Gaia: Argument over a single word Essay -- Essays Papers

Gaia: Argument over a single word THESIS: Life on earth has been considered by some as a purposeful interaction tending toward ecological stability. However, when the scientific community led by James Lovelock tried to match this concept with science, it was (and continues to be) a dilemma. Introduction Whenever one hears the word Gaia, he or she will also hear life, goddess, purpose, ecology, and undoubtedly controversy. Not many topics have provoked more controversy among the scientific community than the idea that the atmosphere, biosphere, and its living organisms behave as a single system, striving to maintain a stability that is conducive to the existence of life—the so-called Gaia theory or Gaia hypothesis. The main controversy lies in the fact that the name Gaia comes from an ancient Greek goddess (Mother Earth). Since Gaia’s origins, it seems as if she was the most venerated among the Greek gods: "Free of birth or destruction, of time or space, form or condition, is the Void. From the eternal Void, Gaia danced forth and rolled herself into a spinning ball. She molded mountains along her spine, valleys in the hollows of her flesh. Unceasingly the Earth Mother manifested gifts on her surface and accepted the death into her body. In return, she was revered by all mortals. From within the darkness of her secrets, Gaia received their gifts" (Spretnak 47-48). The powerful magnet of the theory is that Gaia is a simple four-letter word that implies feminism and ecology, two aspects that do not fit in rational science. Had the proponents called the theory "A cybernetic system with homeostatic tendencies as detected by chemical anomalies in the earth’s atmosphere—as Lovelock intended to call it," the idea may not ha... ...cated matters (as Gaia) throughout history, and the human race has been able to decide whether or not using them is a good technique. There are truths to be discovered and ways of explaining them to be deployed. "Humans are not the center of the universe. Nor is any other species." Lynn Margulis Works Cited Bjornerud Marcia. "Gaia-Gender and Scientific Representations of the Earth [Part 1 of 2]" {Contemporary Women's Database} Sep. 1997: 96-106. Linden, Eugene. "Ideas: How the Earth Maintains Life an Intriguing Scientific Theory Continues to Win Adherents." {Time} 13 Nov. 1989: 114. Lutzenberg, Jose. "Gaia's Fever." {The Ecologist} Mar.-Apr. 1999: 59. Margulis, Lynn. "Life on Earth Doesn't Need Us." {Independent} 02 Sep. 1998: 5. Spretnak, Charlene. {Lost Goddesses of Early Greece: A Collection of Pre-Hellenic Myths}. Boston: Beacon Press, 1984.