Deconstructing Anthropocentrism : Ecological Ethics in Shunji Iwai's "Wallace and a Mermaid".

Abstract

Amid the intensifying global ecological crisis and the enduring dominance of anthropocentric ideologies, this study re-examines Shunji Iwai's Wallace and a Mermaid through the lenses of ecological ethics, posthuman philosophy, and East Asian oceanic culture. Drawing upon Deleuze's concept of becoming, feminist ecocriticism, and non-anthropocentric thought, this research analyses the mermaid as a hybrid and liminal figure that destabilizes species hierarchies and gender binaries. Simultaneously, the ocean is interpreted as a decentralized and generative space, central to reconfiguring ecological subjectivity and ethics. Integrating East Asian marine imaginaries of maternal generativity and boundary dissolution, the study elucidates how the narrative critiques anthropocentrism and reimagines interspecies coexistence within a global ecological framework. Ultimately, this paper advances a posthuman ethical paradigm grounded in fluid identity, relationality, and planetary interdependence, contributing to contemporary ecological philosophy and oceanic literary studies.