The Anthropocenic Turn. Society and the Environment in the Global Age

Abstract

According to natural scientists, human colonization of nature has reached such degree that there are reasons to conclude that we have left behind the Holocene and we are entering into a new geological age featured by the human influence on the global planetary system: the Anthropocene. Far from being just a scientific curiosity, the latter represents an epistemological turn with deep normative consequences, as it does pose new challenges for the species as a whole. This paper explores the origins and content of the hypothesis, paying special attention to its effects on humanity’s self-representation, as well as to its moral and political implications. The Anthropocene seems to be a promising opportunity for reframing the -increasingly relevant- ecological dimension of the debate on the good society and for reorganizing socionatural relations according to sustainable standards.