The idea that humans are clearly distinguished from other animals and from the natural world in general is a cornerstone of European philosophy and culture at least from the sixteenth century onward. Often, this idea is related to understandings of ‘humanism’ that emerged in that period and legitimized regimes of power and control over non-European cultures; it also sanctioned the exploitation of the natural world in the form of extractive capitalism. Critiques of Eurocentric mindsets hinge on certain understandings of ‘humanism,’ arguing for a transformation or even abandoning of humanist traditions in the sense of ‘posthumanism’ or ‘critical posthumanities.’ In their selective interpretation of European humanism—exemplified with Immanuel Kant’s philosophy—the current critique shows elements of an Occidentalist construction of humanism. If we want to overcome the idea that humans—and within that group particularly the white, male, educated Europeans—are the ‘masters of the world,’ we are confronted with conceptual challenges that need philosophical and theoretical reflection. The ontological and epistemological implications of non-anthropocentric ways of thinking and knowing provide a clear alternative to some problematic aspects of European philosophy and humanism. Engaging with new interpretations of other-than-human agency, relational understandings of animism, and intra-active production of knowledge can provide a relevant contribution to the ongoing discussion across intellectual, cultural, and political fields, an approach that takes the specificity of human animals seriously without identifying them as the center of knowledge and power.

至少从十六世纪开始，人类明显区别于其他动物和自然界的观念是欧洲哲学和文化的基石。通常，这种想法与对那个时期出现的“人文主义”的理解以及对非欧洲文化的权力和控制的合法化政权有关。它还批准以采掘资本主义的形式对自然世界进行开发。对欧洲中心主义思维的批判取决于对“人文主义”的某些理解，主张在“后人文主义”或“批判的后人文主义”意义上转变甚至放弃人文主义传统。在他们对欧洲人文主义的选择性解释中（以伊曼努尔·康德的哲学为例），当前的批评显示了西方主义人文主义建构的要素。如果我们想克服人类——尤其是这个群体中受过教育的白人男性——是“世界的主人”的观念，我们就面临着需要哲学和理论反思的概念挑战。非人类中心的思维和认识方式的本体论和认识论含义为欧洲哲学和人文主义的一些有问题的方面提供了明确的替代方案。对非人类机构的新解释、对万物有灵论的关系理解以及知识的内部主动生产可以为知识、文化和政治领域正在进行的讨论做出相关贡献，这是一种利用人类特殊性的方法。认真对待动物，而不将它们视为知识和权力的中心。