Distinguish between anthropocentrism and ecocentrism (15 marks)

Anthropocentrism and ecocentrism are contrasting opinions on how the natural world should be viewed in relation to human beings. Anthropocentrism is a belief that the needs and desires of humans should be at the centre of how society is constructed and how the world is organised and used, implying that human beings are superior to other aspects of the world. This amounts to a principled belief in speciesism. Anthropocentrism is rooted in monotheistic religions such as Christianity and Judaism, which maintain that God created the world mainly for man's benefit giving him 'dominion....over every living thing' (Genesis 1.27-8). This position has been adopted by shallow ecologists who see environmental issues in terms of human centred reforms rather than any deep change in relationships between humans and the Earth. Ecocentrists, on the other hand, dismiss this position seeing it as false consciousness. For them humankind is part of nature as a whole, with no special status above that of all other living things rooted in mystical religions such as Buddhism, which emphasises that humans are part of the same living organism as all other forms of life (this has become known as holism). Ecocentrism is supported by deep ecologists who believe that nature should be protected and respected because of the intrinsic value it possesses and not simply so that it may continue to serve the needs of human beings.