Exploring Abram's Animism as an Approach to Environmental Activism: The Importance of Relating to the Other-Than-Human World

Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Edidin, Aron

Keywords

Environmental Ethics, Animism, Ecophenomenology

Area of Concentration

General Studies

Abstract

In this thesis I explore David's Abram's Animism as a mode of relating to the other-than-human world, and aim to encourage its use as an environmental activist program. In the first portion, I introduce Animism through Abram's personal experience. After providing an experiential illustration of how one might develop Animism, I broaden the discussion to place Animism in the larger scope of environmental activism. I discuss the Deep Ecology Movement as one contemporary form of environmental activism that emphasizes individualized approaches within a structured framework. I also apply Naess' understanding of deep ecology and long-term activism to Animism. Analyzing the role Animism might play as an activist program, I compare the development and aims of Naess' notion of ecosophy to that of Animism. In the second portion of this thesis, I discuss the importance of subjective, or direct, experience as it applies to Animism. Drawing on Merleau-Ponty's ideas of shared experience (intersubjectivity), perception, reciprocity, and The Flesh, I explore the inner workings of Animism as a mode of relating to beings outside one's self through subjective experience. In addition to the written text, this thesis included a solo performance of a portion of the Stuart Saunders Smith trans-media composition, Transitions And Leaps (1990). The performance took place in a local outdoor space and aimed to engage the direct, sensory experience of both the performer and the audience in a subjective and intersubjective way. In the last section of the text I discuss performance development, performance reflections, and the use of similar process-pieces in environmental education and activism.

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