Anthropocentrism

Anthropocentrism (from Greek: άνθρωπος, anthropos, "human being"; and κέντρον, kentron, "center") or anthrocentrism^{[citation needed]} is the belief that humans must be considered at the center of, and above any other aspect of, reality.^[1] This concept is sometimes known as humanocentrism or human supremacy. It is especially strong in certain religious cultures, such as the Old Testament stating that God gave man dominion over all other earthly creatures.

Environmentalism

Anthropocentrism has been posited by some environmentalists, in such books as Confessions of an Eco-Warrior by Dave Foreman and Green Rage by Christopher Manes, as the underlying (if unstated) reason why humanity dominates and sees the need to "develop" most of the Earth. Anthropocentrism has been identified by these writers and others as a root cause of the ecological crisis, human overpopulation, and the extinctions of many non-human species.

Anthropocentrism, or human-centredness, is believed by some to be the central problematic concept in environmental philosophy, where it is used to draw attention to a systematic bias in traditional Western attitudes to the non-human world.^[2] Val Plumwood has argued^[3][4] that anthropocentrism plays an analogous role in green theory to androcentrism in feminist theory and ethnocentrism in anti-racist theory. Plumwood calls human-centredness "anthrocentrism" to emphasise this parallel.

Defenders of anthropocentrist views point out that maintenance of a healthy, sustainable environment is necessary for human well-being as opposed for its own sake. The problem with a "shallow" viewpoint is not that it is human centered but that according to William Grey^[5] "What's wrong with shallow views is not their concern about the well-being of humans, but that they do not really consider enough in what that well-being consists. According to this view, we need to develop an enriched, fortified anthropocentric notion of human interest to replace the dominant short-term, sectional and self-regarding conception."

One of the first extended philosophical essays addressing environmental ethics, John Passmore's Man's Responsibility for Nature^[6] has been repeatedly criticised by defenders of deep ecology because of its anthropocentrism, often claimed to be constitutive of traditional Western moral thought.^[7]

Christianity

Some evangelical Christians have also been critical, viewing a human-centered worldview, rather than a Christ-centered or God-centered worldview, as a core societal problem. According to this viewpoint, humanity placing its own desires ahead of the teachings of the Bible leads to rampant selfishness and behavior viewed as sinful.

The use of the word "dominion" in Genesis, where it is written that God gives man dominion over all creatures, is controversial. Some^{[citation needed]} consider this to be a flawed translation of a word meaning "stewardship", a word which would indicate that mankind was given a great responsibility to take care of the earth and its various forms of life. In the 1985 CBC series "A Planet For the Taking", Dr. David Suzuki explored the Old Testament roots of anthropocentrism and how it shaped how we view non-human animals.

In his book Pale Blue Dot, author Dr. Carl Sagan also reflects on what he perceives to be the conceitedness and pettiness of anthropocentrism, specifically associating the doctrine with religious belief.^[8]

Biocentrism

Biocentrism has been proposed as an antonym of anthropocentrism.

In fiction

In science-fiction, Humanocentrism is the idea that humans, as both beings and a species, are the superior sentients. Essentially the equivalent of race supremacy on a galactic scale, it entails intolerant discrimination against sentient non-humans, much like race supremacists discriminate against those not of their race. This idea is countered by Anti-Humanism. At times, this ideal also includes fear of and superiority over robots, downplaying the ideas of cybernetic revolts and machine rule. Such an ideology echoes a potential (but not certain) future for Neo-fascism (especially Neo-Nazism).

Humanocentrism is a central theme in the science-fiction comic book series Nemesis the Warlock in which humanity (here referred to as Terrans) have conquered much of the galaxy and seek to enslave all alien life. Humans are here depicted as antagonists, a somewhat (but not entirely) unusual plot device in science-fiction.

In the Star Wars universe, the Galactic Empire is shown to be humanocentric, ruthlessly subjugating alien worlds, enslaving many of them, and only employing humans in its military. Grand Admiral Thrawn is a notable exception to this rule, likely because of both his immense talent and his partially human bloodline.

In C. S. Lewis's Prince Caspian, the Telmarine invaders of Narnia attempt to wipe out the Talking Beasts, Dwarfs, and nature spirits. Some creatures go into hiding, and spirits of trees and rivers go into dormancy.

In J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the deforestation around Saruman's tower and the attack of the ents as a result of it is a means of showing that men are not the centre of the universe and if they continue to treat nature as a secondary element of the world, nature will retaliate.

Further reading

• Bertalanffy, General System Theory (1993): 239-48
• White, Lynn Townsend, Jr, "The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis", Science, Vol 155 (Number 3767), March 10, 1967, pp 1203–1207
• Chew, Sing C. "Ecology in Command"
• Chew, Sing C. "Ecological Futures"

See also

References