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'Anthropomorphism' is the attribution of uniquely human characteristics and qualities to nonhuman beings, inanimate objects, or natural or supernatural phenomena. Animals, forces of nature, and unseen or unknown sources of chance are frequent subjects of anthropomorphous. The term is derived from two Greek words, ἄνθρωπος (''anthrōpos''), meaning ''human'', and μορφή (''morphē''), meaning ''shape'' or ''form''. The suffix '-ism' originates from the morpheme -ισμός or -ισμα in the Greek language.
It is a common and seemingly natural tendency for humans to perceive nonhuman animals or inanimate objects as having human characteristics, one which some suggest provides a window into the way in which humans perceive themselves. Common examples of this tendency include naming cars or begging machines to work.
It is also probably true that humans have a natural tendency to deny common traits with other species, most particularly apes, feeling that humans are unique and "special." This tendency may be described as anthropomorphophobia and has been referred to as 'Anthropodenial' by primatologist Frans de Waal, author of ''Our Inner Ape'' and other books and articles.

Contents

In religions and mythologies

In Biblical literalism

In Hinduism

Opposition to anthropomorphism

In literature

In popular culture

In technical fields

In artificial intelligence

In rhetoric and logical reasoning

See also

References

External links

In religions and mythologies

In religion and mythology, anthropomorphism refers to the perception of a divine being or beings in human form, or the recognition of human qualities in these beings. Many mythologies are almost entirely concerned with anthropomorphic deities who express human characteristics such as jealousy, hatred, or love. The Greek gods, such as Zeus and Apollo, were often depicted in human form exhibiting both commendable and despicable human traits. Anthropomorphism in this case is sometimes referred to as Anthropotheism.

In Biblical literalism

Numerous sects throughout history have been called ''anthropomorphites'', including a sect in Egypt in the 4th century, and a group in the Roman Catholic Church in the 10th century, who literally interpreted Genesis chapter 1, verse 27: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

In Hinduism

The ten avatars of the Hindu supreme god Vishnu possess both human and divine forms and qualities, although their degrees of divinity vary. In Vaishnavism, a monotheistic faith, Vishnu is omniscient and benevolent, in contrast to gods of the Greek and Roman religions. See Conceptions of God in Hinduism.

Opposition to anthropomorphism

Many religions and philosophies have condemned anthropomorphism for various reasons. Some Ancient Greek philosophers did not approve of, and were often hostile to their people's mythology. These philosophers often developed monotheistic views. Plato's (427–347 BCE) Demiurge (craftsman) in the ''Timaeus'' and Aristotle's (384–322 BCE) prime mover in his ''Physics'' are notable examples. The Greek philosopher Xenophanes (570–480 BCE) said that "the greatest god" resembles man "neither in form nor in mind." (Clement of Alexandria, ''Miscellanies'' V xiv 109.1-3). The similarity of these philosophers' concepts of god to the concepts found in the Bible facilitated the incorporation of much pre-Christian Greek philosophy into the Medieval Christian world view by the Scholastics, most notably Thomas Aquinas. Anthropomorphism of God is condemned by Islam, since Muslims feel that God is beyond human limits of physical comprehension. This conception is also championed by the doctrinal view of Nirguna Brahman.
From the perspective of adherents of religions in which the deity or deities have human characteristics, it may be more accurate to describe the phenomenon as theomorphism, or the giving of divine qualities to humans, rather than anthropomorphism, the giving of human qualities to the divine. According to their beliefs, the deity or deities usually existed before humans, therefore humans were created in the form of the divine. However, for those who do not believe in the doctrine of the religion, the phenomenon can be considered anthropomorphism. In fact, Stewart Elliott Guthrie, in his book ''Faces in the Clouds: A New Theory of Religion'' (1993), theorizes that all religions are simply anthropomorphisms that originate in the human brain's tendency to over-detect the presence or vestiges of other humans in the natural world.
Interestingly, Charles Dodgson's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was banned in Hunan because "animals should not use human language" and it "put animals and human beings on the same level."

In literature

Main articles: Personification


Anthropomorphism is a well-established device in literature. Aesop's Fables, a collection of short tales written or recorded by the ancient Greek citizen Aesop, make extensive use of anthropomorphism, in which animals and weather illustrate simple moral lessons. The Indian books ''Panchatantra'' (The Five priniciples) and ''The Jataka tales'' employ anthropomorphized animals to illustrate various principles of life.
Anthropomorphism is commonly employed in books for children, such as those by Lewis Carroll, Roald Dahl, Brian Jacques, C.S. Lewis, and Beatrix Potter. Rev. W. Awdry's Railway Series depicts steam locomotives and diesel locomotives with human-like faces and personalities which leads to the popular tv series.
However, anthropomorphism is not exclusively used as a device in children's literature: Terry Pratchett is notable for having several anthropomorphic characters in his ''Discworld'' series, the best-known of which is the character Death. Piers Anthony also wrote a series regarding the seven Incarnations of Immortality, which are Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Evil, and Good. Neil Gaiman is notable for anthropomorphising seven aspects of the world in his series ''Sandman'', named the Endless: Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium. Perhaps most famously, George Orwell converted several key actors in the Russian Revolution into anthropomorphic animals in his satire ''Animal Farm''. Garry Kilworth's Welkin Weasels series reverses the idea of carnivores as villains in children's literature. In Art Spiegelman's ''Maus'', a graphic novel about The Holocaust, different races are portrayed as different animals - the Jews as mice, Germans as cats and Poles as pigs, for example.

