Sentient Forests as Nature, as Myth or as a More Real Shamanic Nature: The Ontological Re-turn
Xabier Renteria-Uriarte, Roslyn M. Frank
Ethnos February 26, 2026 DOI: 10.1080/00141844.2026.2626392 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Argues that inward perceptual empiricism, largely overlooked in debates about the ontological turn, shows shamanic 'sentient forests' to be 'more real' than the objective forest, which the author contends is not 'out there' but an emerging level of the former. Proposes an 'ontological re-turn' that considers ethnographic sources together with inner perceptual levels and attends more closely to terms like 'perception' and 'ontology'. |
Abstract
Despite the diversity of debates about the ontological turn, the inward perceptual empiricism that constitutes the main source of non-Western epistemologies – both oral and written – has not yet been fully considered. The helpful case here will be that of the ‘sentient forest’, which has emerged as a guiding belief in Western countries, with forests and plants increasingly being regarded as sentient, conscious, intelligent, and/or communicative, but present in most cultures through mythical representations and shamanic perceptions. Contrary to the usual ‘politically correct’ ontological interpretations and their main underlying assumption, inward empiricism shows that shamanic forests are ‘more real’ than the objective forest, and that the latter are not actually ‘out there’ but rather an emerging level of the former. An ontological re-turn is proposed that considers ethnographic sources necessarily together with the inner perceptual levels that give rise to ‘natures-ontologies-cultures’, with more attention to terms like ‘perception’ and ‘ontology’.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |