What is animism? Is the idea alive and well today? If not, why not? If so, where is it found and how is it described/explained?
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Fallacies and example
Fallacy 1: Quantificational fallacies. According to CNNnews, “World reacts to Mubaraks announcement by cnn wire staff feb 02 2011 5:53 a.m est http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/01/egypt.mubarak.reax/index.html?iref=allse arch#” protest in Egypt and the long standing president Mubarak "President Mubarak's decision to stand down from future leadership of the government is welcome, but his continued role in Egypt's transition is unrealistic. The Egyptian people, long denied the chance to freely and fairly choose their leaders.” This is a Quantificational fallacy at its finest. President Mubarak state he wants change for Egypt too, but that is not the true motive here, the man is drunk with power and just pimply refuses to step away. If he does happen to stay in politics as this so called reformed government starts to form its self. Mubarak will still rule, because he will just have pipit speaking for him. In the end nothing will change.
Fallacy 2: Ad Hominem.
According to CNN news storie US openly breaks with strongman, demands speedy exit. By Helene Cooper, Mark Landler and Mark Mazzetti. Feb 4 2011. http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-openly-breaks-with-strongman-demands- speedy-exit-20110203-1afff.html. “ Egypt's government hit back swiftly. The Foreign Ministry released a defiant statement saying the calls from ''foreign parties'' had been ''rejected and aimed to incite the internal situation in Egypt''. That’s just like pointing the finger at someone and saying you are doing this, and because of you this is happening, away of changing the subject passing the blame. This a desperate man trying to fing a way out, and he is going to use every trick in the book.
Animism is the idea that everything around us is living, for example, human beings and animals, to things such as rocks and toothpicks. It declares that they have not only a physical existence but a spiritual existence as well. It has been believed throughout a little more commonly that we, being humans, have a spiritual existence to go along with our physical existence but not so much with objects such as dust and water as far as I understand the definition to be.
I do believe that this idea is still lived today in our society. I address animism as a definition and idea that has originated from human beings themselves I address other living creatures besides us humans. Over time we have developed something called animal rights. Which to me appears to be the idea that animals are living creatures and have feelings and thoughts, and the right to live. There are groups that believe it is wrong to kill and eat them. There are even groups that defend the capture and captivity of them. For me this is a solid example that there are those that believe animals are living things that have rights similar to our own.
There are also things that do not have “faces” and may seem to be seen as less “living” but I still feel there are those that take them to be classified in the category of animism, being a living thing. Those are such things as plants and natural occurrences such as lightning, rivers, and trees. Although something like trees, as I perceive, are not seen to have “rights” like we give animals they are still fought for if not equally as hard to exist as I reference green peace and movements to save the rain forest. To come back to the lightning and rivers I believe that there is a belief of animism in the world about these things because they are seen as “changing” things. They are never the same. Lighting comes and goes, you can never step in the same river twice, and trees are either growing or dying. I see that there are those that see them as things that can give life, such as the water of a river to plants and fishes, and the air that a tree gives off to animals. As far as lightning I see that it would be a living thing as well, to reference my “changing” comment from before, that it is a changing element that is comparable to animals and plants as having its own nature.
The last element and idea I wish to touch on are those things seen as “unchanging” such as a rock, dirt, or plastic. I believe that there are those that see these things, in a scientific viewpoint first, for the microscopic elements that they are. For they are made up of cells and atoms just as anything else like a kangaroo or rose would be. For the lighter view point I see that they are believed to be animate in the sense that they interact with the grand world that we live in. Many things in our world are acknowledged, made, touched, used, and seen, for a few words to describe my point, which shows the connection of their changing role in our world.
These are a few explanations of why I believe that animism is very much real. I feel that it is present in our world and that we participate with it daily. Our world is much larger then what we sometimes imagine and comprehend.
