Biocentrism

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Biocentrism is the belief that all life, or even the whole universe living or otherwise taken as a whole, is equally valuable and humanity is not the center of existence. Hence, humanity is no more valuable than say, mice.

Biocentrism has been proposed as an antonym of anthropocentrism, which is a conscious or subconscious belief that human beings and human society are, or should be, the central focus of existence.

Donald Worster has traced today’s biocentric conscience, which is an important part of the recovery of a sense of kinship between man and nature, to Victorians reacting against the Christian ethic of dominion over nature. He points out that Darwin was the most important spokesman for the biocentric attitude in ecological thought and quotes from his ‘Notebooks on Transmutation’

‘If we choose to let conjecture run wild, then animals, our fellow brethren in pain, diseases, death, suffering and famine-our slaves in the most laborious works, our companions in our amusement-they may partake of our origin in one common ancestor-we may be all netted together’

Another thread of biocentricity comes from ethnological studies of species-specific taboos. This is an important contribution to the concept of ‘Sacred Ecology’ developed by Fikret Berkes from his studies on traditional resource management.

Note: "Biocentrism" has also recently gained prominence in the discussion of transgender and transsexual rights. Biocentrism in that case refers to the widely-held belief that a person who was born as a male or a female is more "real" and more valid than the individual who has become man or woman through hormonal, surgical, and cosmetic means. It is this biocentric belief that continues to fuel the debate over the Michigan Women's Music Festival's policy to only allow women-born, women-identified women. Trans women are actively excluded because they are not viewed as "real" women.