Decolonizing Nature

Freud, the Ontological Rift and the Anthropocene Age

Abstract

This article argues that Freud’s portrayal of primitive people, his representations of “Nature,” and his depiction of other species manifest premises linked to Western philosophical hierarchical, anthropocentric epistemologies and concomitant relations of subordination, subjugation, which foster the exploitation (zones of non-justice) of other species and the Earth. Indeed, some of the epistemological premises associated with Western Eurocentric colonization of so-called primitive human beings are closely linked with Western colonization of “nature” and other-than-human species, all of which is evident in Freud’s works. The article contends that this has had consequences for developmental theories and analytic practices, especially with regard to the omission of other species in how we understand psychosocial development and therapeutic practices.