In his work on ecocriticism “The future of environmental criticism”, Lawrence Buell gave definitions for anthropocentrism ans ecocentrism. To put it in simple terms, the former is focusing on the interests of humans over the interests of the environment, while the latter is the opposite. We have seen that when it comes to environmental texts, there is no clear distinction between the two views, both can be applied to the same text.
When choosing environmental literature as a class, I thought I was choosing a class that would focus on literary ways to increase consciousness on environmental protection. My expectation will surely be met when reading Rachel Carson. Buell’s definitions made me wonder, what do our actions regarding environmental protection say of us? Do they make us more anthropocentric or ecocentric?