Beyond Binary Opposition Thinking in Environmentalism:  Using Chris Okezie Ijiomah’s Harmonious Monism  to Integrate Anthropocentric and Ecocentric Worldviews

Eric Besong

doi:10.21697/seb.5860

Published: 2025-07-09

Beyond Binary Opposition Thinking in Environmentalism: Using Chris Okezie Ijiomah’s Harmonious Monism to Integrate Anthropocentric and Ecocentric Worldviews

Eric Besong

Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae

Section: Articles

https://doi.org/10.21697/seb.5860

Abstract

This paper argues that the perceived divide between anthropocentric and ecocentric perspectives on human-nature relations can be bridged by Chris Okezie Ijiomah’s philosophical framework of Harmonious Monism. Anthropocentrism, which prioritises human interests, and ecocentrism, which assigns intrinsic value to nature, have long been treated as opposing worldviews. Moving beyond this dichotomy, Harmonious Monism offers an integrative framework that recognises the complementarity of humans and nature. Through its principles of balance, tolerance and interconnectedness, I propose a reconciling perspective in which ecological value and human needs are seen not as mutually exclusive, but as interdependent. This harmonising worldview thus has the potential to transcend the anthropocentric/ecocentric divide and promote a more holistic and ethically grounded human-nature relationship. Rather than treating human and ecological interests as opposites, I employ harmonious monism to present them as interdependent realities within the environment. The emphasis on balance, tolerance and interconnectedness reflects that all beings - human and non-human - coexist and contribute to a greater whole. This avoids privileging one side over the other; instead, it calls for ethical practices that support both human flourishing and ecological integrity as mutually reinforcing goals.

Keywords:

Anthropocentrism, Ecocentrism, Harmonious Monism, Chris Ijiomah, Complementarity, African Philosophy, African Environmental Ethics

Download files

PDF

Citation rules

Besong, E. (2025). Beyond Binary Opposition Thinking in Environmentalism: Using Chris Okezie Ijiomah’s Harmonious Monism to Integrate Anthropocentric and Ecocentric Worldviews. Studia Ecologiae Et Bioethicae. https://doi.org/10.21697/seb.5860

Cited by / Share

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References

Callicott, J. Baird. 1999. Beyond the land ethic: More essays in environmental philosophy. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Google Scholar

Chimakonam, Jonathan O., Lucky U. Ogbonnaya. 2025. “Iroegbu’s Uwa ontology as a framework for an ecocentric philosophy.” Ethics, Policy & Environment, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/21550085.2024.2445495. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21550085.2024.2445495
Google Scholar

Goulet, Denis. 1990. “Development ethics and ecological wisdom.” In Ethics of environment and development: Global challenge, international response, edited by J. Ronald Engel and Joan Gibb Engel, 36-49. London: Belhaven Press.
Google Scholar

Gray, Joe, Ian Whyte, and Patrick Curry. 2018. “Ecocentrism: What it means and what it implies.” The Ecological Citizen 1(2): 130-131.
Google Scholar

Holloway, Geoff. 2019. “Ecocentrism.” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332138102_Ecocentrism. Accessed April 20, 2025.
Google Scholar

Hossain, Md Firoz. 1990. “Environmental ethics: An Islamic perspective.” In Ethics of environment and development: Global challenge and international response, edited by J. Ronald Engel and Joan Gibb Engel, 43-51. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Google Scholar

Ijiomah, Chris. 1996. Contemporary views about philosophy of education. Calabar: Uptrico Press.
Google Scholar

Ijiomah, Chris. 2006. “An excavation of a logic in African world-view.” African Journal of Religion, Culture and Society 1(1): 28-36.
Google Scholar

Ijiomah, Chris. 2014. Harmonious monism: A philosophical logic of explanation for ontological issues in supernaturalism in African thought. Calabar: Jochrisam Publishers.
Google Scholar

Ijiomah, Chris. 2018. The philosophical logic of harmonious monism (82nd Inaugural Lecture). Calabar: University of Calabar.
Google Scholar

Leopold, Aldo. 1949. A sand county almanac. Oxford University Press.
Google Scholar

Leopold, Aldo. 2001. “The land ethic.” In Environmental philosophy, edited by Michael E. Zimmerman, and John Baird Callicott, 97-110. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall.
Google Scholar

McDonald, Hugh. P. 2003. “Environmental ethics and intrinsic value.” In John Dewey and environmental ethics, edited by Hugh P. McDonald, Hugh P. McDonald, 1-56. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Google Scholar

Muir, John. 1916. A thousand-mile walk to the Gulf. Boston - New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.159254
Google Scholar

Naess, Arne. 1973. “The shallow and the deep, long-range ecology movement: A summary.” Inquiry 16(1-4): 95-100. https://doi.org/10.1080/00201747308601682. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00201747308601682
Google Scholar

Norton, Bryan G. 1984. “Environmental ethics and weak anthropocentrism.” Environmental Ethics 6(2): 131-148. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5840/enviroethics19846233
Google Scholar

Norton, Bryan G. 2005. Sustainability: A philosophy of adaptive ecosystem management. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226595221.001.0001
Google Scholar

O'Neill, John. 1993. Ecology, policy and politics: Human well-being and the natural world. London: Routledge.
Google Scholar

Ogbonnaya, Lucky U. 2022. Ezi n’ulo as an African paradigm for eco-conservation. In Africa’s radicalisms and conservatisms: Volume II: Pop culture, environment, colonialism and migration, edited by Edwin Etieyibo, Obvious Katsaura, Mucha Musemwa, 149-164. Toronto: Brill. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004523586_010
Google Scholar

Passmore, John. 1974. Man's responsibility for nature. London: Duckworth.
Google Scholar

Rolston, Holmes III. 1988. Environmental ethics: Duties to and values in the natural world. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Google Scholar

Taylor, Paul W. 1986. Respect for nature. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Google Scholar

Thoreau, Henry D. 1854. Walden; or, life in the woods. Boston - New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.146169
Google Scholar

Washington, Haydn, Bronwyn Taylor, Helen Kopnina, Paul Cryer, and John J. Piccolo. 2017. “Why ecocentrism is the key pathway to sustainability.” The Ecological Citizen 1(1): 35-41.
Google Scholar

White, Lynn. 1967. “The historical roots of our ecologic crisis.” Science 155: 1203-1207. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.155.3767.1203
Google Scholar