The Gaianthropocene
The term Anthropocene continues to gain recognition as a proposed geological epoch to mark the beginning of significant human impact on our planet. However, the term suggests a focus on our species alone. For this project, I chose a term that adequately reflects the interwoven nature and destiny of humanity and Earth.
In his 2021 book, Becoming Gaia: On the Threshold of Planetary Initiation, Sean Kelly identifies the period circa 1945 as potentially the beginning of a Second Axial Age and Gaian epoch, or Gaianthropocene. While the first Axial Age emphasized transcendence and an abstract universality, the proposed Second Axial Age grounds Gaia, our Earth, as the embodiment of the concrete universal.
The twenty-first century calls for the development of a Gaianthropic identity as we become ever more aware of the interwoven destiny of humankind and the wider Earth community.
Humanity and Earth are facing new challenges in the 21st century.
Our human impact on Earth is accelerating.
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Earth is our concrete universal
What emerges when we center Gaia, our Earth, as embodiment of the concrete universal?
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Care for the entire Earth community
The Earth community is experiencing a sixth mass extinction of species.