IS GAIA A LIVING SYSTEM?

摘要

Gaia has been defined as a complex, self-evolving and self-regulating living system,rnconsisting of all parts of the Earth--the biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, soil, and rock--rnacting through feedback processes to maintain homeostasis with respect to such variablesrnas temperature, oxidation, and acidity (Lovelock, 1988). On numerous occasions thernquestion has been raised as to whether Gaia fits the concept of living systems asrndeveloped and presented by Miller (1978). This paper investigates that question in lightrnof the criteria specified by Miller and suggests what modifications might be necessary inrnorder to obtain a complete fit between the theories.