It is my firm belief and standing conversational disclaimer that there are always exceptions to the rule. Though, now that I think about it, it seems to be quite the paradox. Exceptions to the rule would mean there was no rule, interesting. Though it seems today we must turn our attention to animism. I was presented with the question is animism alive and well today; first I feel I must define such a word. Animism is the belief that even the inanimate harbor ‘souls’ and are living. Also, we acknowledge that such a thing may be alive, and not well. Where animism may flourish most, is with children. Perhaps we have not considered such a situation for the belief of animism, but upon thought, it seems to be so. Consistently throughout human history children have named their toys and spoken to them as if they were real, perhaps they are. Dolls, toy cars, who’s really to say they can’t feel. The popular Disney movie toy story put into a visual reality what these beliefs entail, perhaps to the extreme. This scenario seems to be where animism is most alive, and well.
A rather scary way to view animism is through the traditional Catholic looking glass, demonic possession. Most of today’s society is aware of the popular movie, ‘The Exorcist’, though for our purposes, this is nothing more than a reference to possessions. Throughout history, there have been multiple cases of object possession, sometimes even causing lifelong non-believers to reconsider. There is a range of vectors [carriers] for a possession to facilitate through. According to ancient Romans, some include corpses, plants, and animals. However, this does not exclude things that are, to most of us, truly inanimate, such as a book or a table. There have been numerous paranormal reports that certain objects carry a demon, ghost, poltergeist, or even a smell. As to which of these should be considered animism is up to the observationist, for perhaps a smell is just a smell. Maybe, there is something much larger behind it. Often in these cases, the object has an event tied to it such as a murder, or it has a meaning, could it be a token of love that anonymous just couldn’t let go? Upon a search for positive possessions, I was hard pressed to find anything. However, this does not mean that it does not exist. For example, I have a watch, whose battery has been long dead, and a jewelry box, whose ballerina and tune have been long stuck. These objects were passed to me by my great Grandmother, as she died when I was six or seven. Ever since I was a child, and up to this day, when I pull these objects out for observation, the watch will tick, just once or twice, and my ballerina will move and her tune will ring for just a moment. Maybe this is not so much animism as a tool for connecting to the living from some sort of world beyond. Who is to really say? There is no way for me, or anyone else to know if these objects are mechanically faulty, or truly inspired. When it comes to other religion, there are many opposing views. (Big surprise…) though a common theme I’ve noticed while reading (including but not limited to) is much ancient and modern Hinduism, Islamic, and even western religions such as Paganism, have a strong theme of animism. Worth mention, is the belief of the previously talked about Christian ideal of demonic possession. This leads me to wonder if Christian civilization has taken a once positive idea and perhaps subconsciously turned it into a social and supernatural hindrance, as it is a well known religion based on negativity and disapproval of others beliefs. Though Christianity may be seen in many filtered lights, one term may tie one and all together. Mother Earth may be a worldly term for modern animism, through religion and non believers; most humans recognize Mother Earth as an entity, alive, growing, dying, smelling, hearing, and harboring all of our philosophical ideas about her. So, is animism alive and well today? That is for you to decide.
Katherine D. Animism is the archaic belief that everything, including inanimate objects, has a soul. It dates back as far as most religion goes. It’s the most basic “religion” or way of living. As whether it is alive and well or not, I don’t believe so. This is into considering that 2.2 billion people are Christian; of those 1.1 is Roman Catholic. Being a former Catholic, I know that they believe even living animals don’t have souls. I remember the disappointment on my sister’s face when the church leader told us all of our pets were going to hell for not having a soul. That was a sad day. Not to go about committing a fallacy by name-calling, but there is a level of hypocrisy here. As we can’t define “God”, I believe that it is sort of energy, and by worshiping that, it would be giving something inhuman a soul. Despite the ignorance of this, there are a few religions still in touch with the concept of animism. There is an acceptance in the east (China, Japan, etc) that everything has an energy flowing through it. Even if it is inanimate, like rocks, a river. Everything has a balance. It’s a very animistic culture. Maybe they’re actually onto something. Think about how you used to talk to your Barbies or stuffed animals, and had tea parties. Maybe as children, adept to more psychic experiences than adults, they have instinctual tendency to play with toys like they are living, or are spiritual beings. Animism, though not as popular throughout the world compared to other ways of living, it basically giving everything life. Everything is alive in some way and can feel and has some sort of entity. This might do some people some good, maybe we can learn to respect nature more, not be so quick to kill a cockroach or pull grass. http://www.fallibleblogma.com/index.php/how-many-catholics-are-in-the-world/
To my understanding animism is the belief or thought that everything on this planet is a living thing and that it has a spirit of some kind. Like humans, animals, and plants. Animism is in existence in today’s society. In the way that I can best give an example would be our planet earth for one. We have been taught that this entire planet is a living mechanism that keeps us the humans alive. Throughout time we have been demonstrated that we are the number one killers of the earth and we have been show that pollution is destroying the earth and how there is a hole in the ozone layer which protect us from the rays of the sun. Due to the circumstances there are groups out there that are trying to stop or reverse the damage that has been done to the planet and to educate people on how to live green life that will keep all living things that depend on this planet healthy and alive and not drive them to extinction. Also there are people who fight to preserve places like natural parks alive or around not only to keep living things a live but show and keep beautiful scenic places of Mother Nature.
