Anthropomorphism
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Anthropomorphism, similar to as personification (applying human qualities to inanimate objects) or prosopopoeia (adopting the persona of another person), is the attribution of human characteristics and qualities to non-human beings, objects, or natural phenomena such as animals or forces of nature, or believing in an unseen author of things, amongst many other possibilities. "Anthropomorphism" comes from two Greek words, ανθρωπος, anthrōpos, meaning human, and μορφη, morphē, meaning shape or form.
The word anthropomorphism is a modern coinage (possibly from 18th century French). The New English Dictionary is misled by the 1866 reprint of Paul Bayne on Ephesians when it quotes "anthropomorphist" as 17th century English. Seventeenth century editions print "anthropomorphits," i.e. anthropomorphites, in sense (1). The older abstract term is "anthropopathy," literally "attributing human feelings," in sense (2).
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In religions and mythologies
In religion and mythology, anthropomorphism refers to the attribution of
- a human body, or
- human qualities generally, to God or the gods.
Many mythologies are almost entirely concerned with anthropomorphic gods and goddesses who possess human characteristics such as jealousy, hatred, or love. The Greek gods such as Zeus and Apollo were often depicted in human form and exhibiting both commendable and despicable human traits.
The ten avatars of the Hindu supreme God Vishnu possess both human and divine forms and qualities, although divinity varies in degree. Vishnu, in Vaishnavism, a monotheistic faith, unlike the gods of Greek and Roman religion, is omniscient and omnibenevolent. See Conceptions of God in Hinduism.
Numerous religions and philosophies have condemned anthroporphism for various reasons. Ancient Greek philosophers generally did not condone, or were explicitly hostile to, their people's mythology and 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 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' conceptions of God to that of the Bible facilitated the incorporation of much pre-Christian Greek philosophy into the Medieval Christian worldview by the Scholastics, notably Thomas Aquinas.
In Judaism and Christianity, iconoclasm has generally been motivated by a literal interpretation of the second of the Ten Commandments, which forbids the making and worshipping of "graven images". Because of the prohibition against figural decoration in mosques in Islam (not, as is often said, a total ban on the use of images) anthropomorphism is equally discouraged by many Muslim sects.
Although the tenets of the Abrahamic religions generally hold that it is improper to describe the God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam as human, it is extremely difficult for the average person to picture or discuss God without an anthropomorphic framework. It is also noteworthy that the first Creation story in the Book of Genesis holds that God created man in his image, implying if not an anthropomorphic God, then at least a theomorphic Man. Most branches of Christianity also maintain that Jesus became human while remaining fully God, uniting the divine and human natures in his person, and retaining his resurrected body when he ascended to Heaven.
Anthropomorphism is also important in many traditions of magic, where it is thought that entities can be affected by appealing to, bartering with or threatening their spirits.
Anthropomorphism in the form of personification consists of creating imaginary persons who are the embodiment of an abstraction such as Death, Lust or War. See the article on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse for notable examples.
In rhetoric
In classical rhetoric, personification is a figure of speech (more specifically a trope) that employs the deliberate use of anthropomorphism, often to make an emotional appeal. In rhetorical theory, a distinction is often drawn between personification (anthropomorphism of inanimate, but real, objects) and other figures, such as apostrophe, a figure in which an absent people or abstract concepts are addressed.
An examples of rhetorical personification:
- A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
- Against the earth's sweet-flowing breast. Joyce Kilmer, Trees
An example of rhetorical apostrophe:
- O eloquent, just, and mighty Death! Sir Walter Raleigh, History of the World
In literature
Anthropomorphism is a well established device in literature, notably in books for children, such as those by Beatrix Potter and Lewis Carroll, involving characters such as Peter Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat, respectively.
Terry Pratchett is notable for having several anthropomorphic personifications in his Discworld books, perhaps most well known is the character Death. Piers Anthony also wrote a series regarding the seven incarnations of Death, Nature, Time, War, Fate, Good and Evil. Neil Gaiman is also notable for anthropomorphising seven aspects of the world in his series The Sandman - they are called the Endless: Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium.
The Indian books Panchatantra (The Five priniciples) and The Jataka tales employ this trick of anthromorphized animals very effectively to illustrate various principles of life.
Mrs. Grundy is a personification of conventional propriety.
Common usage
It is a common tendency for people to think of inanimate objects as having human-like characteristics as well, though few if any actually believe this to have real significance. Common examples include naming one's car or begging a machine to work. Advances in artificial intelligence are beginning to make such foibles into a potentially more significant phenomenon, however, as computers begin to reach the point where they can recognize spoken language. Some computers are already very good at displaying very specific and specialized categories of human-like behaviour, such as learning from their mistakes or to anticipate certain input, playing chess and other games with humanlike capability, and even in the case of robots potentially taking on humanlike form.
Technical use
Hackers have always anthropomorphised technology, mostly as a time-saving device. Complex technology, specifically computers, can exhibit complex behavior that can be lengthy to describe in purely inanimate terms. Hackers therefore use human actions and even emotions to describe a computer system's behavior. For example, in a situation where a program encounters minor errors but can still accomplish its task, it may do so but emit an error message. Especially in cases where the error encountered is thought to be trivial, a hacker might say that the computer complains. This human action (complaining) conveys that there is a difficulty while acknowloging the triviality of the difficulty, and perhaps the fact that the program does what is required despite the difficulty. See the section on anthropomorphism in the Jargon File for more information.
Modern occurrences
The use of anthropomorphized animals has a long tradition in art and literature. Frequently they are used to portray stereotypical characters, in order to quickly convey what characteristics the author or artist intends for them to possess. Examples include Aesop's fables, George Orwell's Animal Farm and political cartoons, e.g. Maus. Many of the most famous children's television characters are anthropomorphized funny animals: Mickey Mouse, Kermit the Frog, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Calimero, for example. While 'funny' is common, it is not a hard rule; Bert the Turtle, star of Duck and Cover is a children-oriented exception. While cartoons have often featured these characters, a newer sitcom-style show with this theme is Father of the Pride. What human characteristics commonly end up being ascribed to animals in popular culture usually centres around either their perceived personality or disposition (for example, owls are usually designated as wise), their appearance alone (penguins are usually portrayed as plump aristocrats, because their plumage resembles a tuxedo), or a combination of both (raccoons are commonly portrayed as bandits, both because of the characteristic black stripe over their eyes, which resembles the stereotypical mask of a bandit, and because they roam at night breaking into peoples' garbage).
In turn, the word has also come to include bestowing on humans certain animalistic attributes, or even the attributes of inanimate objects. These attributes can include everything from physical shape or movements ("She moves like a cat", "He looks as strong as a bear") to mentalities ("He is savage as a lion", "She's a dumb bunny") or a mix of the two ("I sting like a bee").
Since the 1980s, subcultures such as furry fandom have focused on the appreciation, promotion, and production of stories and art about anthropomorphic animals, as well as the exploration, interpretation and examination of humanity and human values through anthropomorphic expression. These subcultures thrive primarily on the Internet and have only recently been given attention by the media.
In logical reasoning
Using anthropomorphized caricatures or projecting human qualities on conceptual entities or inanimate objects in reasoning is also known as committing a pathetic fallacy.
Opposite view
While anthropomorphism is the idea of giving animals human qualities, Zoomorphism is giving humans animal qualities. In the sense that anthropomorphism is the giving of human qualities to deity, the opposite is Theomorphism, the giving of divine qualities to humans.
See also
References
- This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.
