Once again I am asked to consider this question; what is human beingness in the anthropocene? A short while ago all I could say about the anthropocene was that it “was a colossal accident,” and “is a consequence of over seven billion people,” because that’s what the syllabus said. I thought about it, and human beingness alone means simply existing as a human. Simply existing as a human sounds right to me if we are having a conversation about the first humans thousands of years ago. Human beingness since then has changed to encompass much more than purely having the goal to stay alive everyday. Human beingness in the anthropocene implies that existing as a human is now much more than it was thousands of years ago. Existing as a human also now means carrying with you a deepening footprint, a long lasting stomp on the Earth.
We live in a time with plenty of resources and good ideas. Being a human at this time means making use of these ideas, because if there is any solution to our problems, we likely have the capacity to fix or help them. Being a human right now means taking on the responsibility of learning, whether it be from your peers, the internet, a teacher, etc.. We should all be doing our best to learn. We should be learning about the world we’ve created and incorporating that knowledge into our lives. This encompasses everything from our family to our habits. It is one system and for every action there is consequence, and if we all care enough we can take what we learn and make it personal. We can give it a face and make it important to ourselves.
One of my favorite things that was said in class was “so what if climate change was a hoax and we built a better world for nothing.” I think we have a chance in the anthropocene, and I’m sure in thirty years when either we’re nearing tragedy, or coming up with some innovative way to prevail, I’ll think back on my own “human beingness in the anthropocene” and remember this class.
