Page 7 - ECOlogic Book

Breath of Gaia
(Spring, 1990)

Although some scientists remain unconvinced, the Gaia Hypothesis has been
steadily gaining favor in the scientific community. A much larger segment of
the population has been startled by Earth scientist James Lovelock’s idea
into important new awareness. The Gaia idea, taken from the name for
Greek Earth goddess, presents us with a deeper perception of the place of
the human with the Gaian system. In Lovelock’s words:

The entire range of living matter on Earth, from whales to viruses, and
from oaks to algae, could be regarded as constituting a single living
entity, capable of manipulating the Earth’s atmosphere to suit its
overall needs and endowed with faculties and powers far beyond those
of its constituent parts.1
1

The breath of Gaia is our breath. As we breathe, with no thought or effort at
all, we are aiding in the circulation of vital gases throughout the entire
planet. It is as if a giant symphony is constantly being played – a symphony
consisting of opossum breath, ant breath, white pine breath, human breath,
horse breath, sunflower breath – all adding up to one big breath: Gaia
breath. This symphony plays on and we participate in it, not by some
choice, but because we are part of the orchestra, like it or not.

In an article which appeared in the February, 1989 issue of Earth First,
cultural ecologist David Abram insists that this one undeniable fact – the fact
of how intricately we are woven into the Gaian system through the simple
act of berating – is challenging our assumptions about human perception.

“Traditionally,” he said, “perception has been taken to be a one-way
process. I, the human, - (the subject), gather data from the surrounding
environment (or object). My senses register these discrete bits of data and
the nervous system figures out what it all means, through an internal
“representation”. Within this classic account, Abram says, “meaning and
value are assumed to be secondary, derivative phenomena; . . . external
facts . . . have no meaning in themselves.”

The external world,” he goes on, “is tacitly assumed to be a collection of
purely objective things entirely lacking in meaning until organized by the
ineffable mind.”

1 Lovelock, J. E., Gaia: a New Look at Life on Earth, Oxford University Press, 1982, P. 9.

7