ŠIUKŠLIŲ FENOMENOLOGIJA ANTROPOCENO EPOCHOJE
THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF TRASH IN THE ANTHROPOCENE

Summary/Abstract: This article aims to give a phenomenological description of the phenomenon of trash. It argues that in the phenomenological tradition thrash as a phenomenon has not been scrutinized for a long time. Yet it could be stated that in the Anthropocene epoch trash has become a multidimensional phenomenon: a simple phenomenon, a fundamental phenomenon, and, ultimately, a category of self-awareness. In the first part, the phenomenon of trash is described in relation to Heidegger’s notions of equipment and ready-to-hand. The author of the article states that trash is a two-fold phenomenon in terms of the structure of consciousness and meaning. On the one hand, trash is a liminal phenomenon that disappears from the field of attention. On the other hand, it is encountered as trash, as a disturbing thing, which gets in one’s way; as an indifferent mass, and also as a resistant and accumulative material. The latter seems significant in the Anthropocene epoch, which allows us to state that trash has become a fundamental phenomenon: the notion taken from Eugen Fink’s philosophical anthropology. There are five fundamental phenomena described: death, work, ruling, love, and play. These fundamental phenomena are not simple phenomena, as they create the horizon of interpretation and constitute the mediums of human life. The author analyses the example of a Zero Waste movement, which interprets everything from the perspective of trash as a fundamental phenomenon. In the third part, trash is discussed as the category of self-awareness. There, the notion of the Anthropocene and its implications are discussed. The author notices that in the Anthropocene human beings understand themselves through unintended consequences. Here, trash plays a significant role, as it has become the trace on the surface of the Earth – the trace that constitutes the new “essence” of the human being as a polluting yet responsible causer.

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