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Anthropocentrism (; from Greek ἄνθρωπος, ''ánthrōpos'', "human being"; and κέντρον, ''kéntron'', "center") is the belief that human beings are the central or most significant species on the planet (in the sense that they are considered to have a moral status or value higher than that of all other organisms), or the assessment of reality through an exclusively human perspective.〔(Anthropocentrism ) - Merriam-Webster Dictionary.〕 The term can be used interchangeably with humanocentrism, and some refer to the concept as human supremacy or human exceptionalism. The mediocrity principle is the opposite of anthropocentrism. Anthropocentrism is considered to be profoundly embedded in many modern human cultures and conscious acts. It is a major concept in the field of environmental ethics and environmental philosophy, where it is often considered to be the root cause of problems created by human action within the ecosphere. However, many proponents of anthropocentrism state that this is not necessarily the case: they argue that a sound long-term view acknowledges that a healthy, sustainable environment is necessary for humans and that the real issue is shallow anthropocentrism. Throughout human history, some societies have treated animal life forms as different from humans and to be used in ways that benefit humans, including milk, eggs, meat, wool, transport, power, guarding, entertainment, etc. All of these activities that were standard human behaviors across the millennia and across the globe are now labeled by some〔p. 204. Laitos, Jan. 2012. ''The Right of Nonuse''. Oxford University Press.〕 as anthropocentric. ==Environmental philosophy== Anthropocentrism, also known as homocentricism or human supremacism, has been posited by some environmentalists, in such books as ''Confessions of an Eco-Warrior'' by Dave Foreman and ''Green Rage'' by Christopher Manes, as the underlying (if unstated) reason why humanity dominates and sees the need to "develop" most of the Earth. Anthropocentrism is believed by some to be the central problematic concept in environmental philosophy, where it is used to draw attention to a systematic bias in traditional Western attitudes to the non-human world.〔Naess, A. 1973. 'The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement' ''Inquiry'' 16: 95-100〕 Val Plumwood has argued〔Plumwood, V. 1993. ''Feminism and the Mastery of Nature''. London: Routledge〕〔Plumwood, V. 1996. Androcentrism and Anthrocentrism: Parallels and Politics. ''Ethics and the Environment'' 1〕 that anthropocentrism plays an analogous role in green theory to androcentrism in feminist theory and ethnocentrism in anti-racist theory. Plumwood calls human-centredness "anthrocentrism" to emphasise this parallel. One of the first extended philosophical essays addressing environmental ethics, John Passmore's ''Man's Responsibility for Nature''〔Passmore, J. 1974. ''Man's Responsibility for Nature'' London: Duckworth〕 has been criticised by defenders of deep ecology because of its anthropocentrism, often claimed to be constitutive of traditional Western moral thought.〔Routley, R. and V. 1980. 'Human Chauvinism and Environmental Ethics' in ''Environmental Philosophy'' (eds) D.S. Mannison, M. McRobbie and R. Routley. Canberra: ANU Research School of Social Sciences: 96-189〕 Indeed, defenders of anthropocentrism concerned with the ecological crisis contend that the maintenance of a healthy, sustainable environment is necessary for human well-being as opposed to for its own sake. The problem with a "shallow" viewpoint is not that it is human-centred but that according to William Grey: "What's wrong with shallow views is not their concern about the well-being of humans, but that they do not really consider enough in what that well-being consists. According to this view, we need to develop an enriched, fortified anthropocentric notion of human interest to replace the dominant short-term, sectional and self-regarding conception."〔Grey, W. 1993. 'Anthropocentrism and Deep Ecology' ''Australasian Journal of Philosophy'' 71: 463-475 ()〕 In turn, Plumwood in ''Environmental Culture: The Ecological Crisis of Reason'' argued that Grey's anthropocentrism is inadequate. It is important to take note that many devoted environmentalists encompass a somewhat anthropocentric-based philosophical view supporting the fact that they will argue in favor of saving the environment for the sake of human populations. Grey writes: "We should be concerned to promote a rich, diverse, and vibrant biosphere. Human flourishing may certainly be included as a legitimate part of such a flourishing."〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The University of Queensland )〕 Such a concern for human flourishing amidst the flourishing of life as a whole, however, is indinstinguishible from that of deep ecology and biocentrism Biocentrism, which has been proposed as both an antithesis of anthropocentrism. and as a generalised form of anthropocentrism.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=insurgentdesire.org.uk )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Anthropocentrism」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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