More-than-human

There are many terms to describe more-than-human entities: more-than-human, nonhuman, terrestrials, earth others, resources, externalities, and nature, just to name a few. Each of them reflects a certain philosophical approach. “Resource” and “externalities,” for instance, are used in economic contexts and have a clear extractivist connotation.

The term “nature,” in opposition to “culture,” is very dominant in Western European thinking, influenced by the Christian belief that humans are the prime of God's creation. The terminology has been criticized for hierarchizing one over the other, justifying extractivist practices, and thinking of “nature” as a gift free to use as a resource for humans. Meanwhile, the conceptual distinction of the two spheres has been disproven by scholars such as Donna Haraway, who demonstrated that nature and culture shape each other mutually.

Similarly, the binary distinction between “human” and “nonhuman” is questionable. While “nonhuman” expands the “nature-culture” dichotomy by including technological entities, it still upholds the belief that there is something about “human” that distinguishes it from all other forms of life, matter, and intelligence. We offer the same critique for the term “earth-others,” noting that both “others” and “non” emphasize an “us and them” mindset.

“Terrestrials” encompasses binary thinking by including all entities bound to the geographical place in the universe we all share. While we think it’s a suitable term, we critique that it becomes less relevant when considering how space activity, such as satellite phone calls and the economic and ecological consequences of the space industry, shapes our daily lives.

Finally, “more-than-human” (mth) is our preferred terminology. It encompasses everything that goes beyond the human, transcends the human, while reminding us that everything is connected to the human because everything is interconnected. As it is defined in the "More-than-Human" reader:

“The works included here do more than just question or critique the hegemony of humans over non-humans, they undermine the very possibility of thinking about humanity as autonomous and self-determined.”

Personally, however, we hope to find a term that acknowledges the significant impact of human activity on all life on Earth in the Anthropocene, without being anthropocentric.