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Gaia Theory in Brazilian High School Biology Textbooks

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Abstract

Gaia theory proposes that a cybernetic system including the biota and the physicochemical environment regulates environmental variables at a global scale, keeping them within a range that makes Earth inhabitable by living beings. One can argue that this theory can play an important role in school science, since it bears upon current environmental problems, contributes to cross-disciplinary learning, and may help students understand the nature of science. Nevertheless, discourses about Gaia include both scientific and non-scientific ideas, and, consequently, this theory has been seen as pseudoscience, or even antiscience, as an unwarranted view, entangled with mysticism. But an informed view about the contributions and risks associated with Gaia as part of science education depends on a general analysis about the treatment of this theory in school knowledge. Here, we offer the first analysis of this sort, critically evaluating how Gaia is addressed in a representative sample of Brazilian textbooks (n = 18). We present data about the presence or not of Gaia theory among the contents covered by the textbooks, the presence of the claim that Earth is living, whether and how they use analogies to justify this claim, the discussion of evidence for and against Gaia, and the treatment of its relevance to current issues. Gaia theory is explicitly addressed in ca. 39% of the analyzed textbooks. There is a general script that the textbooks that explicitly name the theory follow when discussing Gaia. First, they argue that life affects the environment, and support this argument by means of examples, then, explain what the Gaia theory proposes, discuss evidence in favor either of the idea that Earth is living or Gaia theory in general, introduce one or more analogies to justify the claim of a living Earth, and, finally, offer remarks on the current importance of Gaia. Three analogies used by Lovelock himself were found in the analyzed textbooks, Gaia as a superorganism, the analogy between Gaia and a redwood tree, and between Gaia and the Greek goddess of Earth. The most frequent was the superorganism analogy. The idea of a control system including the biota and the physicochemical environment and any discussion about theoretical and empirical advances resulting from Gaia theory were absent from most analyzed textbooks, which focused mainly on the claim of a living Earth. Although Gaia can contribute to the understanding of environmental issues, the treatment found in most of the analyzed schoolbooks puts so much emphasis on the idea that Earth is living and is so close to an animistic understanding of the Earth system that it is likely that it will bring no true contribution to the development of adequate conceptions about that system and the connections between human activities and the environmental crisis.

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Notes

  1. Gaia is dubbed both as a hypothesis and a theory in the literature. In its initial stages of development, Lovelock himself referred to Gaia as a hypothesis, but more recently he has been also calling it a theory. In our view, a misconception about the nature of hypotheses and theories underlies this change in vocabulary. It seems that Lovelock changed from calling Gaia a ‘hypothesis’ into calling it a ‘theory’ due to the idea of a progressive linearity according to which hypotheses can become theories, as evidence for them accumulates (see, e.g., Lovelock 1995). As it is well known, however, theories and hypotheses are distinct forms of knowledge and do not turn into each other. In our view, Gaia should be systematically treated as a theory, i.e., a set of claims about the empirical world related in a systematic manner and playing the role of explaining and predicting phenomena or patterns observed in nature by elucidating processes or mechanisms responsible for their production or causation. Moreover, as a theory, Gaia should also show heuristic power, being capable of guiding investigations conducted by a community of practicing researchers. We conceive a hypothesis, in turn, as an explanation for a specific phenomenon or pattern, which should lead to predictions, then submitted to empirical test. In this paper, we will use the expression ‘Gaia theory’ throughout, limiting the use of ‘hypothesis’ to quotations of other authors.

  2. The surveys were made through ERIC search tool (http://www.eric.ed.gov—Education Research Information Center) with ‘Gaia’ as a keyword, and ISI Web of Science databases with ‘Gaia’ and ‘teaching’ (and derivatives) or ‘education’ (and derivatives) as keywords. We also performed Google® searches with the combinations of keywords ‘Gaia and education’ and ‘Gaia and teaching’.

  3. See http://portal.mec.gov.br/seb/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=648&Itemid=666, for more information on the Brazilian National Program for High School Textbooks.

  4. Hereafter, the expression ‘system Gaia’ refers to the particular system assumed to exist on Earth, according to the Gaia theory, since it is the single representative of this category, in our current state of knowledge.

  5. From the initials of the authors of the paper in which it is presented, Charlson, Lovelock, Andreae, and Warren.

  6. In this program, textbooks are certified by an evaluation team gathered by the Ministry of Education (for more details on the textbook evaluation, see El-Hani et al. 2007). The procedures and data discussed in this paper are not part of that evaluation and, thus, represent independent results.

  7. This is an Italian textbook adapted to use in Brazilian schools. In the sample of 18 analyzed textbooks, 16 were written by Brazilian authors, and only two were adaptations from textbooks from other countries. The second one is T12, which is an adaptation of a North-American textbook.

  8. This passage also suggests that T17 is committed to a misconception about the nature of hypotheses and theories we mentioned above, namely that a hypothesis is a rather speculative idea that can turn into a theory when there are better grounds to accept it. It also shows signs of a naïve realism while considering the prospects of showing a ‘real control network’, instead of theoretically and empirically supported models to which scientists might adhere (not only due to internal factors, such as the theoretical and empirical consistency of the models, but also to external factors, related to the social nature of the scientific community and to the embedment of this community into larger societies).

