An essay that explores the concept and implications of feedback, a step that is central to a better understanding of the Anthropocene.

The robustness of most systems relies on homeostasis, which itself largely depends on redundancy and feedback mechanisms. The Anthropocene, both by definition and in the idea it encapsulates, can be considered as the largest feedback system experienced by human beings: the Anthropocene concept emerged when Earth-related issues started to impact humans in a feedback loop. This essay explores the concept and implications of feedback, a step that is central to a better understanding of the Anthropocene. Researchers Enrico Costanzo and Olivier Hamant use biological analogies—a field in which concepts such as robustness, homeostasis, and feedback loops have been studied extensively. Following this viewpoint, Earth’s homeostasis is comparable to that of a dynamic biological system experiencing multiple feedback loops. This naturally leads to the concept of niche construction, through which our larger habitat becomes part of our own ontology. This essay also considers frameworks that may help us to understand the interactions between humans and Earth’s homeostasis, and even to question our exact relationship to planet Earth.