We Never Needed to be More Than Human

This thesis examines the historical development of humankind and its perceived separation from the natural world. The focus on the research relies heavily on the Western political, social, and religious narratives due to the modern-day influence the West holds over the neocolonial world. In an analysis of the Anthropocene, it can be determined that humanity through religion promising humanity the Earth, the Enlightenment pushing for the scientific understanding of the planet, the colonial period of attempting to control nature, and the capitalist period of profiting off resources, that humanity created an artificial divide with its environment. In this historical analysis, the nature-culture divide, had enabled large scale ruining of the Earth, while also reinforcing human dominance. The argument contends that these developments have led to evolutions in human technology that lead to destruction, namely the nuclear bomb. It is from this nuclear bomb that humanity in its current state will end, reflecting the religious end-of-times narratives humanity has constructed.