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non-human nature in the category of “subordinate others”. They believe that the binary structure of the Western thoughts must be deconstructed so that the liberation of women and nature can be achieved.
Anthropocentrism is the idea that human beings are the crown of all creations, superior to animals and other non-human existence. This kind of assumption might be traced back to the origin of Western civilization. As the Greek philosopher Protagora claims, “of all things the measure is man, of things that are, that [or “how”] they are, and of things that are nor, that [or “how”] they are not”. The Science Revolution in 17th and 18th century furthered man’s conquer and domination over nature, building the industrial civilization on the exploitation of nature.
Anthropocentrism and dualism are two interrelated concepts. Anthropocentrism can bee seen as a result of dualism, separating human from nature and placing human in the dominant position. In the model of dualism, nature/culture, women/men, reason/emotion, and mind/ body are opposite and the former is the subordinate of the latter. Thus anthropocentrism is embodied in the dualism. Such kind of dualistic thinking leads to human’s dominance over non-human environment and men’s dominance over women. Plumwood (1993) states that,
The inferiorisation of human qualities and aspects of life associated with necessity, nature and women---of nature–as-body, of nature-as-passion or emotion, of nature as the pre-symbolic, of nature-as-primitive, of nature-as-animal, and of nature as the feminine---continues to operate to the disadvantage of women, nature and the quality of human life (21).
In Western culture, nature is instrumentalized and the color peoples are also categorized as the subordinate. Under such value systems, the ‘others’ are oppressed and labeled as inferior. This kind of viewpoint treats nature as radically other and human as hyperseperated from nature. It stresses that human is the outsider and master of nature, which is conceived as lacking human qualities such as mind and agency. And the difference of nature is a ground of inferiority, not only difference. In the anthropocentric system, nature, women, and colored peoples are all labeled as the inferior ‘others’, and thus they only deserve the non-human treatment.
This belief system leads to the distortion of humanity and self-identity construction. In order to solve such problem, Plumwood (1991) proposes the concept of “self-in-relation”. She argues for a “nonholistic but relational account of the other, whether the other is another human, the community, or nature” (Plumwood 14). This concept emphasizes the relation of self to other people, community, and to nature, eliminating the contradiction between the dualistic paradigms. She also argues that “both women and men must challenge the dualised conception of human identity and develop an alternative culture which fully recognizes human identity as continuous with, not from nature (36)”. This means that human should develop a harmonious relationship with nature, to deconstruct the instrumentalized ideas from the Western science, to understand nature in a more profound way, so that the humanity without oppression can be constructed.
The struggles of colored women and men who are categorizes as the ‘others’ for freedom, and their union and harmonious relationship with nature represent “a challenge to the idea of a passive, disembodied, and objectified nature (S