ABSTRACT
The transformation of the “Mother Earth” myth into something like a scientific hypothesis came about in a curious way. It began with a slow realization that the Earth was involved in a number of systems showing at least some degree of self-regulation or feedback. Self-regulation in our environment was for William Prout glowing testimony to design in the world. According to Gaia the Earth has a capacity for self-repair. Gaia has been advocated enthusiastically by some scientists and repudiated by others; it has been welcomed by some theologians and attacked by others; it has received a mixed welcome from environmentalists, and from members of the New Age movement. Examination of the Gaia literature seems to show an enormous semantic confusion, especially in the popular literature. The main political movement enlisting Gaia to advance its cause is ecofeminism, a movement that unites feminist ideologies with ecological concern.
