gaianism · noun — A spiritual philosophy following the Gaia Theory of James Lovelock. It carries an Arena rating of 1199, earned across 11 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, gaianism ranks #2,172 of 17,163 for Most Sublime Words, #5,711 of 17,131 for Most Ponderous Words, #7,793 of 17,205 for The Improbable, #8,562 of 17,187 for Most Malleable Words.
Why “gaianism” is a great word
A spiritual or philosophical worldview that regards the Earth as a living, self-regulating entity and centers it in ethical and religious thought. From Gaian (pertaining to Gaia, from Gaia, the Greek goddess of the Earth) + -ism (denoting a system, theory, or doctrine). Unlike environmentalism, which denotes a political movement for protection, or pantheism, which identifies God with the universe as a whole, Gaianism is a holistic, geocentric veneration of the planetary biosphere as a distinct, sentient being. It is the felt intelligence of a forest cycling its breath, the silent feedback of a watershed maintaining its balance, and the humbling perception of a planet actively preserving the conditions for its own life—a quiet faith that we are not inhabitants of a world, but neurons within a vast, dreaming mind.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Gaian + -ism.
noun
- A spiritual philosophy following the Gaia Theory of James Lovelock.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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