Against the Anthropocene: Pathways through the More-than-human Realms and Ontological Anthropology in Indonesia

Abstract

We are now living in the epoch of Anthropocene—the epoch wherein human and nonhuman beings have become increasingly involved. The Anthropocene was also a mark to determine human existence begin to overwhelm biological and geological forms and displace the Holocene era. Indonesia is the one in many countries facing ecological crisis. The widespread of global monocultures such as sugarcane, cacao, oil palm and tea plantations are examples of providing an intolerance of diversity, meaning that only putting human desires above all of nonhuman species. The era also shows the struggles for social justice towards nonhuman beings. Hence, this paper expects to discuss conceptual and pragmatical levels of the Anthropocene in the more-than-humans’ anthropological studies. Meanwhile, anthropology and any sub-disciplines take “ontological turn” into account. Talking ontological anthropology is also a way of rethinking and requestioning the division and dichotomy between nature and culture, technology and society, human, and nonhuman beings, and so on. So, our research question is how “ontological turn” contributes to making social justice towards multispecies and geological life. Justice has been a great deal to preserve only humans based on Eurocentric perception and thought. By giving social justice to more-than-human realms is also resolving both “epistemologies of ignorance” and indigenous-led decolonization. Alternatively, ontological anthropology provides the ability to give a “voice” to more-than-human beings in order to have equal footing as humans. Therefore, against the Anthropocene means collapsing ‘the divide’ between culture and nature, human and non-human, and so on. Besides, the turn to anthropology of ontology also means demanding collaborations and balance between humans and nonhuman beings in the Anthropocene. The introductory anthropology of ontology could potentially open pathways of future possibilities for methodological and theoretical standpoints towards more-than-human realms in Indonesia.