Earthbound is a Japanese role-playing game from the mid-nineties that inspired many fascinating fan works, including Undertale. That’s not relevant here, though it is part of why the word makes me smile. Bruno Latour used the term “earthbound” in a very specific sense, and it was also taken up by Donna Haraway. To be earthbound is to see humanity as part of, and limited by, our home planet. In a science fiction context it’s easy to imagine this as a contrast with the view of humanity as destined to travel the stars, but that is only a small part of the point. Latour’s primary intention is instead to contrast “earthbound” with “anthropos”, or the classical view of humanity that sees us as separate to nature, with minds that are separate from our bodies. In this classical view, humanity dominates nature, the mind has control of the body, and it is because of this that we transcend or progress. Earthbound is Latour’s attempt to argue for an imagined community that sees itself differently, and that is oriented towards earthly survival. Year: 2013
Person: Bruno Latour
Elsewhere: Earthbound People 