The world of humans and its boundaries in the light of linguistic data

Abstract

In this article the author synthetically surveys the most important problems of linguistic “humanisation of reality”. Various aspects and forms of anthropocentrism are analysed on the basis of linguistic data, texts of folklore, belief tales, and ritualised practices. Anthropocentrism is viewed from the inside (from humans to the world) but also from the outside (from the world to humans). This is because humans not only make the world familiar to themselves by imprinting their mark on it: they also measure themselves to the world of animals, plants, or artefacts. Two aspects are thus discussed of the reciprocal relations between humans and animals, plants, wildlife, and matter, with a focus on linguistic and cultural markers of humanising the latter, contrasted with humans being assimilated to those aspects of reality. Two aspects are also discussed of the relation between humans and the world of the divine and the demonic, with a focus on the linguistic and cultural exponents of the humanisation of demons, God, and saints vs. the demonisation and deification of humans.

Finally, referring to the contrasting views of Vyacheslav Ivanov (who accepts the anthropic world order and the idea of anthropocentrism in its theological aspect) and Miriana Detelić (for whom the maxim of man being “the measure of all things” is harmful, for it justifies the destruction of biosphere on the cosmic scale), the author claims that the problems of locating humans in the world and establishing the boundaries between humans and other inhabitants of the Universe are topical also in this day and age.