social..." But I don't think of institutions as human supra-organisms.

To me, institutions are part of the cultural exoskeleton. Take Congress as an example. As an institution it consists of written laws, including the Constitution, and written and oral histories, including recent audio and video recordings.

The congressional supra-organism consists of the current living members of Congress, along with staff, aides, and other people who make decisions that keep it functioning. Together they "embody" the institution of Congress, and the myriad decisions that they make in their living brains, including how they vote, are how the supra-organism behaves.

Thanks again for your reply.