The Encyclopedia
of World Problems
& Human Potential

Human domination of nature

Name(s):

Domestication of the planet

Human dominion over earth

Claim

It was agriculture, introduced some 10,000 years ago, that led us to believe that we could 'step out of' our local ecosystems. This belief led us to the conclusion that we could secure our survival and meet all our needs solely by our cultural cleverness. In other words, it led us to believe that we could dominate nature with impunity and escape the ecological laws of the planet established through many millennia of evolution.

Broader

Domination

Ecological imperialism

Narrower

Misuse of wild animals

Disregard for intrinsic value of nature

Inherent patriarchal distortion of planning

Aggravates

End of nature

Prettification of nature

Environmental colonialism

Commercialization of nature

Transgression of natural thresholds

Criminal offences against the environment

Overestimation of the resilience of ecosystems

Undervaluation of nature in planning and decision making

Inevitable destruction of humanity by the natural environment

Aggravated by

Fear of nature

Male domination

Human exceptionalism

Strategy(ies)

Domesticating animals

Subduing the Earth

Reference(s)

Leiss, William: The Domination of Nature

Eldridge, Niles: Dominion

Type

(C) Cross-sectoral problems

About the Encyclopedia

The Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential is a unique, experimental research work of the Union of International Associations. It is currently published as a searchable online platform with profiles of world problems, action strategies, and human values that are interlinked in novel and innovative ways. These connections are based on a range of relationships such as broader and narrower scope, aggravation, relatedness and more. By concentrating on these links and relationships, the Encyclopedia is uniquely positioned to bring focus to the complex and expansive sphere of global issues and their interconnected nature.

The initial content for the Encyclopedia was seeded from UIA’s Yearbook of International Organizations. UIA’s decades of collected data on the enormous variety of association life provided a broad initial perspective on the myriad problems of humanity. Recognizing that international associations are generally confronting world problems and developing action strategies based on particular values, the initial content was based on the descriptions, aims, titles and profiles of international associations.

About UIA

The Union of International Associations (UIA) is a research institute and documentation centre, based in Brussels. It was established in 1907, by Henri la Fontaine (Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 1913), and Paul Otlet, a founding father of what is now called information science.

Non-profit, apolitical, independent, and non-governmental in nature, the UIA has been a pioneer in the research, monitoring and provision of information on international organizations, international associations and their global challenges since 1907.

www.uia.org

You are here

Human domination of nature

About the Encyclopedia

About UIA