anthropocentric

American  

[an-thruh-poh-sen-trik] / ˌæn θrə poʊˈsɛn trɪk /

adjective

1. regarding the human being as the central fact of the universe.

2. assuming human beings to be the final aim and end of the universe.

3. viewing and interpreting everything only in terms of human experience and values.

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anthropocentric British  

/ ˌænθrəpəʊˈsɛntrɪk /

adjective

1. regarding man as the most important and central factor in the universe

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Other Word Forms

• anthropocentrically adverb
• anthropocentrism noun

Etymology

Origin of anthropocentric

First recorded in 1850–55; anthropo- + -centric

Explanation

If you have an anthropocentric perspective, it means that you believe humans are the most important part of the world we live in. The word anthropocentric combines the Greek words for "human" and "center." This human-centered perspective has influenced many of our policies and decisions, sometimes at the expense of the environment and other living creatures. As we face global challenges, many argue for a shift towards valuing the entire ecosystem, recognizing that plants, animals, and other elements of nature are crucial parts of our world too.

Example Sentences

And I would say that’s a more biocentric approach or at the very least it’s less anthropocentric.

From Scientific American • Feb. 7, 2023

Today, she believes, “If we can move from an androcentric, anthropocentric view to a sex-, gender-, and species-spanning perspective, then we can do good.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2022

And “in this new work,” she adds, “I want to use birds not as anthropocentric symbols but as routes to more vulnerable, attuned encounters with the nonhuman.”

From New York Times • Aug. 9, 2022

“It’s too anthropocentric, completely missing what land restoration means,” says restoration ecologist David Moreno Mateos of Harvard University.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 27, 2022

Yet, with colossal audacity, this thinking atom regards himself as the anthropocentric pivot around which revolve the eternal purposes of the Universe.

From The Evolution of Modern Medicine A Series of Lectures Delivered at Yale University on the Silliman Foundation in April, 1913 by Osler, William