It is a living, breathing being. That is precisely what is happening. In an elementary age, Environmental Science textbook, copyright 1995, this very Gaia theory is explained and stated as a viable probability. However, in modern industrial society, humans are often seen as being apart from nature. Nature is something to be controlled and consumed.
Many people view Earth as existing for human use.
People are removed from the systems that govern the rest of the biosphere. The modern industrial view does not match the portrait of Earth. Like any other population of organisms, humans are part of Earth's systems. The principles that govern lynx and hare populations in the ecosystem govern the human population as well. Scientists are now beginning to study these connections among systems.