Cosmopoiética em vertigem: variações da alma e da natureza entre antigos, modernos e extramodernos.

Abstract

This thesis examines the conceptual transformations of psyche and physis across different philosophical and cultural traditions, analyzing their implications for constructing an ethical framework that moves beyond anthropocentrism. To this end, a comparative and interdisciplinary approach is employed, integrating philosophy, history, and anthropology to explore how various societies and historical periods have conceptualized these categories and their consequences for ethics and metaphysics. The research begins with an analysis of Socratic philosophy, tracing its enduring influence on Western thought. It then addresses the transition to modernity, a period marked by Cartesian rationalism and Enlightenment ideals, which established a model of an autonomous subject radically separated from the natural world. This philosophical shift reinforced the binary opposition between nature and culture, instituting an epistemological regime that privileges the objectification of reality and reduces alterity to an object of study or domination. In contrast to Western philosophical traditions, the dissertation examines Amerindian cosmologies, which reject the strict separation between humans and non-humans. By recognizing that different beings may hold distinct perspectives on reality, these cosmologies challenge the notion of a single, universal epistemological framework, instead proposing a multiplicity of ways of knowing and inhabiting the world. Through this comparative analysis, the dissertation argues that acknowledging ontological and epistemic plurality can foster a new understanding of ethical relations, shifting from paradigms of domination and hierarchy toward a more inclusive and dialogical model. The cosmopoetics developed in this study seeks to dismantle the dualisms imposed by Western metaphysical tradition, promoting an ethical perspective that recognizes the interdependence of beings and the necessity of coexistence grounded in respect for difference and shared vulnerability. From this standpoint, the research critically engages with modern anthropocentrism while exploring alternatives for formulating a contemporary ethics capable of addressing the environmental, social, and political crises of our time.