I believe that even though you can find examples of animism, it is not very popular today. The term animism was founded by Sir. Edward Taylor in 1871 (animus or anima is the Latin word for mind or soul). Animism is the philosophical belief that everything in this world is living and has a spirit. This belief pre-dates back as far as we can imagine, with all different types of religions. There are still people today that believe in animism. Native Americans believe in the living and breathing spirit of Mother Nature. There are many Paganism and Druidism religions around the world that have a base of animism, but this does not mean that animism is alive today. In our present time we see many different religions and beliefs. Christians and Muslims believe that all humans have a soul; but would they say the same about a tree or rock? Most Atheists believe we live and die and there is nothing more. In this belief even humans can’t have souls because there is nothing left after our mortal bodies collapse. There would be nowhere for a soul to go. To think animism is alive today you would have to speculate that it is widely believed and practiced. I do not believe this is true, since most of the world’s population is either Christian or Muslim. With so many different personal beliefs I cannot say one is right or wrong because I believe no one knows. http://www.skepdic.com/animism.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animism http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/animism
Animism is a belief that spirits inhabits some or all classes ofnatural objects or phenomena. also is spiritual idea that souls or spirtis exist not only in human. Its is still alive today.
Tareney Frank- PHI 101 Animism is defined as the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings endowed with reason and intelligence that inhabit both objects and living beings and govern their existence. Everything is alive and has a soul in animism. This belief is alive and well today and I witness it every day. The Native American culture and beliefs follow this ideology closely; humans and the universe are interrelated and intertwined. Navajo beliefs are centered on mother earth and the bountiful beauty she beholds. Often Navajos give direct thanks toward every being whether it is a plant, animal or any part of nature. Animism is seen in all aspects of Navajo culture including; art, prayer and ceremony. Generally animism is practiced by people whom are more primitive or rural and is found throughout the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animism http://www.encyclo.co.uk/define/Animism
Animism is the doctrine that things, even inanimate things, have souls. "Animus" is the Latin word for soul. Ancient belief is that Animism, spirit, or energy exists independently of the thing, whether that thing is dead or alive.
Some people believe that the souls of humans exist before or after the body dies. Some believe that the souls of animals and plants are never extinguished. Some think that inanimate objects have souls.
Today animism is definetly believed in and is popular with New Age practices. It is very popular with traditions like shamanism.
Animism is the doctrine that things, even inanimate things, have souls. "Animus" is the Latin word for soul. Ancient belief is that Animism, spirit, or energy exists independently of the thing, whether that thing is dead or alive.
Some people believe that the souls of humans exist before or after the body dies. Some believe that the souls of animals and plants are never extinguished. Some think that inanimate objects have souls.
Today animism is definetly believed in and is popular with New Age practices. It is very popular with traditions like shamanism.-Christyn Ferra
In the case of "Is Animism alive to this day?”, I would have to say yes it is. Another term for animism is Anthropomorphic which means that humans associate human motivations to all things living or not. From the everyday household dog or cat, to the smallest molecules under a microscope, there is energy contained and moving.
