Against the Anthropocene: Pathways through the More-than-human Realms and Ontological Anthropology in Indonesia

Abstract

<p class="Abstract">We are now living in the epoch of Anthropocene—the epoch
 wherein human and nonhuman beings have become increasingly involved. The
 Anthropocene was also a mark to determine human existence begin to overwhelm
 biological and geological forms and displace the Holocene era. Indonesia is the one in many countries
 facing ecological crisis. The widespread of global monocultures such as
 sugarcane, cacao, oil palm and tea plantations are examples of providing an
 intolerance of diversity, meaning that only putting human <i>desires</i> above
 all of nonhuman species. The era also shows the struggles for social
 justice towards nonhuman beings. Hence, this paper expects to discuss
 conceptual and pragmatical levels of the Anthropocene in the more-than-humans’ anthropological
 studies. Meanwhile, anthropology and any sub-disciplines take<span style="color:red"> </span>“ontological
 turn” into account. Talking ontological anthropology is also a way of
 rethinking and requestioning the division and dichotomy between nature and
 culture, technology and society, human, and nonhuman beings, and so on. So, our
 research question is how “ontological turn” contributes to making social
 justice towards multispecies and geological life. Justice has been a great deal to preserve only humans based on
 Eurocentric perception and thought. By giving social justice to more-than-human
 realms is also resolving both “epistemologies of ignorance” and indigenous-led
 decolonization. Alternatively, ontological anthropology provides the ability to
 give a “voice” to more-than-human beings in order to have equal footing as
 humans. Therefore, against the Anthropocene means collapsing ‘the divide’
 between culture and nature, human and non-human, and so on. Besides, the turn
 to anthropology of ontology also means demanding collaborations and balance
 between humans and nonhuman beings in the Anthropocene. The introductory
 anthropology of ontology could potentially open pathways of future
 possibilities for methodological and theoretical standpoints towards
 more-than-human realms in Indonesia.<b><o:p></o:p></b></p>