Deconstructing the anthropocentrism versus ecocentrism binary through Māori oral fire traditions

Abstract

At the heart of sustainability is the relationship between humans and the planet. The binary of anthropocentric or ecocentric worldviews appears to be powerful in defining this relationship. Sustainability requires nuanced approaches which go beyond simple binaries, and therefore a dialectic approach which works to synthesise the binaries may be helpful. This paper draws on Māori cultural understandings of fire to trouble the ecocentric versus anthropocentric binary. Māori oral traditions of fire identify the connections between people and the planet and see people as part of fire and fire as part of people. By exploring Māori oral traditions, it is possible to see fire as more than purely an element that contributes to environmental problems and reveals the pedagogical potential of campfires to reignite the relationship between humans and the planet.