Anthropocentrism
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Anthropocentrism (Greek άνθρωπος, anthropos, "man, human being", κέντρον, kentron, "center") is the practice, conscious or otherwise, of regarding the existence and/or concerns of human beings as the central fact of the universe. This is similar, but not identical, to the practice of relating all that happens in the universe to the human experience. To clarify, the first portion concludes that the fact of human existence is the point of universal existence; the latter merely compares all activity to that of humanity, without making any teleological conclusions.
Anthropocentrism is a synonym of Homocentrism.
The related adjective is anthropocentric.
Biocentrism (the belief that all life, or even the whole universe living or otherwise taken as a whole, is equally valid and humanity is not the center of existence) has been proposed as an antonym of anthropocentrism.
Anthropocentrism 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, views civilization rather than wilderness as the real world, and sets aside small wilderness preserves in the midst of large areas dominated by human activities instead of the other way around. In this sense, anthropocentrism has been identified by these writers and others as a root cause of the ecological crisis, human overpopulation, and extinctions of many non-human species.
Interestingly, environmentalists are not the only ones critical of anthropocentrism; some evangelical Christians have also been critical, viewing a human-centered worldview, rather than a Christ-centered or God-centered worldview, as a core societal problem. According to this viewpoint, a fallen humanity placing its own desires ahead of the teachings of Christ leads to rampant selfishness and behavior viewed as sinful.