--- title: "Three Perspectives on the Human Relationship with the Living" description: "Three textual fragments—from Spinoza, Dōgen, and Kopenawa—each outline a critique of humanity’s claim to dominion over the living. Though radically distinct, their propositions converge in rejecting any separation between the human and the non-human. The passages reveal incompatible logics, yet share a common tension around questions of right, perception, and violence." date: 2026-07-26 lang: en tradition: undefined auteurs: ["Baruch Spinoza", "Eihei Dōgen", "Davi Kopenawa"] --- # Three Perspectives on the Human Relationship with the Living Each of these fragments carries a critique of what might be called, for lack of a better term, the illusion of human mastery over the living. Though they never met nor shared a common language, the three authors propose ways of rethinking this relationship. Their ideas do not overlap, yet together they trace a boundary: that of an anthropocentrism which, in its various forms, denies the human place within a broader order. ## Spinoza: Necessity as Right Spinoza states a law that admits no exception: *« Each thing exists by the supreme right of Nature, and consequently each thing does by the supreme right of Nature whatever follows from the necessity of its own nature; and thus each thing judges by the supreme right of Nature what is good, what is evil, or consults its own interest according to its own constitution. »* This passage does not describe an ideal but a reality: every being, human or otherwise, acts according to what its nature demands. The right in question is not a concession but a direct consequence of existence itself. The pretension to master the living would thus arise from a misunderstanding of this necessity. If humans believe they can dominate their surroundings, it is because they ignore that every thing—plant, animal, stone—follows its own law, just as inexorable as their own. The human judgment of good and evil, of utility and harm, is merely an expression of their *constitution*, that is, of their particular makeup. It is not a universal truth but one perspective among others, as legitimate and as limited as that of a tree or a river. Spinoza does not condemn this illusion; he dissolves it. Mastery is not a power to be seized but a fiction to be abandoned. The living is not an object to be subdued but a constellation of forces acting according to their own right. The human is but one link in this chain of necessities, and their error lies in believing themselves its center. ## Dōgen: Body and Mind in Motion Dōgen writes: *« body and flap the brain, freely turn the: See turn the body and flap the brain, freely. »* These words do not form a sentence in the usual sense but an invitation to perceive differently. Body and mind are not fixed entities but movements that intertwine endlessly. *Flap*, *turn*: the verbs suggest a freedom that is not that of will but of a dance where each gesture gives rise to the next. The illusion of human mastery over the living takes another form here: that of a separation between observer and observed. If body and mind are in perpetual turning, then the human is not a subject acting upon the world but a part of the world stirring within it. The distinction between human and non-human dissolves in this motion. A tree does not merely grow: it *flaps* and *turns*, just as the mind that beholds it. Dōgen does not offer a theory but a practice. To see body and mind freely turning is to abandon the idea of control. The living is not an object to manipulate but a flow in which one participates. Mastery is not domination but coincidence: being there, amid the movement, without seeking to direct it. ## Kopenawa: The Blades of Spirits Davi Kopenawa says: *« The sharp blades possessed by the xapiri, like the ara, parrot, and caiman spirits, are also made of this metal 898. »* The xapiri, these spirits that populate the Yanomami world, are not symbols or metaphors but realities as tangible as humans. Their blades, their songs, their actions belong to an order where everything is alive and conscious. Here, the illusion of human mastery takes on a political dimension. Non-humans—animals, plants, spirits—are not resources to be exploited but subjects with whom one must negotiate. *Metal 898* is not a technical detail but proof that the xapiri possess tools as real as those of humans. To deny this reality is to deny their very existence. Kopenawa does not speak of ignorance but of violence. The pretension to dominate the living is not a perceptual error but an act of negation. The ara, parrot, and caiman spirits are not creatures to be subdued but partners with whom humans must live. Their metal, their blades, their actions are elements of a world where the human holds no privileged place. ## Convergence of Refusals All three authors reject the idea of human superiority, though their critiques do not align. For Spinoza, the illusion of mastery stems from a failure to grasp universal laws; for Dōgen, from an ignorance of the perpetual motion of body and mind; for Kopenawa, from a violence that denies the subjectivity of the non-human. Yet their propositions converge on one point: the human is not a master but a participant. Spinoza places them within a web of necessities, Dōgen within a flow of movements, Kopenawa within a world teeming with spirits. None grants them a central position. Mastery is not a possibility but a fiction to be discarded. For all three, the living is not an object to control but a reality to which one belongs. Spinoza speaks of natural right, Dōgen of free turning, Kopenawa of the blades of spirits. Their languages differ, but their refusal is the same: that of a separation between the human and what is not. ## Sources - Baruch Spinoza, *Éthique* — trans. Charles Appuhn (1913) - Dōgen, *dogen-shobogenzo-treasury-true-dharma-eye-tanahashi* — - Davi Kopenawa, *La Chute du ciel* — Plon, coll. Terre humaine, 2010, trans. Bruce Albert (propos yanomami recueillis et traduits) Canonical source : https://viasophia.org/en/essais/2026-07-26-trois-perspectives-sur-relation-vivant/