Biocentrism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Biocentrism is a term that has several meanings but is most commonly defined as the belief that all forms of life are equally valuable and humanity is not the center of existence. Hence, humanity is no more valuable than say cockroaches.
Biocentrism has been contrasted to anthropocentrism, which is the belief that human beings and human society are, or should be, the central focus of existence.
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[edit] Ecology
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 the British intelligencia of the Victorian era reacting against the Christian ethic of dominion over nature.[1] He points out that Charles Darwin was the most important spokesperson 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 biocentrism 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 environmental management.[2]
[edit] Gender
Biocentrism as a term 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.[3] It is this biocentric belief that continues to fuel the debate over the Michigan Womyn'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".[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Worster, Donald (1994). Nature’s Economy: A History of Ecological Ideas (Studies in Environment and History). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521468345.
- ^ Berkes, Fikret (1999). Sacred Ecology: Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 1560326956.
- ^ Trans Programming at the 519. "The Toronto Trans and Two-Spirit Primer". Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
- ^ Cvetkovich, A. (2001). Don't Stop the Music: Roundtable Discussion with Workers from the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies Volume 7, Number 1, 2001, pp. 131-151
