The renowned “anthropologist under Amazonian influence” and Indigenous rights activist Jeremy Narby, author of landmark books The Cosmic Serpent and Intelligence in Nature, considers the intelligence of living beings and wrestles with his own culture’s anthropocentric concepts. In his view, constantly affirming the centrality of humans gets in the way of respectful living in the biosphere. Rethinking human-centered concepts such as “nature” and “anthropocene” can cast light on our relationship with the living world. Because the words we use influence how we think, we gain from examining them with care.

Introduction by J.P. Harpignies, Bioneers Senior Producer.

This speech was given at the 2017 National Bioneers Conference.