  9. An interesting feature in this passage lies in the treatment of wrong ideas as playing a role in the construction of scientific knowledge.

  10. It is likely that the Gaia system is more fruitfully treated as a ‘superconstruction’, instead of a ‘superorganism’, as Odling-Smee et al. (2003) suggest with regard to both ecosystems and the Gaia system. We refer the readers to the original work for more details (see Chapter 8, Sect. 8.4.4).

  11. Geia and Gaia are variant names for the same goddess in Greek mythology.

  12. T15 refers to sulfuric acid as the compound that operates as a condensation nucleus for the formation of clouds, and not to a non-sea salt sulphate aerosol (see above). The possible involvement of sulfuric acid in this mechanism is, indeed, under consideration by the scientific community.

  13. T3 is the only analyzed textbook in which biogeochemical cycles are not addressed.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for support during the development of the research reported in this paper. We also thank Michael Matthews and two anonymous referees that examined a preliminary manuscript and offered very helpful contributions to the final version of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Group on History, Philosophy and Biology Teaching, Department of General Biology, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil

    Ricardo Santos Do Carmo & Charbel Niño El-Hani

  2. Graduate Studies Program in History, Philosophy and Science Teaching, Federal University of Bahia, and State University of Feira de Santana, Salvador, Brazil

    Nei Freitas Nunes-Neto & Charbel Niño El-Hani

Authors
  1. Ricardo Santos Do Carmo
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  2. Nei Freitas Nunes-Neto
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  3. Charbel Niño El-Hani
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Charbel Niño El-Hani.

Appendices

Appendix 1: List of Analyzed Textbooks

  1. T1

    Amabis, J.M. & Martho, G.R.: 2005, Biologia, Moderna, São Paulo.

  2. T2

    Borba, A.A. & Cançado, O.F.L.: 2005, Biologia, Positivo, Curitiba.

  3. T3

    Borba, A.A., Crozetta, M.A.S. & Lago, S.R.: 2005, Biologia, IBEP, São Paulo.

  4. T4

    Boschilia, C.: 2005, Biologia sem Segredos, RIDEEL, São Paulo.

  5. T5

    Carvalho, W.: 2005, Biologia em Foco, FTD, São Paulo.

  6. T6

    Cheida, L.E.: 2005, Biologia Integrada, FTD, São Paulo.

  7. T7

    Coimbra, M.A.C., Rubio, P.C., Corazzini, R., Rodrigues, R.N.C. & Waldhelm, M.C.V.: 2005, Biologia—Projeto Escola e Cidadania para Todos, Editora do Brasil, São Paulo.

  8. T8

    Faucz, F.R. & Quintilham, C.T.: 2005, Biologia: Caminho da Vida, Base, Curitiba.

  9. T9

    Favaretto, J.A. & Mercadante, C.: 2005, Biologia, Moderna, São Paulo.

  10. T10

    Frota-Pessoa, O.: 2005, Biologia, Scipione, São Paulo.

  11. T11

    Gainotti, A. & Modelli, A.: 2005, Biologia, Scipione, São Paulo.

  12. T12

    Laurence, J.: 2005, Biologia, Nova Geração, São Paulo.

  13. T13

    Linhares, S. & Gewandsznajder, F.: 2005, Biologia, Ática, São Paulo.

  14. T14

    Lopes, S. & Rosso, S.: 2005, Biologia, Saraiva, São Paulo.

  15. T15

    Machado, S.W.S.: 2005, Biologia, Scipione, São Paulo.

  16. T16

    Morandini, C. & Bellinello, L.C.: 2005, Biologia, Atual, São Paulo.

  17. T17

    Paulino, W.R.: 2005, Biologia, Ática, São Paulo.

  18. T18

    Silva-Júnior, C. & Sasson, S.: 2005, Biologia, Saraiva, São Paulo.

Appendix 2: Protocol Used to Standardize the Analysis of High School Biology Textbooks

  1. 1.

    Does the textbook explicitly address Gaia?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  2. 2.

    Does the textbook discuss ideas that can be straightforwardly related to Gaia, even if it does not name the theory?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  3. a.

    Reproduce here the relevant passages that show the treatment of ideas related to Gaia by the textbooks, if you answered “yes” to each of the above questions.

  4. 3.

    What is the epistemological status ascribed to Gaia in the textbook?

    ( ) theory

    ( ) hypothesis

    ( ) another one: which?

  5. 4.

    Is it possible to discern in the textbook the historical context in which Gaia was built?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  6. a.

    If you answered “yes”, reproduce here the relevant passages.

  7. 5.

    Does the textbook treat Gaia in a cross-disciplinary fashion?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  8. a.

    When it addresses Gaia, does the textbook make it explicit its relevance as a way of integrating scientific knowledge produced in the context of the disciplines related to that theory?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  9. b.

