Envisioning a De-Anthropocentrised World:Critical Comments on Anthony Weston's 'The Incompleat Eco-Philosopher'

摘要

IV. Conclusion Let me close by giving Weston his due regarding these criticisms. It is clear that he anticipates them, to some extent, in his book. First, he argues that philosophy by itself cannot de-anthropocentrise the world, for thought is based on its environment, and thus our thoughts, in this anthropocentric world, will simply re-create more anthropocentric ideas (Weston, 2009, p. 110-111). But his solution for this problem is to change the world through action, through, for example, the practical design of new living spaces. My retort is that human action and human design will also perpetuate anthropocentrism. Weston also realises that no positive vision of a nonanthropocentric world is possible while we are still trapped in a world that is anthropocentrised. Thus he claims (Weston, 2009, pp. 126-127, in a very important methodological discussion) that he is not presenting a positive vision. He is not sure of our destination; he is merely offering a direction. I believe that this claim is either wrong or disingenuous. This book is filled with a specific positive vision of ritual interaction with the natural world. There is a very specific kind of life that Weston is urging us to live.