In popular culture

Anthropomorphized animals are frequently used to portray stereotypical characters, in order for the author or artist to quickly convey character traits; notable examples include George Orwell's Animal Farm and animated films such as Disney's Robin Hood (1973 film), in which a lion is the king and the title character is a fox. The human characteristics commonly ascribed to animals in popular culture often highlight their perceived disposition or personality (owls are typically portrayed as wise), their appearance (penguins are usually portrayed as plump aristocrats, as their plumage resembles a tuxedo); or a combination of both (raccoons are commonly portrayed as bandits, because the band of dark colored fur around their eyes resembles a mask, and because they roam at night).
Many famous children's television characters are anthropomorphized funny animals such as Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny and Kermit the Frog as well as anthropomorphized inanimate objects such as SpongeBob Squarepants and the characters in Beauty and the Beast (1991 film) or ''Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends''. Educational programs like ''Sesame Street'' often use anthropomorphized figures of letters, numbers or shapes to help teach their concepts.
Anthropomorphic animals are not always humanoid; the two concepts are related, but still separate. Examples of anthropomorphic animals that are not humanoid are in the Disney films Bambi and The Fox and the Hound. These anthropomorphic creatures share human language and idioms with some minor changes, such as the talking dog Gaspode in the Discworld novel series saying "Pull one of the other ones, they have got bells on" as opposed to "Pull the other ''one'', ''it has'' got bells on". However, they do not have fingers, human toes, a bipedal primate posture, or other distinguishing features that would label them as humanoid.
While television series intended for children often feature anthropomorphic animals, series intended for adult audiences such as ''Family Guy'' also make use of anthropomorphized characters; the family dog, named Brian, not only speaks, but is a college-educated world traveler. Anthropomorphic animals and other creatures are also fairly common in anime and manga.
Video games often feature anthropomorphized animals; Donkey Kong, and Sonic the Hedgehog are some famous examples. In personal computing, OS-tan, personifies computer programs. The Help function on some versions of Microsoft Word features an anthropomorphized paper clip.
Since approximately the 1980s, a subculture that describes itself as furry fandom has focused on the appreciation and promotion of stories and art involving anthropomorphic animals, as well as the examination and interpretation of humanity through anthropomorphism. Mainstream media and many furry fans focus on the sexual overtones of modern "furry" (anthropomorphic) art, though other fans may dismiss this aspect and focus on the ideals of social community and freedom of choice.

In technical fields

Hackers and programmers are known to anthropomorphize technology, mostly as a time-saving metaphorical device. Complex technology, specifically computers, can exhibit complicated behaviors that can be lengthy to describe in purely inanimate terms. (Note that describing computer systems as having behaviors may itself be considered a kind of anthropomorphism). Therefore, hackers may use human actions and emotions to describe the behavior of a computer system. For example, if a program encounters minor errors but can still accomplish its task, it may do so but send the user an error message. Especially in instances where the error encountered is considered trivial, a hacker might describe the computer as "complaining." This human action (complaining) conveys that there is a difficulty, while acknowledging the trivial nature of the difficulty, and perhaps the fact that the program did what was required despite the difficulty.
Anthropomorphism particularly effects the field of robotics, especially in instances of robots that are given human forms.
See the section on ''anthropomorphism'' in the Jargon File for more information, including the self-referentially hackish joke on the topic "Don't anthropomorphize computers: they hate that".
This form of anthropomorphism is also common in other technical fields. For example, a chemist might casually explain a covalent bond between carbon and hydrogen by asserting that the carbon atom "shares" electrons with the hydrogen atom, although the chemist knows that atoms are incapable of the human connotative meaning of sharing. A similar example in biology is the selfish gene theory.
Similarly, in finance, a financial market that rises and falls might be described as "fickle." However, because it is a process made possible by humans, and directly effected by human actions (particularly reactions to market forces), the market is theoretically capable of reflecting human emotions. If the criterion for anthropomorphism is that the subject is ascribed human attributes it does not have, financial markets and other demographic forces may not qualify. However, they might be considered true personifications of human emotion, and qualify much like the personification of desire.

In artificial intelligence

The study and development of artificial intelligence identifies the tendency to see human characteristics in inanimate objects as potentially more significant, especially as computers begin to reach the point at which they can recognize spoken language. Some computers display very specific and specialized categories of simulated human behaviour, such as learning from mistakes, anticipating input, playing chess and other games which require human-like intelligence.

In rhetoric and logical reasoning

Anthropomorphism in the form of personification consists of creating imaginary persons who are the embodiment of an abstract concept such as lust, war, or death. This is common in many mythologies, of which the best known are Greek and Roman, and fantasy fiction.
See Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
In classical rhetoric, personification is a figure of speech, or more specifically, a trope, that employs the deliberate use of anthropomorphism, usually in attempt to make an emotional appeal. In rhetorical theory, a distinction is often drawn between personification (anthropomorphism of inanimate, but real, objects) and figures such as apostrophe, in which an absent people or abstract concepts are addressed.
'An example of rhetorical personification:'
'An example of rhetorical apostrophe:'
Using anthropomorphized caricatures or projecting human qualities on conceptual entities or inanimate objects in reasoning is also known as committing a pathetic fallacy (in logical reasoning, this is not a pejorative term).

See also

★ Android science

★ Anthropopathy

★ Figure of speech

★ Furry Fandom

★ Humanoid

★ Kemono

★ List of anthropomorphic personifications

★ Louis Wain

★ Moé anthropomorphism

★ National personification

★ OS-tan

★ Pathetic fallacy

★ Rhetoric

★ Uncanny Valley

References

# Anthropomorphite.
# Shipley, Orby. ed. ''A glossary of ecclesiastical terms''. 1872.

External links

★ Kind I Like A photographic collection of objects that resemble people

★ Anthropomorphism at The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceflight