See Gaeanity II.
"'...Gaea, our living planet, is a single organism... The War of Judgment...was a fever whereby Gaea freed Herself of a disease.'" (p. 74)
Earth is an environment that sustains many organisms. Does the entire system of environment and organisms function like a single organism? That is an empirical question. There are at least similarities in that the whole system responds to changes or disruptions in any part of it. Is "Gaea" a scientific description or a metaphor? The "fever," like the "Judgment," is at least a powerful metaphor for the consequences of collective human actions.
13 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And I asbsolutely disagree with both this nonsense about Earth being a single living organism and the War of Judgment. That latter was an act of human folly which did not necessarily or inevitably HAVE to happen.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
But to say that we suffered the consequences of wrong actions and that we were judged for those actions are like two ways of saying the same thing.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I have to disagree. Only other persons or a Person can judge human acts. The Earth, a planet, can do no such thing.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
In my view, this judgment is metaphorical.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
But that still sounds like how you would have judged the War of Judgment if you were living in the world of ORION SHALL RISE. An INDIVIDUAL, not some pseudo-mystic "Life Force."
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
I suspect that many people who called WWIII the "War of Judgment," meant a judgment by God.
Paul.
Gaeanity is an example (fictional, but plausible) of the human tendency to literalize metaphors; also our tendency to project intentionality and personality on physical phenomena.
"Life is an organism" is a metaphor. It's a useful one as long as you remain conscious that it -is- a metaphor, not a fact.
The biosphere is actually more like a war of all against all -- that's a metaphor too, but closer to the facts. Everything is trying to grab the energy flow through the system and turn it into copies of itself.
That's what life is; that's what living organisms do. Individuals are mere epiphenomena.
I love the fact that we have got to this level of understanding of life processes and thus of ourselves.
Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!
Paul: And I don't think God Himself would agree. Because the War of Judgment was STILL not necessarily inevitable. Human folly brought it on, not an actual decree of God.
Mr. Stirling: You sharpened and clarified my objections to Gaeanity. That dubious philosophy was merely literalizing, at best, metaphors and falsely attributing intentionality and consciousness to mere physical phenomena.
Yes, nature red in tooth and claw is far more realistic than pseudo-mystic nonsense about a "Life Force."
Ad astra! Sean
Both conflict and cooperation are products of the same evolutionary process.
Eg., war would be impossible without empathy and unselfish devotion to others.
Solitary carnivores like tigers often fight their own kind, but they do so in solitary one-on-ones (except for mothers defending cubs).
Social carnivores are quite different.
Human beings have always been savagely competitive in groups; but to fight, groups need strong internal bonds.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
No objection! There are packs of dogs and wolves cooperatively working/living together. But, as you said, no packs of tigers or domestic cats. I would make an exception for prides of lions, which do hunt cooperatively.
Agree, what you said about human groups needing strong internal bonds to be able to fight outsiders at either need or a wish to do so.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: lions are indeed different.
Eg., when male lions fight for their place in a pride, they usually do so in groups -- pairs or trios. A lone male lion can't maintain its position for long.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I had not known that. Cooperative behavior indeed!
Ad astra! Sean
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