#biocenterism

I am combining two of my interests and passions- environmentalism and Mushishi! this works so well and I am very convinced that the author has some background or a lot of knowledge in biology or environmental science. It is mentioned in the manga that she loved bugs as a kid so I may explore the Mushi's similarities to real life animals and insects later

Ecocenterism /biocenterisn

Ecocenterism as defined by Wikipedia :

“Biocentrism (from Greek βίος bios, "life" and κέντρον kentron, "center"), in a political and ecological sense, as well as literally, is an ethical point of view that extends inherent value to all living things.It is an understanding of how the earth works, particularly as it relates to its biosphere or biodiversity. It stands in contrast to anthropocentrism, which centers on the value of humans. The related ecocentrism extends inherent value to the whole of nature.”

And biocenterism from Encyclopedia Britannica:

 “Biocentric ethics argues that the only nonarbitrary ground for assigning moral standing is life itself and thus extends the boundary of moral standing about as far as it can go. All living beings, simply by virtue of being alive, have moral standing and deserve moral consideration.” 

 In a summarized sense, biocenterism is the idea that all living things have inherent value and that they always retain, regardless of their use to humans, that it is always best for them to pursue some sort of goal in their life. Ecocenterism is very similar, but also includes the whole ecosphere with inorganic things like the water and soil.

 I believe Ginko and the whole of Mushishi supports biocenterisn more, as the inorganic world in mentioned, but not the main focus of the show. It is also noted that many of the seemingly inorganic things in their world like bridges or water or rust are actually caused or are Mushi, and therefore alive.