Bioética Ambiental as a Locus of Criticism of Anthropocentrism in Latin American Philosophy

The present study examines the tenets of Latin American environmental bioethics (bioética ambiental) as a judicious response to the anthropocentric paradigm, considered the root cause of the modern ecological crisis. It is emphasized that in modern Latin America, the debunking of anthropocentrism is constructed both by drawing on the provisions of classical Western ecobioethical concepts (H. Jonas, P. Taylor, A. Naess) and on the basis of original works by Latin American researchers, with whom the author familiarizes the Russian readership for the first time. The controversies and diversity of ecological bioethical reflection in modern Latin American philosophy are demonstrated. While H. M. Villarroya connects the exploitation of nature with historical Gnostic dualism, and R. Chacon reveals the dialogue between H. Jonas and B. Latour in the Latin American context, S. Salardi analyzes attempts to integrate anthropocentrism and biocentrism in law, and Alberto Coronel substantiates “preventive rationality” as a tool to avoid eco-authoritarianism. Such an analysis demonstrates how global ideas are being processed in the regional (Latin American) context, which are enriched, thus, by new accents on social justice, collective responsibility and a unique cosmological vision of the relationship between man and the universe. It is concluded that Latin American environmental bioethics forms a unique and original normative-ideological matrix for the transition to a post-anthropocentric civilizational model. Paradigms of domination and exploitation are replaced by a paradigm of eco-social responsibility, care, and recognition of the ontological interdependence of all forms of life, which creates the basis for overcoming anthropocentrism and building sustainable relationships with nature.