Earth as a living system

Capra and Luisi (2014) used systems theory to explore ecology through Lovelock’s Gaia Theory. This views Earth as a living system. Earth’s parts—like oceans, air, and land—work together in a “single web” to keep conditions stable, or in homeostasis, while swapping matter with its surroundings (Lenton et al., 2018, p. 592). For example, oceans absorb sunlight and release heat to balance Earth’s temperature.

Earth is autopoietic, meaning it rebuilds itself—like growing new land after lava cools or forests after fires. It’s also a dissipative structure, using energy—like sunlight—to stay organized while letting heat escape, all while spinning as a planet within our solar system. Self-contained yet open to energy, Earth generates life by filtering in sunlight and pushing out waste (Capra & Luisi, 2014, p. 363). This shows Earth acts alive, linking systems theory across cells, individuals, societies, nations, planets, the solar system, and the universe.