Is Animism Alive and Well?
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks 1996 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-24858-2_1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 3 |
| Key points | The text defines animism as the belief that humans have souls and, by extension, that animals, plants, or even rocks have souls, feeling, consciousness, or intelligence. It notes that the broader view is sometimes called animatism or panpsychism, and that common usage of 'animism' typically embraces this broader sense, often with the adjective 'primitive' implying such belief has been largely outgrown. |
Abstract
Animism is the belief that human beings have souls, or, by extension, the belief that animals, plants or even rocks have souls; that is, that they are subjects of feeling or consciousness, or display intelligence, in ways that ensouled human beings do. This extended view is sometimes called animatism or panpsychism, in order to distinguish it from the more restricted view, though in common usage ‘animism’ seems typically to embrace the broader view, often preceded by the adjective ‘primitive’, to suggest that a belief in the souls of plants is something that has been largely outgrown. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.