© 2000 Ken Glasziou
© 2000 The Brotherhood of Man Library
| The Necessity for Going Forward—Backwardly | Volume 7 - No. 2 — Index | Did you Know? Stars, Galaxies and the Big Bang |
The Gaia hypothesis, which perceives our planet as a complex self-regulating living organism, originated from the speculations of James Lovelock[1] when employed as a NASA consultant on matters relevant to the search for life on Mars.
From his research, Lovelock reasoned that there was really no need to go to a planet to look for life that was anything like life on Earth. All that was necessary was to get a spectrum of the light reflected through the atmosphere of any planet to detect whether or not the atmosphere was in thermodynamic equilibrium.
The atmosphere of a planet like Earth with an oxygen content of approximately twenty percent, is in a highly improbable state that could not be sustained by normal geological and physical processes. Lovelock decided that there must be some extraordinary process involved for any planet that sustains an atmosphere far from its thermodynamic equilibrium. Hence any such eventuality should be an indicator for life on a planet. Since the atmospheres of both Mars and Venus were very close to their equilibrium value, Lovelock concluded they must be lifeless.
From this original limited speculation, the Gaia hypothesis has been expanded by many to include not only the Earth, but also galaxies and even the whole universe to the state of being vibrant, self-regulating, self-sustaining living organisms.
This extremism has brought disrepute upon the Gaia hypothesis which nevertheless has much to commend it–provided we stick with science and recognize these untestable speculations for what they are.
The incredibly complex role of life in the self-regulation of non-equilibrium states for our atmosphere in respect to oxygen, carbon dioxide, moisture, temperature, light absorption and reflectance, etc., is well documented even though not completely understood. The effects of life extend far beyond the atmosphere, and even without the unwise undertakings of human beings, living organisms often have large and drastic effects upon the “normal” physical processes on land, ocean and air.
An interesting situation has been unveiled over the last two or three decades with respect to the self-regulation of galaxies, particularly spiral galaxies like the Milky Way. [2]
One entirely unexpected discovery was that the inner and outer stars of these galaxies rotate around their center at about the same speed. Hence stars at the outskirts take a lot longer to complete a revolution than those further in.
When this was discovered, it was reasonably simple to calculate that the mass of a galaxy was quite inadequate to hold it together through gravitation. One conclusion–to date the solitary one conceivable–is that we “see” only a small portion of the galaxy, about 80% or more of its mass being invisible to us. This invisible mass has the name “dark matter.[3]”
A further surprise, still not well known outside of astronomy circles, is that the spirals arms that we see in photographs of these galaxies actually rotate independently of the galaxy and its stars. Hence they are better thought of as “waves of motion” through the galaxy that cause some stars to become much more visible as the “wave” passes through their region.
As further information came to light, it began to be appreciated that a spiral galaxy is a highly stable, self-regulating system that sustains itself in a state far from thermodynamic equilibrium. Its spiral arms are also recognized as the main location where new stars are being born.
The Gaia extremists naturally saw these galaxies as “living organisms.” However, from a scientists viewpoint, they are conceived of as being regulated by natural physical principles that are explicable in such terms.
From what we can read in the Urantia Papers, the truth may be somewhere in between. It appears that both energy and gravity are regulated by intelligent agencies when and where necessary but still in accordance with physical law.
Relevant quotations from the Papers follow:
“…the universe is neither mechanical nor magical; it is a creation of mind and a mechanism of law. But while in practical application the laws of nature operate in what seems to be the dual realms of the physical and the spiritual, in reality they are one.” (UB 42:11.1)
“Extremely complex and highly automatic-appearing cosmic mechanisms always tend to conceal the presence of the originative or creative indwelling mind from any and all intelligences very far below the universe levels of the nature and capacity of the mechanism itself. Therefore is it inevitable that the higher universe mechanisms must appear to be mindless to the lower orders of creatures. The only possible exception to such a conclusion would be the implication of mindedness in the amazing phenomenon of an apparently self-maintaining universe—but that is a matter of philosophy rather than one of actual experience.” (UB 42:11.6)
“The grand universe is not only a material creation of physical grandeur, spirit sublimity, and intellectual magnitude, it is also a magnificent and responsive living organism. There is actual life pulsating throughout the mechanism of the vast creation of the vibrant cosmos. The physical reality of the universes is symbolic of the perceivable reality of the Almighty Supreme; and this material and living organism is penetrated by intelligence circuits, even as the human body is traversed by a network of neural sensation paths. This physical universe is permeated by energy lanes which effectively activate material creation (spiral arms of some galaxies?), even as the human body is nourished and energized by the circulatory distribution of the assimilable energy products of nourishment. The vast universe is not without those coordinating centers of magnificent overcontrol which might be compared to the delicate chemical-control system of the human mechanism. But if you only knew something about the physique of a power center, we could, by analogy, tell you so much more about the physical universe.” (UB 116:7.1)
“Much as mortals look to solar energy for life maintenance, so does the grand universe depend upon the unfailing energies emanating from nether Paradise to sustain the material activities and cosmic motions of space.” (UB 116:7.2)
As time goes by, the excesses of the Gaia enthusiasts will pass, and a Gaia concept will emerge that will not be too far from the revelation in the Papers. There is already a remarkable convergence that will probably come even closer as more scientific information emerges.
My own suspicion is hat the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.
J.B.S. Haldane
| The Necessity for Going Forward—Backwardly | Volume 7 - No. 2 — Index | Did you Know? Stars, Galaxies and the Big Bang |