Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, for all of recorded history, Western cultures have operated on an implicit foundation of anthropocentrism, which assumes that human beings are the most important beings in the world. The author points out that ecocentrism, also known as biocentrism, is the exact opposite of anthropocentrism in that it sees the ecosystem itself as central. The paper relates that the first principle of the deep ecology movement, as formulated by Arne Naess and George Sessions in 1984, gives expression to the essence of ecocentrism. The author further states that the deep ecology platform is a foundation that might make it possible to save the planet, humans and most of the other still surviving species; however, none of the above will come easily to most people, accustomed to considering humans as the center of the universe and the pinnacle of all creation.

From the Paper:

"However, sacrifices will have to be made. One cannot drive a luxury SUV through a Garden-of-Eve like paradise - one of them has to go. The trick will be for enough people to realize it is the SUV that needs to go. Of course, the SUV is meant as a metaphor for the many excessive luxuries that so many people insist on, generating a consumerism that has sustained the multinational corporations that are devouring the resources of our planet. Thus, what needs to happen is a total shift in what we value."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Broswimmer, Franz J. "Ecocide and Globalization." Ecocide: A Short History of the Mass Extinction of Species. London: Pluto, 2002.
• Drengson, Alan. "Ecophilosophy, Ecosophy and the Deep Ecology Movement: An Overview ." 1999. Retrieved from http://www.ecospherics.net/pages/DrengEcophil.html
• Spirits of Modernity. "Genesis Text." 2004. Retrieved from http://www.lehigh.edu/~amsp/2004/09/genesis-text-note-bold-text-at-bottom.html
• White, Lynn Jr. "The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis." Reflecting on Nature. Eds. Lori Gruen and Dale Jamieson. New York: Oxford, 1994.

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