Archetypes, Angels and Gaia

Abstract

Since its formulation in the 1960s by James Lovelock, the Gaia hypothesis has, as Lawrence Joseph’s comprehensive summary indicates, fulfilled a wide variety of needs among environmentalists, feminists and New Agers. This very variety is a source of confusion and even conflict, with New Agers and self-proclaimed Gaian philosophers criticizing Lovelock for the conservatism of his interpretation.