Post-anthropocentric Ethics in Ben Okri’s Every Leaf a Hallelujah and Nnedi Okoroafor’s Who Fears Death?
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| Title: | Post-anthropocentric Ethics in Ben Okri’s Every Leaf a Hallelujah and Nnedi Okoroafor’s Who Fears Death? |
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| Authors: | Udoh, Isaac M. |
| Source: | Direct Research Journal of Social Science and Educational Studies; Vol. 13 No. 3 (2025); 9-14 |
| Publisher Information: | Direct Research Journals, 2025. |
| Publication Year: | 2025 |
| Subject Terms: | Anthropocentric, Post-Anthropocentric, Humans, Nature, Sentience, Agency |
| Description: | This research asserts the existence of anthropocentric (a philosophical and ethical consideration that highlights human’ premium status and value beyond all other species, especially because humans are said to be rational, intelligent, and imbued with a sense of morality) and post-anthropocentric (a philosophical position which highlights the interconnection and symbiosis of the species) thoughts which revolve around human interactions with the universe, and avers that these thoughts have determined how humans perceive and relate with nonhuman entities. Between anthropocentric and post-anthropocentric ethics, human experiences have appropriated both negative and positive treatment of nature, and as the primary texts posit, the negative far outweighs the positive. Using Ben Okri’s Every Leaf a Hallelujah and Nnedi Okoroafor’s Who Fears Death? this study emphasizes that though humans have arrogated directorial propensities to themselves, nature is sentient and full of evocative, creative and retributory capacities; though nature can exact vengeance on humanity, what is needful, which the two novels highlight, is a balance that celebrates the interconnection of all species in the universe and a deliberate attempt to ensure that every human action pursues a path of obligatory compassion for and empathy with all nonhuman entities. This research concludes that any objectification, commodification and exploitation of human and nonhuman resources will result in a scorched earth and a revolting nature (the ongoing cases of natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, tsunamis, etc., which are occasioned by global warming are indications of this). There is therefore a ‘noblesse oblige’ situation where human superiority imposes a responsibility to handle that responsibility with thoughtfulness for the universe. |
| Document Type: | Article |
| File Description: | application/pdf |
| Language: | English |
| ISSN: | 2449-0806 |
| Access URL: | https://www.ajol.info/index.php/drjsses/article/view/302400 |
| Rights: | CC BY ND |
| Accession Number: | edsair.78975075580c..f4a2d56b12c8eda3be23072866ee798c |
| Database: | OpenAIRE |
Nájsť tento článok vo Web of Science | Abstract: | This research asserts the existence of anthropocentric (a philosophical and ethical consideration that highlights human’ premium status and value beyond all other species, especially because humans are said to be rational, intelligent, and imbued with a sense of morality) and post-anthropocentric (a philosophical position which highlights the interconnection and symbiosis of the species) thoughts which revolve around human interactions with the universe, and avers that these thoughts have determined how humans perceive and relate with nonhuman entities. Between anthropocentric and post-anthropocentric ethics, human experiences have appropriated both negative and positive treatment of nature, and as the primary texts posit, the negative far outweighs the positive. Using Ben Okri’s Every Leaf a Hallelujah and Nnedi Okoroafor’s Who Fears Death? this study emphasizes that though humans have arrogated directorial propensities to themselves, nature is sentient and full of evocative, creative and retributory capacities; though nature can exact vengeance on humanity, what is needful, which the two novels highlight, is a balance that celebrates the interconnection of all species in the universe and a deliberate attempt to ensure that every human action pursues a path of obligatory compassion for and empathy with all nonhuman entities. This research concludes that any objectification, commodification and exploitation of human and nonhuman resources will result in a scorched earth and a revolting nature (the ongoing cases of natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, tsunamis, etc., which are occasioned by global warming are indications of this). There is therefore a ‘noblesse oblige’ situation where human superiority imposes a responsibility to handle that responsibility with thoughtfulness for the universe. |
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| ISSN: | 24490806 |