The Affirmational Turn to Ontology in the Anthropocene A Critique (original) (raw)
Organising in the Anthropocene: An Ontological Outline for Ecocentric Theorising
As a response to anthropogenic ecological problems, a group of organisation scholars have acknowledged the importance of ecocentric theorising that takes materiality and non-human objects seriously. The purpose of this article is to examine the philosophical basis of ecocentric organisation studies and develop an ontological outline for ecocentric theorising in the Anthropocene. The paper identifies the central premises of ecocentric organisations from the previous literature, and complements the theory with a set of ontological qualities common to all objects. The study draws on recent advances in object-oriented and ecological philosophies to present three essential qualities of objects, namely autonomy, uniqueness, and intrinsicality. The paper discusses how these qualities are critical in reclaiming the lost credibility and practical relevance of ecocentrism in both organisational theory and the sustainability sciences in general. To organise human activities in a sustainable manner in the new geological era, a new ontology is needed that not only includes materiality and non-humans in the analysis, but also leads to an ecologically and ethically broader understanding of ecospheric beings and their relationships.
Varieties of the Anthropocene: A Transition from Geology to the Philosophy of History
Contrastes, 2019
¿Is the Anthropocene a new geological epoch? There is an open scientific and professional controversy, which stresses, even more, its cultural-theoretical and practical-moment, hard to resume under a single concept unifying all the threads of that denomination. This paper aims at [84] delivering, from a philosophical point of view, a semantic field for «Anthropocene» enabling to put an order in and understand the very extensive present literature on the subject.
Anthropology Ontology and the Anthropocene
In this talk I want to raise some questions concerning the status of knowledge and the role of anthropology in the production and dissemination of knowledge in a globalising, changing world. More specifically I will address the so-called ‘ontological turn’, which asks what kinds of knowledge are considered legitimate or ‘true’ and what is to be marginalised, ignored, or seen as ‘false’. The role of ethnography and anthropology in gathering, validating and giving expression to different sorts of knowledge and different ways of acting and being in the world is a theme that runs through the discussion. I frame the talk in terms of the Anthropocene, a recognition that human activity is a major driver in changing not just human societies but also the planet on which we live. I end with a case study of spirit possession in popular Chinese religion taken from Fabian Graham's book 'Voices from the Underworld: Chinese Hell deity worship in Contemporary Singapore and Malaysia', Manchester University Press 2020
Dialogues in Human Geography, 2017
While affirming their more-than-human concerns, Ruddick (2015) proposes that there are limits to the capacity of relational ontologies to deal with the conflicting demands and extensive temporalities of the Anthropocene crisis. This commentary probes her alternative notions of a forcefulness and generativity that exceeds individuated bodies and of a semiosis that inheres in the workings of ecological and Earth systems.
OOO, Archaeology, and the Anthropocene: Comments on Maritime Archaeology and Anthropocene Philosophy
Contemporary Philosophy for Maritime Archaeology: Flat Ontologies, Oceanic Thought, and the Anthropocene., 2023
Ever since Columbus mistook Cuba for Japan, Christian-Europeans have struggled to come to terms with their ancient terrestrial prejudices. With their repeated circumnavigations of the globe in the age of European land-appropriation, Early Modern, risk-taking mariners initiated an iterative process of revision where Earth, what for them had been experienced hitherto as predominately land-based, was reimagined as a waterworld (Schmitt [1942] 2015; also see Sloterdijk 2013, 40-46). The masterless ocean, upon which the sun never set, overran the terrestrial globe and through the new world pictures of this age (Heidegger 2002, 68), Europeans learned how what they called Earth would have been better named Oceanus. Long-distance engagements between sailors, ships, maps, instruments, new lands, and world-encompassing oceans teeming with creatures gave rise to a new sense of space that, as Carl Schmitt recognized ([1942] 2015), shaped a common consciousness and ushered in an epoch of profound economic, cultural, and political transformation. After the disclosure of the oceans’ true proportions, the boundless blue offered navigable routes for transportation, seemingly inexhaustible hunting grounds for whale oil and fish, a vast clandestine dump for the malefeasance of land-lubbers, and so much more. Of course, there are limits to how much terrestrial ignorance the maritime can absorb. Now human-induced alterations to and within the briny deep suggest a radical shift in relations, for we eight-billion humans entangled with trillions of other things now seem to rival the oceans themselves with a comparable collective agency. Let us register this new sense of proportionality. Given the planetary-wide challenges of global warming, ocean acidification, plastic pollution, widespread environmental degradation, and incomprehensible biodiversity loss spiraling into mass extinctions, the revelation of finitude with respect to the oceans and their bounty is perhaps of even greater scope than that of their sublime eminence, for it shatters all previous sensibilities shaped by the sea. If it seems like a tall order to connect changing definitions of the maritime, modern consciousness, ships, and the oceans themselves with the aftereffects of globalizations in the Anthropocene, then this is precisely what the present volume rather ambitiously seeks to accomplish.
Making the case for a formal Anthropocene Epoch: an analysis of ongoing critiques
A range of published arguments against formalizing the Anthropocene as a geological time unit have variously suggested that it is a misleading term of non-stratigraphic origin and usage, is based on in- significant temporal and material stratigraphic content unlike that used to define older geological time units, is focused on observation of human history or speculation about the future rather than geologically significant events, and is driven more by politics than science. In response, we contend that the Anthropocene is a func- tional term that has firm geological grounding in a well-characterized stratigraphic record. This record, al- though often lithologically thin, is laterally extensive, rich in detail and already reflects substantial elapsed (and in part irreversible) change to the Earth System that is comparable to or greater in magnitude than that of previous epoch-scale transitions. The Anthropocene differs from previously defined epochs in reflecting contemporary geological change, which in turn also leads to the term’s use over a wide range of social and political discourse. Nevertheless, that use remains entirely distinct from its demonstrable stratigraphic under- pinning. Here we respond to the arguments opposing the geological validity and utility of the Anthropocene, and submit that a strong case may be made for the Anthropocene to be treated as a formal chronostratigraphic unit and added to the Geological Time Scale.
International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, 2nd edition, 2020
After a brief account of the emergence of the Anthropocene idea in the Earth sciences, I consider the reception of the hypothesis by critical geographers. Having addressed the issue of who speaks for the Earth we turn to questions of how the Earth might speak or act through us – bringing us to the work of geographers who are beginning to experiment with new ways of thinking with and through planetary processes. This in turn opens up tricky questions about what close conversation with the geosciences might mean for the urgent task of decolonizing our thinking about the Earth.
The theory of the Anthropocene: Inquiry into the ‘age of Anthropos’ between natural sciences and environmental humanities, 2018
The present MA research aims to analyze how the notion of ‘Anthropocene’ is implemented within the scientific and humanistic inquiry. More specifically, the research will attempt to shed light and critically reflect upon the basic elements that constitute the Anthropocene as a potentially rich epistemic concept and as a ‘narrative’ – i.e. a set of beliefs, logics and reasoning that portray the ‘age of man’. This aim will be achieved through a critical meta-analysis of the current and most relevant literature on the matter, from the most recent geological and stratigraphical studies conducted by the Anthropocene Working Group to the questions on meaning and value raised by the humanistic agenda. The methodology is based on a philosophical approach – that is, reflecting on the language, meaning and knowledge that the Anthropocene narrative comprise of. The research attempts to answer to the need of formulating a theoretically solid and well-equipped framework to face the current and unprecedent environmental challenges as a complement to the dominant managerial and business-centered approach. In conclusion, it shall aim to promote the idea of creating interdisciplinary educational programs where scientific and humanistic language are integrated.