The Perceptual Implications of Gaia - David Abram (1985).pdf (original) (raw)

This article aims to demonstrate the functioning of Planet Earth as a system and to present how Planet Earth behaves according to the Gaia Hypothesis formulated by scientist James Lovelock, who describes Earth as a system that operates as a living organism. Like every system, planet Earth has feedback and control mechanisms, which is the set of responses produced by the system in the face of existing imbalances. Thanks to this feedback and control mechanism, it is possible to guarantee the harmony of the subsystems that make up planet Earth and, consequently, the balance of the internal environment of the Earth system. It is through the feedback and control mechanism that occurs, for example, the regulation and control of the temperature of the planet Earth, which is losing its effectiveness due to the increasing emission of greenhouse gases resulting from human activities. The British scientist James Lovelock developed the popular Gaia Hypothesis articulated with the collaboration of Lynn Margulis, to explain the systemic behavior of the planet Earth. The Gaia Hypothesis was heavily criticized at its inception, but over time its most essential elements have been widely accepted by the scientific community. Lovelock claims that a likely tolerable future awaits us, but it is unwise to ignore the possibility of environmental disaster. Something to be done to reduce the effects of the catastrophe, as Lovelock suggests, would be to write a guide to help survivors rebuild civilization without repeating the mistakes of the past. Such material composed of a philosophical and scientific compendium sufficiently complete, clear and respectable, that it could be spread in every home, school, library or place of worship, so that it would be within everyone's reach, whatever happens.