Abstract

The author traces the main steps that led geology and biology to emancipate themselves from their dependence on physics, thus replacing the vertical hierarchy between the various branches of scientific knowledge with a circular relationship between them. This occurred when Charles Lyell replaced the mechanistic view of nature outlined by classical scientists with a historicist view; and when Charles Darwin, Lyell’s friend and follower, introduced temporal evolution into living species and underlined their dependence on the surrounding environment. In this way nature, the scientific object to be known, and man, the knowing subject, entered into an inseparable relationship, thus overcoming the clear contrast between res extensa and res congitans theorized by Descartes. The main stages in the development of this relationship include the creation of systems theory by Ludwig von Bertalanffy; John Zachary Young’s attention to the relationship between human organization and the surrounding environment; Humberto Maturana’s articulation of the concept of “autopoiesisµ; Manfred Eigen’s development of the theory of “hypercyclesµ; Lynn Margulis’ theorization of the concept of “symbiotic interactionµ; and James Lovelock’s identification of planet Earth as a living organism. By focusing on these stages, the author follows the path that led to the transformation of the image of our planet from a mechanical object to a living organism in continuous temporal evolution.