Introduction: reimagining ways of talking about the Anthropocene

Abstract

This chapter introduces the focus of the book: the discussion of the Anthropocene through the lens of ethics and politics, with an emphasis on the question of space. The chapter explains the need for this emphasis: many of the issues concerning the Anthropocene revolve around questioning how space between the human sphere and the rest of the world is, or is not, shared - an ethical and political question in itself. Furthermore, the chapter suggests that existing ways of talking about the Anthropocene can be reimagined. It describes three core pillars for such alternative narratives: the generation of situated, in-depth knowledge, the recognition of non-Western knowledge and the entanglement of humans and more-than-humans. The outline of the book is based on these three pillars.