Labeling inanimate objects as living, attributing characteristics of animate objects to inanimate objects, and making predictions or explanations about inanimate objects based on knowledge about animate objects:
Animism
Animism means labeling inanimate objects as living, attributing characteristics of animate objects (typically humans) to inanimate objects, and making predictions or explanations about inanimate objects based on knowledge about animate objects (again usually represented by human beings). Anthropomorphism or personification means the extension of human attributes and behaviors to any nonhumans. Thus animistic reasoning can be regarded as personification of an inanimate object. In both cases, assigning mental states (desires, beliefs, and consciousness) to inanimate objects, including extraterrestrial entities (e.g., the sun) and geographical parts (e.g., a mountain), provides the most impressive example (“The sun is hot because it wants to keep people warm”).
source: The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences (MITECS)
Animism
Animism means labeling inanimate objects as living, attributing characteristics of animate objects (typically humans) to inanimate objects, and making predictions or explanations about inanimate objects based on knowledge about animate objects (again usually represented by human beings). Anthropomorphism or personification means the extension of human attributes and behaviors to any nonhumans. Thus animistic reasoning can be regarded as personification of an inanimate object. In both cases, assigning mental states (desires, beliefs, and consciousness) to inanimate objects, including extraterrestrial entities (e.g., the sun) and geographical parts (e.g., a mountain), provides the most impressive example (“The sun is hot because it wants to keep people warm”).
source: The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences (MITECS)
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