Gaia hypothesis
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
"Humans on the Earth behave in some ways like a pathogenic organism, or like the cells of a tumour or neoplasm. We have grown in numbers and disturbance to Gaia, to the point where our presence is perceptibly disturbing ... the human species is now so numerous as to constitute a serious planetary malady. Gaia is suffering from Disseminated Primatemaia, a plague of people." --Healing Gaia (1991) by James Lovelock, p. 153 |
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The Gaia hypothesis, Gaia theory or Gaia principle is an ecological hypothesis or theory proposing that the biosphere and the physical components of the Earth (atmosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere) are closely integrated to form a complex interacting system that maintains the climatic and biogeochemical conditions on Earth in a preferred homeorhesis. Originally proposed by James Lovelock as the earth feedback hypothesis, it was named the Gaia Hypothesis after the Greek primordial goddess of the Earth, at the suggestion of William Golding, Nobel prizewinner in literature and friend and neighbour of Lovelock. The hypothesis is frequently described as viewing the Earth as a single organism.
See also
- Autopoiesis
- Biocoenosis
- Blue marble
- Earth Science
- Earth System Science
- Environmentalism
- Gaia spore
- Gaia Thesis
- Gaia (Final Fantasy VII)
- Geophysiology
- Global brain
- Global Consciousness Project
- Holism
- Hylozoism
- James Kirchner
- Medea hypothesis
- Noosphere
- Permaculture
- SimEarth
- Technogaianism