Article:
Die menschgemachte Erde

Author(s): Schwägerl, ChristianLeinfelder, Reinhold

Abstract

The hypothesis of a new geological era, the »Anthropocene«, is discussed intensively since its presentation by the chemist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Crutzen in 2000. The beginning of the Anthropocene is usually dated to 1800 and put into the context of the industrialization. Since then, according to Crutzen, mankind has become a quasi-geological force and human infrastructures have developed into a primary influence on the biological, geological and atmospheric processes on Earth. In their contribution, Christian Schwägerl and Reinhold Leinfelder present examples of the long-term changes and arguments for the »reorganization of the entire Earth system«, supporting the thesis of the Anthropocene and the »man-made« Earth. In their article they contradict the premature impression that the Anthropocene is nothing but a new umbrella term for everything that is considered an environmental problem. Rather, the authors emphasize the potential of man and his technologies for the positive design of his habitat and the transformation of the earth. They understand the Anthropocene not only as a description of a purely physical state, but also as a social and scientific challenge. Niels Werber puts in his contribution the notorious epoch threshold 1800 in question. Furthermore, he criticizes that the discourse of the Anthropocene relies solely on the supposed evidence of science, especially of geological data and figures, and thus neglects in its effort to describe a »geological age of mankind« precisely the emerging knowledge of man, social order and culture. Instead, Werber understands the »Anthropocene« as a contribution to the »self-description of society,« i.e. to a possible integration of mankind and society into the world.

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Schwägerl, Christian; Leinfelder, Reinhold: Die menschgemachte Erde. In: ZMK Zeitschrift für Medien- und Kulturforschung, Jg. 5 (2014), Nr. 2, S. 233-240. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/18597.
@ARTICLE{Schwägerl2014,
 author = {Schwägerl, Christian and Leinfelder, Reinhold},
 title = {Die menschgemachte Erde},
 year = 2014,
 doi = "\url{http://dx.doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/18597}",
 volume = 5,
 address = {Hamburg},
 journal = {ZMK Zeitschrift für Medien- und Kulturforschung},
 number = 2,
 pages = {233--240},
}
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