anthropocentrism

[an-thruh-poh-sen-triz-uhm]

noun

1. the view that human beings are the central fact or the final aim and end of the universe.

2. the tendency to view and interpret everything in terms of human experience, making it the only operative consideration in determining the moral or ethical value of a course of action.

Word History and Origins

Origin of anthropocentrism¹

First recorded in 1905–10; anthropocentr(ic) + -ism

Example Sentences

He does his own unlearning of anthropocentrism on the page through his intense experiences with these three rivers, concluding only when the rivers are done with him: “I am rivered.”

From Los Angeles Times

And in a recent conversation with Goodall on A24’s podcast, he described his debut feature film as “a critique of anthropocentrism.”

From Los Angeles Times

Whereas Copernicus mortally wounded a sense of cosmic anthropocentrism, Darwin’s theory demolished the biological anthropocentrism that remained.

From Salon

Scholars have warned about how easily reason falls into anthropocentrism and cultural bias when dealing with the nonhuman.

From Scientific American

Great Andamanese, it turns out, is exceptional among the world's languages in its anthropocentrism.

From Scientific American