Article


Plant-Thinking in the Anthropocene: Meditation, Memory, and the History of Ecological Ideas


Abstract

Historians often focus on a specific period, tradition, or geographical region, yet the movement of ideas across time and space transcends such boundaries. In the contemporary world, dominated by ecological crisis and existential concerns, humanity’s relationship with nature is redefined in literature, science, and spirituality. This article explores the intersection of these realms by tracing the evolution of ecological thought through the works of Sudeep Sen and Sumana Roy. In their writings—Anthropocene: Climate Change, Contagion, Consolation and How I Became a Tree—the authors provide profound meditative interventions, seeking introspective engagement with contemporary human challenges. Through a historiological lens, this paper reconstructs the intellectual genealogy of meditation, ecology, and humanity’s evolving response to the Anthropocene, drawing on the interdisciplinary framework of plant hu- manities. The works of Sen and Roy are examined not as isolated literary creations, but as part of a broader intellectual tradition that explores human responses to ecological and psychological crises. This research traces how their reflections on meditation, rooted in ancient spiritual practices, contribute to the contemporary discourse on deep ecology, offering remedies for emotional desolation in a world increasingly marked by instability. This paper examines how ideas from diverse intellectual traditions have converged in these works, offering a deeper understanding of the human- nature relationship in the Anthropocene within the broader framework of the history of ideas.

Article history

Received 06 May 2025. Revised 06 August 2025. Accepted 23 August 2025. Published online 31 August 2025

Language

English (en)

Authors

Queen SarkarKalinga Institute of Industrial Technology

Ananya MishraKalinga Institute of Industrial Technology

Issue

Orbis Idearum Volume 13, Issue 1 (2025), 43-64
Regular Issue

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