Week 9 Reflection — Erin Kasiou
The initial inspiration for my e-concept came from research into the Capitalocene, which highlighted the detrimental effects of Capitalism on the natural world, proposing ‘Capitalocene’ as a more appropriate term to ‘Anthropocene’ as it more accurately captures the division of contribution to environmental degradation amongst humanity. This reminded me of a concept I had previously encountered — that of the individualisation of environmental responsibility, which denotes a tactic used by big corporations to shift the blame from their own massively damaging practices onto the individual’s ‘reckless’ consumption of their services. I then first synthesised the concept of ‘scintillaversion,’ which suggested the need to divert one’s attention from the small picture of environmental conservation and individual contribution to the wider picture of global devastation which looms before us. However, upon encountering the poem magnifying Glass by Tim Seibles, I subverted my concept and synthesised ‘scintillessentialism’, as the contributions of the smallest elements of nature were too big to be ignored. This prompted further research: from the tiny electrical ‘sparks’ that control all of humanity’s thoughts, to the miniscule pigments which are responsible for the maintenance of the air we breathe, it became evident that scintillessentialism was demonstrated all throughout nature. This e-concept was also greatly inspired by the concept of extinction, as considering each of the small elements which are lost to capitalistic progression highlights the true extent of the damage caused by an anthropocentric mindset.
Scintillessentialism aids in our understanding of the Anthropocene as it provides a justification for the ‘small’. Firstly, in the sense that no element of the natural world should be considered ‘expendable’, no matter how small, to a Capitalistic society. Are the benefits reaped from humanity’s industrialisation of the Earth justifiable if they cause the extinction of the tiny bumble bee? Scintillessentialism argues they are not, as it encourages the consideration of the large scale impacts of this small insect in the ecosystem it inhabits. Additionally, and perhaps contrastingly to the aforementioned research which inspired the concept of ‘scintillaversion’, scintillessentialism supports the notion that no action taken to reduce the detrimental effects of our anthropocentric society is too small. From the planting of a single tree to the salvation of a single ant, the preservation of any cog in the system of Nature is essential to the Earth’s preservation. However, this also extends to suggest that no small contribution to the Anthropocene should be taken lightly, as each poses a threat to the natural world. Thus, the emphasis on the small proposed by scintillessentialism is useful in understanding the means by which many actions, thoughts and individuals compile to both shape and destroy the natural world.