Glenn Albrecht: Enter the Symbiocene

Mycelium network showing developing membranes / photo: Loreto Oyarte Galvez

In the Anthropocene, the so-called new normal is characterized by uncertainty, unpredictability, chaos, and relentless change. Shouldn’t we rather think of this era as a new abnormality? Environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht argues that we need to move on from the Anthropocene story, and proposes the Symbiocene (from the Greek sumbiosis, or community) as the next epoch. The scientific meaning of the word “symbiosis” means living together in harmony…