Decline of anthropocentrism: when the cosmos relativizes our importance

What is anthropocentrism?

Definition of anthropocentrism

Anthropocentrism is a worldview in which humans are placed at the center of the Universe and consider that everything is made for them. It is a perspective that grants preeminent value to humanity over all other forms of life and the natural environment.

Manifestations of anthropocentrism

Anthropocentrism manifests itself both in religious beliefs, where humans are often considered a divine creature, and in the interpretation of the world where they possess unique characteristics, such as reason, consciousness or a soul.
From an anthropocentric perspective, nature is often considered a resource to be exploited to meet human needs and desires, without considering the consequences for other species or ecosystems.

The events that shook our beliefs

For millennia, humanity has been fascinated by the question of its place in the Universe and its role in the great cosmic web. Over the centuries, this quest has been marked by a series of discoveries and challenges that have shaken our worldview. Scientific and philosophical advances have gradually eroded the idea of human exceptionalism.

The Copernican revolution

The first anthropic wound was the one that showed that the Earth is not the center of the cosmos.
The geocentric vision prevailed for centuries, with the idea that the Earth was immobile and that the entire Universe revolved around it. In the 16th century, the heliocentric theory of the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) shook the certainties and beliefs deeply rooted in the society of the time. Copernicus proposed that it was the Sun, and not the Earth, that was at the center of the solar system, thus calling into question the anthropocentric vision of the Universe.

The Darwinian revolution

The second anthropic wound was the one that granted humans a special importance in the order of living species. This belief, deeply rooted in many cultures, made humans a divine creature in the image of the Gods.
In 1859, Charles Darwin (1809-1882) published "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection".
Although welcomed with enthusiasm by many scientists and progressive thinkers, this revolutionary work generated a feeling of shame and devaluation in the religious world of the time.
Humans were no longer as perfect as they were thought to be but shared a common ancestor with all other forms of life on Earth.

The end of the Sun at the center of the Universe

In the 1910s, the American astronomer Harlow Shapley (1885-1972) showed that our Sun is not at the center of the Milky Way, but occupies an off-center position. It is located far from the galactic center, which was then taken to be the center of the Universe. Humans thus become aware that their Sun is merely an ordinary dwarf star, lost among billions of other suns.

The discovery of galaxies

In the 1920s, Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) showed that our Milky Way is not the entire universe but simply one of the many agglomerations of stars of a much vaster cosmos. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, no longer represents the entire universe but an infinitesimal part of the great cosmic web.

The exoplanet revolution

In the 1990s, the discovery of extrasolar planets showed that all stars possess planets. Faced with the vertiginous immensity of the universe and the multitude of planets that populate it, the idea that humanity is unique and central in the grand cosmic scheme seems less and less probable. This diminishes the relative importance of humanity, reminding us that we are only a small part of a vast and teeming universe.

Prebiotic chemistry

In the 2000s, astronomical observations revealed the presence of organic molecules, the elementary building blocks of life, in molecular clouds, planetary atmospheres, nebulae, comets and meteorites. Meteorites, which are fragments of rock from space, often contain complex organic molecules, including amino acids, hydrocarbons and aromatic organic compounds. These molecules provide clues about the prebiotic chemistry that may have occurred in the primitive solar system. Humanity becomes aware that the ingredients necessary for life are widespread throughout the Universe.

The cosmological revolution

Since the 2000s, increasingly precise astronomical observations confirm and refine the distribution of the universe into ordinary matter (~5%), dark matter (~23%) and dark energy (~72%). The history of the universe, rich in transformations, reveals to us that the matter of which we are made is only a fragment of cosmic reality, far vaster and more complex.

Humans, a microbial ecosystem

In 2016, a study evaluated the microbiome (essentially the human gut microbiota) at around 39,000 billion bacteria and that of the cells of the average human body at around 30,000 billion.
The bacteria that live within us have a significant impact on our physiology, our immune system and even our behavior. The organism is not an individual and autonomous entity but a complex ecosystem of human cells and bacteria closely linked and living in symbiosis. The traditional boundary between "self" and "non-self" is increasingly blurred.

Universal communication

In recent years, communication is no longer limited to human language, but reveals itself as a universal capacity present in the animal and plant kingdoms, connecting all forms of life. Human language is characterized by its ability to facilitate the sharing of curiosity and knowledge, thus fostering cooperation and the collective accumulation of knowledge. We may be the only ones to tell incredible stories.

The artificial intelligence revolution

In 2021, even intelligence, once thought to be exclusively human, is challenged by machines. Artificial intelligence models, based on a simplification of the functioning of biological neurons, show that intelligence is merely a natural emergence, resulting from a gigantic volume of data.

Consciousness, an enigma for neuroscience

Today, consciousness is no longer a purely philosophical subject: it has become an object of scientific study. This capacity of the brain to observe itself, to understand its functioning and its history, and to express what it perceives and feels, is it also a natural emergence?
In neuroscience, consciousness represents only the tip of the iceberg. The essential lies in non-conscious processes. The mechanisms that allow us to hear, see or understand language, like all hidden processes, are unconscious and operate at very high speed in our brain.

Synthesis of anthropic wounds

The role of humanity within the cosmos has always been the subject of questions and challenges, and this quest for meaning continues to be enriched by new discoveries. All these anthropic wounds highlight the illusions and errors in which humans have locked themselves for centuries. We must get used to these philosophical shifts in perspective felt individually and collectively.

Towards a new relationship with the cosmos

Life emerged from matter, bathed in a favorable environment.
We now know that we are part of a great whole from which humanity has emerged.
We belong entirely to our environment, so we must preserve it for as long as possible.