Tom Neale’nin An Island to Oneself Eserinde Antroposantrizm Eleştirisi

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 27 Sayı: 4, 1327 - 1336, 22.12.2025

Cengiz Karagöz

https://doi.org/10.32709/akusosbil.1673529

Öz

Tom Neale’in otobiyografisi An Island to Oneself (1966) insanı doğa hiyerarşisinin en üstüne yerleştiren, derin bir insan merkezli bakış açısını yansıtır. Bu bakış açısında çevre ve hayvanlar yalnızca insan ihtiyaçlarıyla ilişkili oldukları ölçüde değer taşır. Neale’in ıssız Suwarrow Adası’nda yaşanabilir bir alan oluşturma çabası, doğayı kontrol altına alma, yeniden şekillendirme ve ona hükmetme düşüncesini açıkça ortaya koyar. Toprağı temizlemesi, bir bahçe kurması, alanları çitle çevirmesi, hayvanları evcilleştirmeye çalışması ve tehdit olarak gördüğü domuzlar ve yengeçler gibi türleri yok etme girişimleri, doğa üzerinde sahiplenici ve üstünlükçü bir tavrı gözler önüne serer. Doğa ve insan dışı varlıklar, onun tecrübesinde değerli bir ortak olarak değil, kişisel çıkarlar doğrultusunda boyun eğdirilmesi ve yeniden düzenlenmesi gereken unsurlar olarak ele alınır. Metin, çevreyi insanın hizmetine sunulacak bir araç gibi gören bu düşünce biçiminin, ekolojik dengenin bozulmasına yol açtığını ortaya koyar. Neale’in ada ile kurduğu ilişki, doğanın genellikle yönetilecek, kullanılacak ya da aşılacak bir kaynak olarak görüldüğü daha geniş teorik ve felsefi bir bağlamın yansımasıdır. Anlatı, insan arzularını doğanın ihtiyaçlarının önüne koymanın sonuçlarını vurgularken, insan merkezli dünya görüşünün sınırlarını ve tehlikelerini da açığa çıkarır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Tom Neale , antroposantrizm , insanlar , tabiat , hayvanlar

A Criticism of Anthropocentrism in An Island to Oneself by Tom Neale

Öz

Tom Neale’s autobiography An Island to Oneself (1966) reflects a deeply human-centred perspective that places mankind at the top of a natural hierarchy, where the environment and animals are valued only in relation to human needs. Neale’s attempt to create a liveable space on the remote island of Suwarrow demonstrates a mindset that seeks to control, reshape, and dominate the natural world. His efforts to clear the land, build a garden, fence off areas, tame animals, and eliminate species he deems threatening – such as pigs and crabs – reveal an attitude of ownership and superiority over nature. Nature and non-human beings are not treated as a valuable partner in his experience but as something to be subdued and reordered for personal benefit. The text reveals how this way of thinking, which treats the environment as a tool for human use, leads to the disruption of ecological balance. Neale’s relationship with the island mirrors a broader theoretical and philosophical context, where nature is often reduced to a resource to be managed, used, or overcome. Rather than offering a harmonious coexistence, the narrative underscores the consequences of placing human desires above the needs of the natural world, exposing the limitations and dangers of an anthropocentric worldview.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Tom Neale , anthropocentrism , humans , nature , animals

Kaynakça

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