The Geologic Turn: Geologizing the Empirical Basis of Environmental Thought


Mauricio F. Collao Quevedo, York University

For two decades, critical theory and environmental thought have been undergoing a ‘geological turn’ whereby the geologic dimensions of planetary conditions are repeatedly conjured to think through the magnitude and historical significance of the planetary crisis. For this reason, the Social Sciences and Humanities have engaged extensively with the topic of the Anthropocene as a new and geologically verifiable site of historical struggle. However, much of this work has been informed by Earth System Science’s (ESS) formulation of the Anthropocene as its empirical basis, which engages selectively with geological research that focuses on immediately perceivable rates of change and human impact on the geologic record (e.g., carbon mineralization and sequestration, methane emissions from thawing permafrost regions, changing coastlines, etc.) – in turn leaving out important insights about the planet’s deep past through which the Earth’s capacity for self-differentiation can be properly grasped. This paper explores the institutionalization of ESS’s Anthropocene through the policy-oriented work of the IPCC in its latest report, AR6. More specifically, I problematize ESS and the IPCC’s commitment to a risk-obscuring systems mode of thinking that simplifies planetary processes for the purposes of policymaking while constraining our ability to think through the true magnitude of planetary transformations currently underway. As a corrective, I propose a deeper engagement with ‘classical’ geology, arguing that the discipline provides more valuable empirical resources for the Social Sciences and Humanities to think through the magnitude of planetary changes entailed by the onset of the Anthropocene, the risk that these transformative processes pose to our planetary future, and the possibility of collective survival at this geo-historical conjuncture.

This paper will be presented at the following session: