Replacing the Nature/Culture Divide in the Anthropocene: Divergent Perspectives

Dear Colleagues,

We live in what is known as the Anthropocene Age. Though much continues to be published on the topic of the Anthropocene from many different disciplines in the natural and human sciences, little has been written about the ontological repercussions of this geological shift. Many scholars have understood the Anthropocene as confirming the patient work in the social sciences to deconstruct the nature/culture divide, for the human being is now present in the entire eco-system, from deet-resistant mosquitoes to the ozone hole in the heavens. If the expropriation and destruction intrinsic to the modern division between a world of cultural values attributed exclusively to humans and a world of inanimate matter devoid of value has become untenable, then showing the illusory nature of this divide should open the way for a transvaluation of values capable of developing a different ontology to replace the dualisms of the Western paradigm. This Special Issue will take up this challenge and look at the way this new Age deconstructs the nature/culture divide that was intrinsic to the modern paradigm. If this divide no longer describes the real, what, if anything, has taken its place, and what are the philosophical repercussions of this ontological transformation? This Special Issue, entitled “Replacing the Nature/Culture Divide in the Anthropocene: Divergent Perspectives” will seek to address this lacuna and problematize different disciplinary approaches to addressing the ontological challenges of the Anthropocene Age.

In line with the interdisciplinary scope of the Journal Philosophies, this Special Issue seeks to publish articles that address the ontological presuppositions of the Anthropocene Age from different areas within philosophy and from different disciplines outside of philosophy: ontology, epistemology, environmental philosophy, philosophy of technology; Science and Technology Studies, human ecology, environmental studies, history, sociology and anthropology.

This Special Issue aims to respond to three important scholarly contributions to Anthropocene research, from three separate disciplines, those of philosopher Bruno Latour, historian Dipesh Chakrabarty, and human ecologist Andreas Malm. Bruno Latour famously claimed that nature and culture have always been co-determined and thus that their separation was a case of modern bad faith with disastrous consequences. His scholarship has in­spired many scholars to adopt a ‘flat ontology’ that treats all forms of agency, whether animate or inanimate, as equivalent material forces. Is such a flat ontology a good idea in sharing agency more widely outside the scope of humanism, or might it be considered a terrible idea for anthropomorphizing inanimate entities? Dipesh Chakrabarty has similarly noted that we must understand the human as a geological force, and thus as taking part in geological time rather than merely human time, thereby questioning the place of humanism in our self-understanding. Is humanism over, and if so, what has it been replaced with, if anything? Scholars like Andreas Malm, on the other hand, claim that resistance against the climate crisis is conceivable only if we retain the nature/culture divide, and privilege the essential nature of human agency for enacting positive change. If this is so, and we are to retain the nature/culture divide, how can we value the more-than-human world from within this modern ontology? Finally, from an anthropological perspective, might there be non-western ontologies that are better suited to resolving the problems of the Anthropocene Age? If so, which ones, and why? This Special Issue will elucidate this debate, publishing articles that both defend and deconstruct the nature/culture divide, in the pursuit of new ontologies better suited to address the challenges of the Anthropocene Age.

In this Special Issue, original research articles are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following areas, so long as each contribution addresses the nature/culture divide and the ontological framework of the Anthropocene Age:

ontology; epistemology; environmental philosophy; philosophy of technology; Science and Technology Studies; human ecology; history; environmental studies; sociology and anthropology.

Themes might include:

1. What ontology has replaced/will replace/should replace the nature/culture divide in the Anthropocene Age?
2. What are the problems caused by the nature/culture divide, and how might this new geological age resolve them?
3. What becomes of humanism if we enlarge human history to include geological time as proposed by Chakrabarty?
4. Are flat ontologies the response we are looking for to give value to the more-than-human world, or might flat ontologies lead to commodity fetichism, the reification of life and/or the anthropomorphization of the inanimate?
5. If the nature/culture divide is essential in order to take human agency seriously and enact the necessary changes to address the climate crisis, how might we resolve the longstanding problems of devaluing the more-than-human world from within the nature/culture divide?
6. Which non-western ontologies might be better suited to resolving the challenges of the Anthropocene Age, and why?

I/We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Arianne Conty
Guest Editor

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