From Solaris to Gaïa and back

Abstract

This work is focused on the relation between a novel of Stanislas Lem, Solaris, and the work of
the geochemist James Lovelock. Behind the strong differences between a fiction based on the rule
of suspension of disbelief, and a scientific assumption that tries to be compatible with the rule of
truth, we will show Gaia and Solaris are based on two common philosophical statements: life must
be understood, not simply at the level of the organism, but also at the level of the biosphere; and
life is some kind of primitive mind without any intentional purpose, and then without consciousness. Gaia knows how to proceed in order to regulate geochemical conditions that permit its own
existence, even if it cannot know that it has this ability and this skill.