The Gaia Hypothesis
The Gaia Hypothesis is a hypothesis that was developed by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis in the late 1970's. James Lovelock is a British scientist, an atmospheric chemist, and also an inventor with an education in human physiology. Lynn Margulis was a microbiologist during the 1970's at Boston University. She also originated the theory of the eukaryotic cell arising as a result of endosymbiotic cell capture. This theory is the one that gave her the credibility to advance the Gaia Hypothesis.
Since every hypothesis takes the form of an if/then statement, the Gaia Hypothesis namely is an if/then statement. Summarized the Gaia Hypothesis is "If life regulates the physical and chemical environment of the planet so as to maintain suitable planetary conditions for the good of life itself, then the planet can be thought of as a single integrated, living entity with self-regulating abilities." (University, p.2). The hypothesis interweaves various explanations of the Earth's functions as they relate to various philosophical evaluations and scientific rationale.
The hypothesis can be defined through metaphors, religious beliefs, and scientific rationale. The most common metaphor is "The Earth is a single living entity." (Oceans, p. 1). Lovelock recognizes that this metaphor is a convenient way to organize and explain the facts of the Earth. Plato, a famous philosopher, rationalizes this metaphor by saying " ' We shall affirm that the cosmos, more than anything else, resembles most closely that living creature of which all other living creatures, severally or genetically, are portion; a living creature which is fairest of all and in ways most perfect.' " (Charlton, p.3). There are many metaphor...
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Sackmann, Matt. "The Gaia Hypotheses: Science or Religion." Tulane University. Internet. 18 Oct. 2000. Available: www.studentweb.tulane.edu/~msackma/gaia.htm.
The Remarkable Ocean World. "The Gaia Hypothesis." Online. Internet. 18 Oct. 2000. Available: www.oceansonline.com/gaiaho.htm.
University of Michigan. 1996. "A Goddess of the Earth? The Debate over the Gaia Hypothesis." Online. Available: www.sprl.umich.edu/GCL/paper_to_html/gaia.html
Solis, Hilda. “Environmental Justice: An Unalienable Right for All.” Human Rights 30 (2003): 5-6. JSTOR. Web. 13 February 2014.
Plato, and G. M. A. Grube. "Phaedo." Five Dialogues. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub., 2002. 93-
The book draws its name from the first essay, "The Lives of a Cell," in which Thomas offers his observations on ecology and the role of cellular activity. He writes that the "uniformity of the earth's life, more astonishing then its diversity, is accountable by the high probability that we derived, originally, from some single cell, fertilized in a bolt of lightning as the earth cooled" (3).
Lovelock, James. “The Ages of Gaia: A Biography of Our Living Earth”. New York: Norton, 1995.
Kohak, Erazim V. "Part II." The Green Halo: a Bird's-eye View of Ecological Ethics. Chicago,
Grant, M. (1962). Myths of the Greeks and Romans (1st ed.). Cleveland: World Pub. Co.
Sproul, Barbara C.. Primal myths: creation myths around the world. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. Print.
Mythology was very important to the men and women of ancient Greece. They worshipped the gods and goddesses, wrote poems about them, and based a great deal of art work off of them. The people of Greece looked to the gods and goddesses for help in all aspects of their lives; including health, agriculture, and war. Reading about Greek mythology can inform people about the society of Greece itself because the Greek gods were created by the people of Greece. Three main goddesses who were worshipped by the Greeks were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. These three goddesses represent three different types of women in Greek society. Sarah Pomeroy, author of Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, believed that “the goddesses are archetypal images of human females, as envisioned by males” (8). Pomeroy understands the significance in the differences between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, and what those differences meant for the women of Greece who were required to follow three important rules. The first rule was for the women to live a life of domesticity and motherhood. This was very important to the men in the society. The women were the only ones able to bear children. Also, if they were forced to stay in the house, men could keep a greater control on their wives, and not have to worry about them having affairs. The second important trait was virginity until marriage. Its importance to the Greek culture lied in the fear of a woman’s power. The men of the society felt it best that a woman remained a virgin until she was married; however this same attribute was not required of a man. Their belief can be explained by this quote written by P. Walcot in the article “Greek Attitudes Towards Women: The Mythological Evidence”: “The Greeks believed women...
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Archibald, Zofia. Discovering the World of the Ancient Greeks. New York: Facts On File, 1991. Print.
Leopold, Aldo. “The Land Ethic” in Environmental Ethics edited by David Schmidtz and Elizabeth Willott. Oxford University Press, New York. 2002. p. 27-32.
The Gaia Hypothesis is a metaphor in itself that helps describe the planet as a living organism; a metaphor for the Earth as seen as a single physiological system. Lovelock describes the planetary ecosystem as alive because it behaves like a living organism by regulating its temperature and chemistry at a constant state favorable for life to develop.
A scientific theory is an explanation that is well- substantiated explanation in regards to some aspect of the natural world that is attained through scientific method and is tested numerous times and usually confirmed through vigorous observation and experimentation. The term theory can be seen as a collection of laws which allow you to show some kind of phenomenon. The strength of a scientific theory associated with the diversity of phenomena can explain its elegance and simplicity. However when new evidence is gathered a scientific theory can be changed or even rejected if it does not fit the new findings, in such cases a more accurate theory is formed. Scientific theories are used to gain further
Ecological theories and environmental ethics are reciprocally and dynamically linked. Inquiry into this thesis can provide epistemological and ethical insights for ecologists and environmental philosophers. First, for ecologists it clarifies that environmental ethics is not purely a normative corpus that we should adopt under the pressure of an environmental crisis. Ethical conceptions participate in the genesis and evaluation of ecological theories. Second, environmental philosophers have tended to focus on how ecological sciences could inform environmental ethics. I emphasize, in turn, that it is valuable to analyze and to discuss how ethical conceptions can and do inform ecological sciences.