The key difference between anthropocentrism biocentrism and ecocentrism is that anthropocentrism considers humans to be the most important thing in the universe/earth while biocentrism considers all living beings have inherent value and ecocentrism considers the value of the ecosystems which have both living and non-living components.
Centrism is the way of looking at things, placing a particular value or group at the centre. Anthropocentrism, biocentrism and ecocentrism are three ethics in centrism. In anthropocentrism, human beings are considered as the central or most significant entities in the world. According to the anthropocentrism, all other beings are means to human ends. However, biocentrism and ecocentrism are non-anthropocentric or anti-anthropocentric views. Both ecocentrism and biocentrism consider human beings as “just another species” without giving them greater intrinsic value. Biocentrism focuses on all living beings, while ecocentrism focuses on ecosystems, including living and non-living components.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Anthropocentrism
3. What is Biocentrism
4. What is Ecocentrism
5. Similarities Between Anthropocentrism Biocentrism and Ecocentrism
6. Side by Side Comparison – Anthropocentrism Biocentrism vs Ecocentrism in Tabular Form
7. Summary
What is Anthropocentrism?
The word “Anthropos” refers to human beings in Greek. Anthropocentrism (also known as homocentricism) is the belief that considers that human beings are the most important entity in the universe or earth. Therefore, in anthropocentrism, humans have greater intrinsic value in comparison to other species.
This idea states that all other living things are there to sustain the existence of humans. In other words, all other beings are means to human ends in anthropocentrism. Anthropocentrism is a major concept in environmental philosophy.
What is Biocentrism?
Biocentrism is an anti-anthropocentric belief in environmental philosophy. As the name implies, it is a belief of all living beings. Biocentrism considers all living beings have inherent value. It does not consider that humans are superior to other living species. Therefore, it opposes anthropocentrism.
Similar to ecocentrism, biocentrism focuses on nature, but unlike ecocentrism, biocentrism does not include the abiotic factors of the environment.
What is Ecocentrism?
Ecocentrism is the belief that ecosystems, including all things (living and nonliving), have inherent value regardless of their perceived usefulness or importance to human beings. Therefore, ecocentrism recognizes a nature centred system of values. It recognizes the value of biodiversity over the value of single species. Similar to biocentrism, ecocentrism opposes anthropocentrism, which states humans have more inherent value than other things. However, unlike biocentrism and anthropocentrism, ecocentrism tends to include abiotic factors in the ecosystems.
What are the Similarities Between Anthropocentrism Biocentrism and Ecocentrism?
- Anthropocentrism, biocentrism and ecocentrism are three ethics in environmental philosophy.
What is the Difference Between Anthropocentrism Biocentrism and Ecocentrism?
Anthropocentrism is the belief that considers human beings are the most important entity in the universe or earth while biocentrism is the belief that all living beings have inherent value and ecocentrism is the belief that considers ecosystems including both living and non-living components have inherent value. So, this is the key difference between anthropocentrism biocentrism and ecocentrism.
Moreover, in anthropocentrism, humans have greater intrinsic value than other species. In contrast, in biocentrism and ecocentrism, humans do not have a more inherent value than the other species. In short, anthropocentrism is a belief of human-centred system while biocentrism is all living organism centred and ecocentrism is nature or ecosystem centred.
Below infographic summarizes the difference between anthropocentrism biocentrism and ecocentrism.
Summary – Anthropocentrism Biocentrism vs Ecocentrism
Anthropocentrism, biocentrism and ecocentrism are three key terms in environmental philosophy. Anthropocentrism refers to a human-centred system, while biocentrism refers to a system centred on all living beings and ecocentrism refers to a system centred on ecosystem or nature. This is the key difference between anthropocentrism biocentrism and ecocentrism. Unlike anthropocentrism, biocentrism and ecocentrism consider humans as just a species without giving a more inherent value.
Reference:
1. “Differences Between Ecocentric & Biocentric Philosophies.” Study.com, Available here.
2. “Anthropocentrism | Encyclopedia.Com”. Encyclopedia.Com, 2020, Available here.