Another perspective that I hold is the whole religion base and other cultures who don't worship Christianity. There are religions out there that hold strong that there are non-human “spirits.” Feng Shui is a big thing in the Chinese culture and has been a real big reason for buildings to be built. Feng Shui was, in its infancy in Ancient China, a system of laws that harness the laws of Heaven and Earth for aesthetic reason. If Heaven and Earth have laws, would that not mean that there is some kind of “spirit” which could create a force of life?
What is Animism? Animism is kind of a folklore or myth. It has to do with people that believe in animism which also believe that there are spirits and souls in plants,animals and objects. Those who believe feel like tht spirits and hurt them. Animism has been decribed as a source of black magic and witch craft and those who choose to practice it are commiting a sin and will go to hell. It's also been said that there is is only 1 god and that one should not practice worshiping more then 1 god. The idea of Anmism is alive and well because there are a lot of people who believe in multiple gods not just and there is a hire being then just god and that people do come back to life other in different forms or objects. I think you should practice whatever makes you happy and brings self fulfillment.
In animism, nature is alive around you with spirits, though not quite like gods. Rocks and trees have their own spirits. It's sort of thought that this was the first form of religion/belief. Is it alive today? I believe yes. Take away the technology, the language and the culture of the modern world, and imagine life in simpler settings and times. Make an attempt based on pure observation without modern perspectives to explain why things are as they are. Imagine yourself as a baby seeing fire for the first time. Then imagine what the Homo sapiens must have thought of when they first discovered it. Listen for that often obscure inner voice to tell you and be guided by your instinct, your physical skills, your reason and your imagination to find some way to survive on an unpredictable planet. By doing this you will come close to the experience of the first conscious humans in primitive cultures and also what is the foundational perception for almost all religions and societies to this day. Animism lies at the root level of much of human understanding of the universe.
According to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/animism, animism “The belief, common among so-called primitive people, that objects and natural phenomena, such as rivers, rocks, and wind, are alive and have feelings and intentions” I do think the idea is still alive tell this day. Take a look at the American Indians that live on the reservations that still practices the old religion. When they speak of the earth they say mother earth or Great Spirit. Referring to the earth as mother or spirit, meaning they see the earth having assents that will help and guide throughout their lives. Also the Wiccan religion preaches that the world and everything in the world (that is natural) has a spirit or an essences of some kind.
According to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/animism, animism “The belief, common among so-called primitive people, that objects and natural phenomena, such as rivers, rocks, and wind, are alive and have feelings and intentions” I do think the idea is still alive tell this day. Take a look at the American Indians that live on the reservations that still practices the old religion. When they speak of the earth they say mother earth or Great Spirit. Referring to the earth as mother or spirit, meaning they see the earth having assents that will help and guide throughout their lives. Also the Wiccan religion preaches that the world and everything in the world (that is natural) has a spirit or an essences of some kind.
According to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/animism, animism “The belief, common among so-called primitive people, that objects and natural phenomena, such as rivers, rocks, and wind, are alive and have feelings and intentions” I do think the idea is still alive tell this day. Take a look at the American Indians that live on the reservations that still practices the old religion. When they speak of the earth they say mother earth or Great Spirit. Referring to the earth as mother or spirit, meaning they see the earth having assents that will help and guide throughout their lives. Also the Wiccan religion preaches that the world and everything in the world (that is natural) has a spirit or an essences of some kind.
