↑ [[Rewilding]] >[!idea] >Since the IUGS has [rejected](https://www.iugs.org/_files/ugd/f1fc07_23c6f9e723bc47b9b5fdcd300f806f25.pdf?index=true) the proposal of "Anthropocene" as epochal description, the notion of the Chthulucene may have more cultural merit. The **Chthulucene** is a term proposed by the philosopher [Donna Haraway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Haraway?wprov=sfti1) as a reframing of the human role in the course of natural history. It responds to [criticism](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-term-anthropocene-is-popular-and-problematic/) of the term "Anthropocene," which suggests an inflated the view of the human influence on geologic scales.[^1] The Chthulucene derives from the root *chthonos (χθόνιος)*, meaning "in, under, or beneath the earth,"[^2] relating specifically to mythic associations with the underworld. Chthonic deities were understood in a separate context from ouranic (Olympic) deities, who lived above the earth and exerted a different form of influence. Hades and Persephone were understood in a chthonic context, while Demeter and Hermes possessed chthonic qualities necessary to fulfill their respective roles. [Cthulhu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu) is also a cosmic entity conceived by H.P. Lovecraft, "with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers [...]".[^3] Haraway introduces the quality of chthonos to describe the role the individual, society, and culture must take to reintegrate ancient practices of living within ecological means. The Chthulucene is an era in which the human relationship with the earth is expressed by redefining family through the development of "oddkin" within a "compost pile." This is not genetic kin selection but one developed through "[recognition of shared fate and intersecting purposes](https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/a-little-more-than-kin/)." A [[love]] derived through identification with the struggle rather than the skin. >[!quote] Donna Haraway >We become - with each other or not at all.[^4] The imagery of the Chthulucene is that of turning both inward and toward the refuse of the Industrial Revolution and subsequent rise of extractive [[Capitalism]]. [[Tentacular thinking]] is its primary mode. The proverbial compost pile are the novel relationships between marginalized cultures and species, that have emerged through the unintended mixing of waste and flotsam. Oddkin describes these relationships. It effectively describes a rejection of [[Purity Culture]], in which our collective compartmentalization of various social groups is cast aside for hybridization and integration. It is an era of participation rather than oversight. A being-with as opposed to employing. The Chthulucene demands a journey inward into our dark places and a befriending of our undesired qualities, embracing both spiders and shit. #### Examples - [Jack Devanney](https://gordianknotbook.com/author/) argues that what is needed for [[Nuclear power]] to succeed is not a few reforms, but “metanoiete”: a deep change in the entire way of thinking about the energy sector. - [[Interbeing]] is a related concept. A metaphysical attitude toward existence that facilitates the journey inward toward one's dark places. [^1]: Scientific American (2018). *The Term "Anthropocene" Is Popular-and Problematic*. [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican1218-10) [^2]: Liddell, H. G. & R. Scott (1940). "A Greek-English Lexicon". Perseus Digital Library. Tufts University. Archived 2012-10-11. [Source](https://web.archive.org/web/20121011015119/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=%23113957&redirect=true) [^3]: Lovecraft, H. P. (1928). The call of Cthulhu. [^4]: Haraway, D. (2016). *Staying With The Trouble: Making Kin In The Chtulucene*. Duke University Press. p.