Nature as Culture: Pragmatism in the Anthropocene

In this paper, I argue that the idea of the “Anthropocene”, the proposed name for our current Geological Epoch, problematizes and intensifies debates surrounding the relationship between nature and culture. Specifically, some authors argue that the Anthropocene signals that nature and culture are now unified on the side of culture and that this unification implies that humans must engage in more intensive management of natural systems. John Dewey has argued persuasively that there never was a radical split between nature and culture. As such, Dewey is helpful in thinking about the Anthropocene. However, though Dewey’s concepts of natural piety and adjustment provide an antidote to his promethean emphasis upon management and control, pragmatists would do well to identify and purge lingering humanistic aspects of Deweyan pragmatism, specifically Dewey’s assumptions about the uniquely human nature of intelligence and agency.