The Anthropocene and its rejection: toward an Anthropocenology

The rejection of the Anthropocene by geological institutions in March 2024 marked a decisive moment in debates about this proposed geological epoch dominated by human activities, which have extended beyond geology over the years. While the decision reaffirmed the Holocene as the current geological epoch, rather than the Anthropocene, it left unresolved broader questions concerning the coordination of knowledge across disciplines needed to address the current ecological crisis. The purpose of this paper is to examine the rejection of the Anthropocene and to propose new horizons for Anthropocene research, structured in two parts. First, it analyzes the arguments advanced in the rejection, and places them in dialogue with the proposal of the Anthropocene Epoch, to assess the broader implications across other fields. Second, it proposes to develop a new research direction on the Anthropocene under the term “Anthropocenology”, by defining its scope, situating it within existing research, and outlining its transdisciplinary project. The analysis suggests that the rejection of the Anthropocene by geological institutions, like any decision, does not preclude further discussion, and that research on the Anthropocene can continue beyond this outcome. Anthropocenology is therefore proposed as a transdisciplinary project aimed at strengthening research and dialogue between the geological sciences, Earth system sciences, and the humanities, in the wake of the rejection, in order to better grasp the complexity of the Anthropocene and to contribute to the reorganization of knowledge that it calls for.