Scientists Debate Gaia

The Next Century

Stephen H. Schneider, James Miller, Eileen Crist, Penelope Boston

377 pages, parution le 04/10/2004

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Résumé

Scientists Debate Gaia is a multidisciplinary reexamination of the Gaia hypothesis, which was introduced by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis in the early 1970s. The Gaia hypothesis holds that Earth's physical and biological processes are linked to form a complex, self-regulating system and that life has affected this system over time. Until a few decades ago, most of the earth sciences viewed the planet through disciplinary lenses: biology, chemistry, geology, atmospheric and ocean studies. The Gaia hypothesis, on the other hand, takes a very broad interdisciplinary approach. Its most controversial aspect suggests that life actively participates in shaping the physical and chemical environment on which it depends in a way that optimizes the conditions for life. Despite initial dismissal of the Gaian approach as New Age philosophy, it has today been incorporated into mainstream interdisciplinary scientific theory, as seen in its strong influence on the field of Earth System Science. Scientists Debate Gaia provides a fascinating, multi-faceted examination of Gaia as science and addresses significant criticism of, and changes in, the hypothesis since its introduction.

In the book, 53 contributors explore the scientific, philosophical, and theoretical foundations of Gaia. They address such topics as the compatibility of natural selection and Gaian processes, Gaia and the "thermodynamics of life," the role of computer models in Gaian science (from James Lovelock's famous but controversial "Daisyworld" to more sophisticated models that use the techniques of artificial life), pre-Socratic precedents for the idea of a "Living Earth," and the climate of the Amazon Basin as a Gaian system.

L'auteur - Stephen H. Schneider

Stephen H. Schneider is Professor of Biological Sciences and Codirector of the Center for Environmental Science and Policy at Stanford University.

L'auteur - James Miller

Assistant professor of economics at Smith College

L'auteur - Eileen Crist

Eileen Crist is Associate Professor of Science and Technology Studies in the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Virginia Tech.

L'auteur - Penelope Boston

Dr. Penelope J. Boston is Director of the Cave and Karst Studies Program at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Studies.

Sommaire

Principles and processes
Earth history and cycles
Philosophy, history, and human dimensions of Gaia
Quantifying Gaia
Life forms and Gaia: microbes to extraterrestrials

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Caractéristiques techniques

	PAPIER
Éditeur(s)	The MIT Press
Auteur(s)	Stephen H. Schneider, James Miller, Eileen Crist, Penelope Boston
Parution	04/10/2004
Nb. de pages	377
Format	22 x 28,5
Couverture	Relié
Poids	1385g
Intérieur	Noir et Blanc
EAN13	9780262194983
ISBN13	978-0-262-19498-3