Anthropocosmism: an Eastern humanist approach to the Anthropocene

Abstract

This paper addresses the discussion on the Anthropocene in environmental education research. It aims to enrich and widen the debate about the appropriateness of humanist approaches to environmental education and sustainability. In response to criticism about anthropocentric responses to human-made environmental destruction, the authors introduce a version of Eastern humanism: Tu Weiming’s ‘Anthropocosmism’. This idea of a non-anthropocentric humanism embedded in the cosmic order is strikingly different from the anthropocentric separatism typical of Western humanism. Moving beyond a blanket condemnation of humanism, this paper explores what a specific, non-Western form of humanism may have to offer in response to anthropogenic ecological crises. The argument is developed that Anthropocosmism can help us fully recognize humans’ exceptional ethical responsibility in light of these crises without falling into the mistake of Western humanism’s dominant discourse that connects this exceptionalism to forms of human superiority over and domination of other-than-human nature.