The Anthropocene as the End of Nature? Why Recognizing Interventionism Is Key in Coming to Terms with the Anthropocene
The Anthropocene as the End of Nature? Why Recognizing Interventionism Is Key in Coming to Terms with the Anthropocene
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive, Gene drive syntheticK. Boersma, ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS, 44:195-219. 2023.
In this article, I address and argue against the tendency to understand the anthropocene as inaugurating the end of nature. I conduct two key moves. First, by way of an engagement with the concept of anthropocene technology I explain how understanding the anthropocene as the end of nature prevents us from recognizing what the anthropocene is all about: interventionism. Secondly, I illustrate how a nondualist understanding of the human-nature relation allows us to recognize interventionism as the hallmark of the anthropocene without falling back into the hierarchical human-nature conceptions that underlie interventionism. A nondualist framework that conserves the human-nature distinction helps us in our ability to relate critically to contemporary science and technology in the anthropocene. I illustrate the conceptual narrative of the article through the specific case of gene drive technology development.
