(Environmental) Hermeneutics at the Heart of the Anthropocene: Ricoeurian and Gadamerian Perspectives (original) (raw)

In this article we argue that the Anthropocene is a hermeneutical term. Indeed, designating a geological epoch with the term is already an interpretation. Since there is no static, single interpretation of anything that determines the course of thought or action, we have to ask ourselves, adapting to the hermeneutical situation to which we belong: What sorts of worlds might unfold in front of the Anthropocene, and in what sort of world might we imagine ourselves dwelling? The task of hermeneutics here (and in this case environmental hermeneutics in particular) is two-fold: 1) To demonstrate that the Anthropocene is not a term merely corresponding to a scientific set of facts but that those supposed neutral facts are understood and given meaning; and 2) to reflect upon how the Anthropocene, as a hermeneutical term, invites us to consider worlds that may unfold in front of the Anthropocene and our being-in-the-world that unfolds in front of it. What potential worlds do we wish to avoid, and which would we like to fashion?