Gaianism is an earth-centered philosophical,

holistic Holism is the interdisciplinary idea that systems possess properties as wholes apart from the properties of their component parts. Julian Tudor Hart (2010''The Political Economy of Health Care''pp.106, 258 The aphorism "The whole is greater than t ...

, and spiritual belief that shares expressions with earth religions and

paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

while not identifying exclusively with any specific one. The term describes a philosophy and ethical worldview which, though not necessarily religious, implies a

transpersonal The transpersonal is a term used by different schools of philosophy and psychology in order to describe experiences and worldviews that extend beyond the personal level of the psyche, and beyond mundane worldly events. Definition and context The ...

devotion to earth as a

superorganism A superorganism, or supraorganism, is a group of synergetically interacting organisms of the same species. A community of synergetically interacting organisms of different species is called a '' holobiont''. Concept The term superorganism is ...

. Practitioners of Gaianism are called Gaians (or Gaianists). Marcel Wissenburg has described Gaianism as a "modern variant of philosophical determinism". Gaianism has been associated with the

New Age movement New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...

due to sharing similar viewpoints, but is not typically identified as strictly part of the New Age movement as a whole. Gaianism's philosophy stems from

James Lovelock James Ephraim Lovelock (26 July 1919 – 26 July 2022) was an English independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth functions as a self-regulating syst ...

Gaia hypothesis The Gaia hypothesis (), also known as the Gaia theory, Gaia paradigm, or the Gaia principle, proposes that living organisms interact with their Inorganic compound, inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a Synergy, synergistic and Homeostasis, s ...

, which proposes that organisms interact with their surroundings on Earth to form a more complex and self-regulating system that contributes to maintaining the conditions for life on the planet. Gaia can be understood as a superorganism made of organisms, as multicellular life can be understood as a superorganism at a smaller level of scale. Practitioners of Gaianism are termed "Gaians", or sometimes "Gaianists". Followers typically approach the philosophy with the perspective that people should honor the Earth, reduce or soften their human impact on the earth, and respect all life on earth. The latter perspective is extended to all forms of life such as plant, animal, or human, and followers will often try to maintain a close relationship with the planet in order to strive toward

world peace World peace is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would come about. Various relig ...

, maintain global

homeostasis In biology, homeostasis (British English, British also homoeostasis; ) is the state of steady internal physics, physical and chemistry, chemical conditions maintained by organism, living systems. This is the condition of optimal functioning fo ...

and find inner fulfillment. Gaians will occasionally follow Gaianism along with other religions, but for many Gaianism is not necessarily religious. An example of Gaian philosophy is the Gaian Oath, envisioned by Lucian Tarnowski, founder of the United Planet:

We are a United Planet I am Gaian On my honour, I commit to a thriving civilisation in harmony with all life.

Although Gaianism is an Earth-centered belief system, it does not always align with environmental goals. For instance, the chief scientific originator of Gaianism, James Lovelock, advocated a vast expansion of nuclear energy power plants on Earth, the colonization of other planets, and a tolerance of various earthly chemical pollutants.

References

{{New Age Movement Gaia New Age Words and phrases derived from Greek mythology

See also

References