    Is it possible to conclude from the analysis of different subject matters within biology that the textbook is successful in using Gaia as an integrating approach to biological knowledge?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  10. c.

    Transcribe the passages that justify your answers.

  11. 6.

    Lovelock (1995) claims that the increasing attention given to Gaia theory in the 1980s and 1990s results from the construction of the Daisyworld model. Does the textbook address the Daisyworld model?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  12. a.

    If you answered “yes”, how is this model addressed?

  13. b.1

    Is any other model related to Gaia, besides the Daisyworld model, presented in the textbook?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  14. b.2

    If you answered “yes”, inform which other model(s) is(are) presented?

  15. 7.

    Some epistemological issues related to the name given to the theory, ‘Gaia’, have been discussed in the literature (Lovelock 1990; Margulis 2004). Does the textbook offer any comments about the name ‘Gaia’?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  16. a.

    If you answered “yes”, transcribe the relevant passages.

  17. b.1

    Is the name ‘geophysiology” (also proposed for the theory by Lovelock 1986, 1993, 1995, 2000b) mentioned as a possible alternative to the name ‘Gaia’?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  18. b.2

    If you answered “yes”, transcribe the relevant passages.

  19. 8.

    Does the textbook discuss the relevance of Gaia to current issues, particularly environmental problems?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  20. a.

    If you answered “yes”, transcribe the relevant passages.

  21. 9.

    Does the textbook address the notion of emergent properties in connection with Gaia (as Lovelock does in several of his writings, e.g., Lovelock 1972, 1990)?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  22. a.

    If you answered “yes”, does the textbook explain what are emergent properties? If so, what is the explanation given to this notion?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  23. b.

    Transcribe the passages that justify your answers.

  24. 10.

    Does the textbook claim that Earth or biosphere is living?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  25. a.

    If you answered ‘yes’, reproduce here the relevant passages.

  26. 11.

    Does the textbook employ analogies to justify the claim of a living Earth or biosphere?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  27. a.

    If you answered “yes”, which analogy(-ies) does the textbook use to justify the claim that Earth or biosphere is living? Identify the analogies, count their occurrences, and reproduce the relevant passages.

    ( ) Gaia and organisms: the idea of Gaia as a superorganism.

    ( ) Gaia and the redwood tree.

    ( ) Gaia and the Greek goddess of Earth.

    ( ) Beehives and self-regulating systems: Earth as quasi-living.

    ( ) Gaia and bacteria.

  28. 12.

    For Lovelock (2000b), the concept of Gaia is closely related to the concept of life, which he believes is not clearly understood up to the present day. Lovelock also states that a thermodynamic approach can bring substantial contributions to attempts to clarify what is life. Furthermore, thermodynamics is also regarded by him as important to understand the Gaia system. Does the textbook put forward any remark about thermodynamics in connection with Gaia?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  29. a.

    If you answered “yes”, transcribe the relevant passages.

  30. b.

    Does the textbook offer any definition for life related to thermodynamics (when discussing Gaia or elsewhere)?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  31. c.

    Is any other definition of life presented in the textbook?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  32. d.

    If you answered “yes”, which definition(s) is(are) presented? Does the textbook connect it (them) with Gaia?

  33. 13.

    Does the textbook offer any argument or evidence against Gaia?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  34. a.

    If you answered “yes”, transcribe the relevant passages.

  35. 14.

    Does the textbook discuss any difficulty to obtain empirical support for the existence of the Gaia system?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  36. a.

    If you answered “yes”, transcribe the relevant passages and discuss the difficulties that are mentioned.

  37. 15.

    Does the textbook offer any argument or evidence for Gaia?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  38. a.

    If you answered “yes”, transcribe the relevant passages.

  39. 16.

    In some of his writings, Lovelock emphasizes the strength and resistance of Gaia (e.g., Lovelock 1995, 2000c). He opposes this view to that of a fragile and delicate Earth, as we see in some environmentalist discourses. Not surprisingly, these arguments led to controversies about Gaia in environmentalist circles.

    1. a.

      Does the textbook address this view about Gaia?

      ( ) Yes

      ( ) No

    2. b.

      Does the textbook discuss controversies about Gaia in environmentalist circles?

      ( ) Yes

      ( ) No

    3. c.

      If you answered “yes”, transcribe the relevant passages.

  40. 17.

    Kirchner (1989, 1993) states that Gaia is a not a single hypothesis, but a set of different although interrelated hypotheses, ranging from strong to weak ones. The strong ones are: Homeostatic Gaia, Teleological Gaia, Optimizing Gaia, and Geophysiological Gaia. The weak ones are: Influential Gaia and Coevolutionary Gaia. Without losing from sight the need of didactic transposition (Chevallard 1991) in a high school textbook, is it possible to identify one or more of these distinctions in the treatment given to Gaia?

    ( ) Yes

    ( ) No

  41. a.

    If you answered “yes”, transcribe the relevant passages.

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Do Carmo, R.S., Nunes-Neto, N.F. & El-Hani, C.N. Gaia Theory in Brazilian High School Biology Textbooks. Sci & Educ 18, 469–501 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-008-9149-3

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