The Gaia hypothesis
The Gaia hypothesis, proposed by chemist and inventor James E. Lovelock and co-developed with biologist Lynn Margulis, is that Earth and its biological systems behave as a single entity, with negative feedback loops that keep the conditions on the planet - both living and non-living - within boundaries that are habitable. The idea of co-dependent evolution of biology and the physical environment was suggested as early as the mid-1700s.
