Care in the Anthropocene: Acting with Compassion

Abstract

The Anthropocene refers to the geological era in which man – anthropos – has become a geophysical force transforming the biosphere. This period is marked by a lack of compassion and understanding of our environments – a total detachment from our biospheric reality. If care is everything we do to repair and maintain this world, what does this process entail in the Anthropocene? This paper addresses the importance of taking care seriously. We look at care in the Anthropocene and its interconnections with the notions of vulnerability and compassion from both a philosophical and anthropological perspective.

Antropocen se odnosi na geološku eru u kojoj je čovek – antropos – postao geofizička sila koja transformiše biosferu. Ovaj period je obeležen nedostatkom saosećanja i razumevanja našeg okruženja – potpuna odvojenost od naše biosferske stvarnosti. Ako je briga sve što činimo da popravljamo i održavamo ovaj svet, šta ovaj proces podrazumeva u antropocenu? Ovaj rad govori o važnosti ozbiljnog promatranja pojma brige. Brigu u antropocenu i njenu povezanost sa pojmovima ranjivosti i saosećanja posmatramo i iz filozofske i iz antropološke perspektive.