How did the Gaia theory became accepted?

Question

I was reading something on the Gaia theory and how Lovelock came up with this theory... but i was wondering how did his theory became accepted??? after so many years scientist community didn't accepted in the first place.

Answer 1

It is not a theory, not a scientific theory.  It is at best a hypothesis.  It has never been tested scientifically.  Therefore it has NEVER been accepted.  It fits right in there with Creation and or Intelligent Design.

Answer 2

The Gaia theory as I understand it states that the Earth can be thought of as a living organism.  It has never been accepted.  For that matter, as scientists we do not speak of "accepting" theories.  The Gaia theory is a somewhat useful model, like living organisms the Earth does have homeostatic mechanisms that oppose changes.  Lovelock intended the theory more to change the way people think about the Earth and to encourage ethical coexistance with our environment.

Answer 3

The GAIA 'theory" is NOT a scientific theory at all. It has no evidence , no experiements to test falsifiability,etc. Because some people or even many people BELIEVE something  does not make it true. Science has never been a democracy and as Carl Sagan so elegantly stated  " extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence ". Before scientific enlightenment, nearly all persons believed the earth was flat, and the center of the Universe, and that demons caused disease.  LIke CSI..in the final analysis....belief matters not..what matters is PROOF...what does the evidence say

Answer 4

Because:

"Truth will first be ridiculed, then violently opposed, and finally accepted as self -evident"

and

"It is never a question of belief; the only scientific attitude one can take on any subject is whether it is true. The law of gravitation worked as efficiently before Newton as after him. The cosmos would be fairly chaotic if its laws could not operate without the sanction of human belief."