The Global Biosphere and Its Metaphysical Underpinnings: Ecumenical Alternatives in Animism and Astrobiology

The term biosphere designates the “zone of life” on Earth. Outside this sphere, everything becomes “alien.” In this view of things, which I take to be canonical in the modern West, terrestrial life and biosphere overlap more or less neatly. Yet this idea of an almost perfect convergence is not the only view possible. This study presents two anthropological cases which demonstrate, a contrario, that the modern tendency to envisage the biosphere as “our home environment” or as “our familiar world” is in many ways a historical accident. Other ecumenical possibilities (by which I refer to the ancient Greek notion of the “inhabited world,” the oikumene) are by no means unthinkable. Examining the ecumenical originality of two communities that at first sight seem unrelated – Chachi indigenous people in Ecuador and scientists involved in the search for extraterrestrial life – will allow us to cast new light on the metaphysical underpinnings of the modern biosphere concept

Ventura i Oller Montserrat, Identité, cosmologie et chamanisme des Tsachila de l’Équateur

Dans cet excellent livre, Montserrat Ventura i Oller entame une recherche sur une société à la croisée de deux mondes qui fascinent les ethnologues américanistes depuis longtemps : les civilisations andines et les sociétés « sauvages » des Basses Terres. Bien que, dans quelques travaux récents, les relations entre les sociétés des Hautes Terres et celles des Basses Terres de l’Amérique du Sud aient été examinées, il n’existe à ce jour que peu d’analyses entièrement consacrées à l’étude de la ..

Convergence en astrobiologie:Expérimentation contrefactuelle dans les sciences et les arts

La cosmologie moderne repose sur un choix métaphysique assez particulier : elle privilégie la divergence sur la convergence. Les biologistes sont fascinés par la diversité des formes de vie - la « biodiversité », comme ils l’appellent. Les scientifiques planétaires sont également intrigués par la grande variété de corps célestes : naines jaunes, géantes gazeuses, planètes rocheuses, lunes, astéroïdes… Cependant, un contre-courant métaphysique est en train de voir le jour dans le domaine de l’astrobiologie. Il se caractérise par un intérêt remarquable pour les thèmes de la convergence et par l’idée que l’évolution de la vie et la formation des planètes suivent un nombre limité de sentiers. L’article montre comment cette alternative métaphysique prend forme dans des expérimentations contrefactuelles à l’interface de la science et de la science-fiction.Modern cosmology is premised on a specific and rather peculiar metaphysical choice: it privileges divergence over convergence. Biologists are fascinated by the diversity of life forms — ‘biodiversity’, as they call it. Planetary scientists, likewise, are intrigued by the great variety of celestial bodies: yellow dwarfs, gas giants, rocky planets, moons, asteroids… At present, however, a metaphysical countercurrent is emerging within the field known as astrobiology, the scientific search for extraterrestrial life. It is characterised by a distinctive interest in themes of convergence and in the idea that the evolution of life and the formation of planets can only happen in a limited number of ways. The article illustrates how this metaphysical alternative is taking shape in counterfactual experiments at the interface of science and science fiction, of astrobiology and artistic research.

Good, quarrelsome, bad: animal agency and human-elephant interactions in the Western Ghats, India

Ecological breakdowns are posing many serious threats to the lives of both humans and wild animals in the spaces where those lives are shared. Today the intensification of conservation-related conflict is one of the main ecological challenges faced in the Western Ghats of India. This article explores some of the complex interactions between different groups of people, such as wealthy farmers, small-scale farmers, and Adivasi (indigenous) people, and Asian elephants and suggests potentially non-conflictual approaches to sharing spaces with these elephants. The study used a multispecies ethnographic approach as a primary research method and focused on detailed stories and anecdotes narrated by the inhabitants of the study area who had long experience of living with these elephants and who frequently encountered them. Based on insights offered by the stories and anecdotes, the article argues that the lives of elephants and those of people are deeply and intimately interconnected and co-constructed in the study area; such ‘naturecultures’ of elephants and humans constitute a complex whole. The stories highlight that most people in the study area know that elephants have agency and are intelligent, emotional beings, and can subvert human attempts to control them. According to local people, each individual elephant possesses a distinct personality: some are good, some are quarrelsome, and some are bad. People believe that, just as human beings do, elephants also perceive and respond to individual humans differently; such beliefs, and the stories created out of them, are non-anthropocentric in nature. Overall, this article explores how understanding, and treating seriously, the concepts, beliefs, and experiences of multidimensional elephant agency can be beneficial for envisioning possible new ways for human-elephant coexistence