Disrupting the Roots of Anthropocentrism

Basnet, Vinisha

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/114271 Copy

Description

Title

Disrupting the Roots of Anthropocentrism

Author(s)

Basnet, Vinisha

Issue Date

2022

Keyword(s)

Urban and Regional Planning

Abstract

Anthropocentrism is an underlying belief that humans are at the center of the world. In ecological philosophy, it means that humans are oblivious to non-human ways of being, and center themself as the exclusive ‘subject’ of action and knowledge. Many believe this approach contributes to environmental catastrophes. In my research, I looked at one such catastrophe in the form of the rising mortality of ‘lac’ bug. Lac is a resin secreted by insect of the species 'Kerria lacca' when it consumes the sap from the branches of its host plants. Lac is crucial to the livelihood of many marginalized indigenous communities in rural India. I pursued this problem by navigating multiple epistemologies of three distinct groups- scientists from a government institution, practitioners from non-profit organizations and the indigenous community itself. I took this picture in one of the villages in Eastern Indian, where I conducted my ethnography. During our forest walks, villagers often explained to me the complex ecology of lac insect, its host plant, and various predators. There I learned that in the indigenous worldview, human is not at the center, but rather one among many animated beings that shape and reshape the world.

Type of Resource

• Text
• Image

Language

eng

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/114271

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2022 Vinisha Basnet

Owning Collections