Myth
The mythical Gaia was the primal Greek goddess personifying the Earth. She was the Greek version of Mother Nature, while her name actually meant “Earth Mother”.
Hypothesis
The Gaia hypothesis, put forward by James Lovelock and developed by Lynn Margulis, says that organisms co-evolve with their environment. They influence their abiotic environment, which in turn influences the biota by Darwinian processes.
For example, photosynthetic bacteria in the early days of the Earth, produced oxygen, creating an aerobic environment. This facilitated the evolution of eukaryotic organisms including animals.
One variation
One variation on the Gaia hypothesis says that changes in the biosphere are brought about by the co-ordination of living organisms and these changes are maintained by homeostasis. Homeostasis is a term usually used in connection with human physiology. It refers to the way that the body maintains constant temperature, pH, water content and other factors.
Another variation
Another variation says that all life forms are considered part of a single living planetary being, called Gaia. Gaia works to control factors that affect life, including changes brought about by life forms. For example, if the population increases too much, Gaia will produce a limiting factor, such as a plague or pandemic.
This seems intuitively obvious because cramped living conditions brought about by overpopulation will increase the spread of germs. Was it Gaia who gave us Covid? If so, I think she didn’t go far enough. Overpopulation is still a problem and we are rapidly using up Earth’s resources. However, rather than horrible deaths by Covid, couldn’t we get stuck into effective birth control?
Poetry
James Lovelock made some comments on this matter of Life and Earth.
Earth may be alive (not like ancients saw her, as sentient with a purpose) but alive like a tree… (The tree is) quietly standing still, touching the sun and the soil – absorbing nutrients. So still, except that it sways in the breeze, that (it) seems the same as it was when I was a child.”
Would you like more poetic writing? There are poems and poetic themes in “Transfigured Sea”.
That’s very interesting to read about the ideas of Mother Earth as a sort of conscious being that can counter the destructive activities of humans.
Yes, I like it. It’s so organic and holistic. But She needs to discover preventative action or at least, not leave it to the last minute. Still, Life has a very real vigilance. It pops up everywhere, through concrete, pavers and deep sea volcanoes. However, will humans be able to do the same thing? All of us?