Anthropocentrism. This is a word that changed my entire perspective in life and was something I just learned about a few months ago. Reading my novel for APES this past summer, I was given the opportunity to ponder in awe of the world and its tragedy---the human race. The anthropocentric perspective is the idea that humanity will never be able to understand the view of a species other than its self. All things have to do with our life, our needs, our wants, and our survival. That's just how it is. There's no other way going about it. We will never fully understand the mysteries of other life forms and live out what we are all missing. It'll just be empty. That is humanity.
Yup. It's a tragedy. I was really upset discovering this idea of mine. It, of course, is possibly or even entirely, disagreeable or even stupid, but for some reason it really hits home for me. Everything turns ugly and happiness becomes selfish intent. Its a frozen feeling to realize that humanity is all about humanity. We live our lives for ourselves and for no other cycle. We do not contribute willingly. It is difficult for us to sacrifice and understand the reason and purpose of natural, ignorant, animal instinct.
Anthropocentrism is something we all, as the human race, share. We are trapped. It is the religion and the disbelief.
As for animal rights, humans perceive in the act of perceiving something they are familiar with and want, which includes human emotions. Jeremy Rifkin's article "A Change of Heart about Animals" opens up the human idea that animals are capable of emotions and are "more like us than we had ever imagined." (2) This line brought back all the frustrating thoughts. There is no respect given to anything that we don't know. There is instead fear followed by the power of manipulation. We manipulate to defeat what we fear, don't know and don't understand. Animals have an intimidating advantage of seeing a world we will never be able to see. Yet, with our grand minds, we are able to manipulate and use these beings to try to live out a life to figure something out, to be somewhat fulfilled.
Humanity has surely declined in understanding. Everything isn't literal. That is the language of humanity, and with it, barely anything meaningful suffices. Yet, with a certain depth in understanding, a reflection beyond the spectrum of "self", the purpose of an outside perspective, its wisdom and knowledge above this anthropocentric view, found in animals and organisms other that humans, will allow for a different language. It speaks something that goes beyond our humanity and reaches out to the great unknown. And, most importantly, it is nothing "like us" at all.
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ReplyDeleteI do agree what you have concluded with Bianca, Humans as sad as it sounds are pretty much selfish. Most humans are centered in their own lives to even have time to worry about the world that revolves around them. Like you said, "All things have to do with our life, our needs, our wants, and our survival." Everyone living thing contributes to our lives. Plants are able to produce oxygen while animals provide us with essential needs like cheese and other products. It's sad to know that most of us don't worry about the foxes roaming around the land or the polar bears swimming around the arctic. Thankfully there are so few who do care and try to make a difference like Jeremy Rifkins
ReplyDeleteI just want to say that I don't feel empty. There isn't a single day that goes by that I don't think of some other species or person in depth. I spend hours upon hours wondering about the affects of my actions, be it a single word uttered or a single step on wet grass when I go for a jog. It may sound like an exaggeration, but I assure you, it's not.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that I am perfectly righteous or that I am never ever careless. I certainly am just another flawed human being. However, I believe that there is hope in our ranks. Although there are many who spend there days like robots, never truly taking a moment to ponder deeply about their existence and the environment in which they were sprung from and which they share with innumerable flora and fauna, there are those who actually do... and I believe that those who do think, speak, and act on these things aren't as few and far between as we might think (:
I see your point, though, and, as usual, you are very good with the written word. I understand what you have said and have come to agree that society today does look incredibly sad indeed. I have come to the same conclusion many times. In fact, I have even made myself sick (seriously, literally sick) thinking about how disgusting we can be as a species.
I hope we can overcome all this tragedy. We certainly have the capacity to. It's simply the cognitive choice that remains.
If we choose to look at things as they really are, our world would definitely change for the better.