Nature Pluralism: Consequences of the Ontological Turn in Anthropology for Western Rationality.

The Nature Pluralism (PlONat) project seeks to contribute to a transformation of the Western concept of nature by philosophically engaging with the Ontological Turn in Anthropology. It aims to challenge long-standing assumptions about nature —such as its uniformity, universality and separation from culture— by exploring anthropological debates about ontology from the past two decades, integrating their hypotheses, frameworks, and findings into philosophical discourse. The primary goal is to develop a pluralist concept of nature that accommodates alternative ontologies described by anthropologists worldwide. Building on a deconstructive analysis of the onto-anthropological literature that includes the study of two extensively researched animist ontologies from the Americas (Achuar and Wixárika), PlONat will uncover the non-universal aspect of the Western concept of nature and challenge the foundational assumptions of its naturalist ontology. To achieve this, PlONat will pioneer a new method of philosophical inquiry: instead of conforming indigenous perspectives to existing Western representations of reality and knowledge, it will treat these perspectives as fully valid metaphysical viewpoints, not producible by Western philosophy nor obtainable through other means. This approach will enable the construction of a pluralist concept of nature, supporting its hypothesis that a diversity of ontological perspectives can offer a more comprehensive and inclusive understanding of reality.