Anthropocentrism

Anthropocentrism is a psychopathology at the cultural level of the psyche.  It's the belief that either only humans really matter or we're the only species that matters very much. It's the belief that the world revolves around our species. That value and meaning and purpose centers on us. 

We would not have a planetary ecological and climate emergency were anthropocentrism not the reigning ideology of the dominant culture on Earth.  And yet even as Europe, the USA and China have highly problematic (and frankly rather scary) simultaneous heat waves this summer, most commentary on what this may portend utterly ignores how other species, and beings of other species, are being impacted. The principal driver of our climate and ecological crises, anthropocentrism (human-centeredness), continues to shape how we talk amongst ourselves about our world. 

I found this particular article particularly disturbing in just this way. Unless we act soon, this heatwave is just a taste of things to come | Andrea Dutton | The Guardian Notice how totally the article focuses upon how the climate crises, and the associated heat wave, impacts human beings and human infrastructure.  No mention is made of wildlife, of ecosystems, of forests, of rivers.... 

If we were more sane -- and clearly we are very much not sane -- there would be a social movement to publicly challenge the voices of anthropocentrism, just as there have been public challenges to the voices of racism and sexism.  Why is it that the most ugly, disgusting and despicable expressions of outrageous anthropocentrism get a pass in our media while sexist and racist attitudes get no such pass, generally?  Why was this article even run in The Guardian? It's a kind of hate speech, really. Or, at least, it is highly prejudiced in disregarding (utterly) every other species other than humans.

There is nothing at all unique or special about this article in The Guardian. Pretty much everything said or written about the climate and ecological crisis features humans -- and only humans -- as those being harmed or impacted. Pretty much all stories about these sorts of things are framed precisely as this story is framed, with humans at the center. With humans as the ones who matter even enough to be mentioned.

This frankly disgusts me and strips me of any feeling of the possibility of hope for change. It also makes it clear to me that we are collectively insane. Entirely mad

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