Gaia was the Greek goddess of the Earth. The Gaia hypothesis was an idea advanced by environmentalist James Lovelock in his book 'Gaia ~ A New Look at Life on Earth,' suggesting that the Earth acted as if it was a giant, super-organism which acted to maintain balance between the plants and animals which inhabited it and the climate and chemistry of the planet itself. Lovelock's idea was that the earth was essentially self-regulating and that any disruption to the Earth's balance would eventually produce a reaction which would eliminate the disruption and restore harmony ~ the implication being that if human beings did not learn to act more responsibly the Earth would somehow protect itself by eliminating them. The name Gaia was suggested to Lovelock by his friend and neighbour William Golding, the British novelist who was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1983.
Many environmentalists found the Gaia concept appealing because it seemed to bring an almost mystical or religious view of the Earth into harmony with science. Some scientists have derided the concept as unscientific. Lovelock has defended the idea by calling it only 'a metaphor' which helps illuminate underlying scientific realities.
Many environmentalists found the Gaia concept appealing because it seemed to bring an almost mystical or religious view of the Earth into harmony with science. Some scientists have derided the concept as unscientific. Lovelock has defended the idea by calling it only 'a metaphor' which helps illuminate underlying scientific realities.
