Page 49 - Annonce Dergi | İzmir Özel Saint-Joseph Fransız Lisesi
P. 49
The Gaia Hypothesis
Gaia, The Mother Earth The hypothesis has taken its place not only in science but
also in the cultural field. For example, in Asimov’s Foundation
This hypothesis is named after the goddess Gaia, who Series, the subject is Gaia, a planet shares the common mind.
was called the mother of the earth and the gods in Greek Also, in the Avatar films directed by James Cameron, the
Mythology. ‘’Mother Earth’’ with its other name, symbolizes tree, a living organism named Eywa, is said to be the heart
the earth and is the mother of all living things. According to of the planet. And this theory has been the subject of many
the creation myths in Greek Mythology, Gaia is today’s earth. books. One of them is ‘’Gaia Theory’’ written by French writer
In these writings, Gaia created Uranus as the sky, followed by Maxime Chattam. Instead of directly mentioning Gaia Theory
the oceans, seas, rivers and everything else. The person who in this book, the author has included his own comments in the
suggested the name Gaia to this hypothesis is William Golding, book and presented to the reader with a fiction.
best known for his book ‘’Lord of The Flies’’.
Human And Gaia
The Birth of The Hypothesis
According to the hypothesis, Gaia is our world and is a living
In 1972, British scientist James Lovelock put forward this organism. Even if the hypothesis is still not true, the effects of
hypothesis as a result of his research to determine what life us humans on the world are visibly evident. Over the centuries,
would be on Mars. After his research, James Lovelock revealed as Gaia has been recuperating on its own, we humans have
that the earth is trying to maintain its own balance, just like been deteriorating day by day, and her weakening has been
living things and regulates itself. In summary, Lovelock thought the cause. Maybe Gaia doesn’t want to keep her own children,
that the earth was a superorganism and was struggling to keep us alive, while slowly consuming it. In times of epidemics such
itself in balance. But for people who think the hypothesis has as Covid, some scientists thought that Gaia had recovered a
some shortcomings, the hypothesis has also been published as little.
a book called ‘’Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth.’’
We harm our own essence, upsetting its balance. We are
trying to kill the creature that keep us alive, we bring our own
The View of Scientists end. I think this is best explained by Xenophon: ‘’The earth is
a goddess and she teaches justice to those who can learn, as
The hypothesis has been criticized by many scientists since it long as she treats her well, she gives good things return.’’
was proposed by Lovelock. Some scientists have argued that
this hypothesis is far from scientific. They thought that some Tuna Yalçın
societies had been in the belief system for many years and
that it might be a kind of religious belief. However, besides the
criticism, this hypothesis has been used in many branches such
as geophyciology, biogeochemistry and systems economics.
Tobby Tyrrell, who has written a comprehensive book on the
Gaia Hypothesis, has argued that this hypothesis, along with
uncertainly, can lead to many new ideas about the earth.
Representation Of the Hypothesis in The Cultural Domain
48