Rewilding the Human Condition within the Cenozoic Community—From Human Supremacy to Multispecies Justice

This dissertation critically examines the entanglements of human supremacy and ecological collapse, proposing rewilding as a transformative framework for multispecies justice. By tracing the historical trajectory of human dominance—from the extinction of Pleistocene megafauna to the Neolithic revolution and the biodiversity crisis of the Anthropocene—this work demonstrates how ontological, ethical, and political frameworks have systematically marginalized other-than-human beings. Drawing from environmental philosophy, ecofeminism, posthumanism, and conservation biology, it argues that the prevailing worldview of human supremacy operates as an ontological pathology, severing humanity from the Cenozoic community. In response, this dissertation develops the concept of entangled autonomy to reconceptualize agency beyond anthropocentric constraints and advocates for a rewilding ethic grounded in ecological reciprocity and relational flourishing. Through an analysis of top-down and bottom-up rewilding initiatives, this work contrasts conservation approaches that reinforce human control with those fostering multispecies cohabitation. Case studies, including rewilding efforts in the Italian Alps and grassroots projects in Europe, illustrate the tensions and potentials of rewilding as both an ecological practice and a political intervention. Ultimately, this dissertation envisions rewilding as a means to dismantle the spiral of human supremacy, shifting from extractivist paradigms to a more just and ecologically attuned mode of coexisting within the more-than-human world. By integrating philosophy, ecological restoration, and the politics of dwelling, it offers a pluralistic and justice-oriented roadmap for rewilding that resists co-optation and centers multispecies solidarity in the face of planetary crisis.