A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Beyond an anthropocentric view of praxis : towards education for planetary well-being




AuthorsHeikkinen, Hannu L.T.; Huttunen, Rauno; Mahon, Kathleen; Kemmis, Stephen

PublisherRoutledge, Taylor & Francis Online

Publication year2024

JournalEnvironmental Education Research

Volume30

Issue7

First page 1147

Last page1160

ISSN1350-4622

eISSN1469-5871

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2024.2326460(external)

Web address https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13504622.2024.2326460(external)

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/387513431(external)


Abstract

A number of philosophical perspectives, such as deep ecology, posthumanism, and new materialisms, to name a few, have challenged the deep-rooted anthropocentric assumptions about human exceptionalism. Yet these non-anthropocentric perspectives must still find a place for human action; they require clear conceptualisations of human action and agency. It is generally acknowledged that human beings have a weighty moral responsibility for correcting the current global ecological crisis. For more than two millennia, theories of praxis supplied conceptualisations of action for the good of humankind. In this paper, we argue that the non-anthropocentric perspectives can be substantially extended and enhanced by a new theory of transformative praxis that breaks through the anthropocentric limit imposed by the notion of ‘the good for humankind’ to embrace collective human action for planetary well-being. We call this approach a praxis orientation to environmental education.


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Last updated on 2025-24-03 at 10:06