66 | Anthropocentrism Further Reading BBC On this day, http://www.bbc.co.uk Borkowski, G L., Wilfinger, W W., and Lane, P K (1996) Laboratory animals in space: Life sciences research, in Animal Welfare Information Center Newsletter, Vol 6, N 2–4, Winter 1995/1996 Cassidy, D & Hughes, P (2005) One small step: America’s first primates in space New York: Chamberlain Bros Fuller, J (2008) Why are there dozens of dead animals floating in space? 17 March 2008, HowSTuffWorks.com, retrieved 13 April 2008 from http://science.howstuffworks.com/deadanimals-in-space.htm Shapiro, R N., & Teigen, P M (2006) Animals as cold warriors: Missiles, medicine, and man’s best friend (United States National Library of Medicine Exhibition, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/animals/ index.html) Tara G (1988) A brief history of animals in space, http://history.nasa.gov/animals.html Constantine Sandis ANTHROPOCENTRISM The term anthropocentrism refers to any view that asserts the centrality, primacy, or superiority of human beings in the scheme of things; that claims the purpose of nature is to serve human needs and wants; or that posits the greater value of human life and interests relative to the lives and interests, if any, of nonhumans Such views are highly characteristic of modern civilization and are frequently implicated in discussions of the world environmental crisis, the abuse of animals, and threats of species extinction From the anthropocentric standpoint, other species—and nature as a whole— exist in a subservient relationship to our own species This relationship may be rationalized by some kind of metanarrative, such as a story about divinely ordered creation (and humans’ bearing the image of God), the great chain of being, or a putative evolutionary hierarchy, or it may merely be asserted as the natural outcome of human development and exploitative skill In other words, the concept of human superiority may be understood in either a de jure (justified) or a de facto (happenstance) manner Anthropocentrism is also characterized by such terms as “homocentrism”, “human chauvinism”, “speciesism,” and “human-centered ethics.” In its crudest expression, anthropocentrism entails an outlook of the following kinds: that human interests, needs, and desires are the only ones that count; that if any life-form can be said to possess intrinsic value, only Homo sapiens can; that humans represent a different order of being that exists apart from nature rather than as a part of nature Anthropocentrism is often equated with anthropomorphism, but this is an error; the two terms should be carefully distinguished Three main varieties of anthropocentrism can be identified: Dominionism: Rooted in the Old Testament and in ancient Greek philosophy, this is the position that nature and individual things in nature exist only for human benefit Dominionism is also referred to in the literature as “strong anthropocentrism,” and is commonly associated with such ideas as mastery of nature and nature’s possessing only instrumental or use value, and with the human species’ self-glorification Arrogance rather than humility is the mark of strong anthropocentric attitudes and behavior Dominionists think of nature as a boundless storehouse of resources The frontier