http://www.hedweb.com/bgcharlton/animism.html http://www.marketfaith.org/resources/Animism.pdf http://www.joyofsects.com/world/indians.shtml Animism what is it? Is it something that still alive today? Animism has been well around me for some time now. It's somesthing that I grew up with during my childhood. But what is other cultures perception of animsm? many eastern philosphies believe in a energy called qi as the force in our bodies that gives us the energy to heal, and grow strong if practiced right. For the people in India yoga is the foundation for their spirituality.However there isn't many aminism found in the United States. Maybe due to the fact Western influenced society is more mterialistic that Eastern infuenced society. In this fast paced world we live in surrounded by media, sports politics, wall street, and government animisim is something hardly on people's mind when it comes to logic. The only animisim I found my self knowing in my own native american spirituality. believing that the every thing in nature has it's place in the spirit world down to the tiniest bug to the universe these subjects are expressed in spiritual and healing ceromonies. for me that is my animism
Animism has been a very popular topic in many other countries including ours. Many reality shows still promote the belief of ghosts, spirits that are not firmly connected to anything physical. Some believe they can communicate with the dead or a spirit. I would call this Divination; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divination
Divination (from Latin divinare "to foresee, to be inspired by a god"[2], related to divinus, divine) is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of a standardized process or ritual.[3] It is an integral part of witchcraft and has been used in various forms for thousands of years. Diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency, most often describe as an angel or a god though viewed by Christians, Jews and Muslims as a fallen angel or demon.[4] Divination can be seen as a systematic method with which to organize what appear to be disjointed, random facets of existence such that they provide insight into a problem at hand. If a distinction is to be made between divination and fortune-telling, divination has a formal or ritual and often social character, usually in a religious context, as seen in traditional African medicine; while fortune-telling is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and religion. Divination is often dismissed by sceptics, including the scientific community, as being mere superstition: in the 2nd century, Lucian devoted a witty essay to the career of a charlatan, Alexander the false prophet, trained by "one of those who advertise enchantments, miraculous incantations, charms for your love-affairs, visitations for your enemies, disclosures of buried treasure, and successions to estates"[5], though most Romans believed in dreams and charms. It is considered a sin in most Christian denominations and Judaism.
Considering the grandiose task that humanity embarked couple centuries ago, questioning our universe- inside and out; as stated in our text, “the place of mind and spirit in a world of matter and energy is still among our basic problems.” (50) Some may trace it as a simple problem due to a possible concrete understanding of such topic. Others, however, have no intention whatsoever to even consider it. There are those who are still searching for more amongst themselves as Thales insisted to do so.
Within our high-tech, scientific developed world, conquering and exploring outside planets and atmospheres, it is difficult at times to maintain “upbeat” in this high pace society. Along with that, innovated ideas also take place in one’s beliefs where “new” religions, cults, practices loom. In the late 1960’s for example, the “New Age” era came along and today, more than 20 percent of Americans follow this spiritual practice. They believe in the “aspects of cosmology, astrology, esotericism, alternative medicine, music, psychology, and philosophy.” Animism derives from the Latin word anima (breath/soul) and defines every object as having a soul and as a living thing. An example of this belief can be found in this New Age movement when they consider crystals as a healing object. They may be used in meditation holding the crystal in one’s hands and submitting oneself to its “live” energy and power to amend the person’s physical or spiritual ailments. Another example is their way of relying on their future by how the stars, moon and planets align and revolve. We can see how astrology is a matter of life by which people depend on their tomorrow. Last, the belief that paper or carton, base component of tarot cards; have a tremendous impact on making decision and believing upon their personal affairs. How, in a way, these cards “speak” their concerns and “tell” you which direction to route. We have seen some examples of how animism is still alive today. Therefore, it is difficult to elude such practices which prevail even within our materialistic world.
-Robert Fawcett, Author The Major Religions of the World ....Revisited www.majoreligionsoftheworld.com
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22 comments:
Fallacies and example
Fallacy 1: Quantificational fallacies.
According to CNNnews, “World reacts to Mubaraks announcement by
cnn wire staff feb 02 2011 5:53 a.m est
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/01/egypt.mubarak.reax/index.html?iref=allse
arch#” protest in Egypt and the long standing president Mubarak
"President Mubarak's decision to stand down from future leadership of the government is
welcome, but his continued role in Egypt's transition is unrealistic. The Egyptian people, long denied
the chance to freely and fairly choose their leaders.”
This is a Quantificational fallacy at its finest. President Mubarak state he
wants change for Egypt too, but that is not the true motive here, the man is
drunk with power and just pimply refuses to step away. If he does happen to
stay in politics as this so called reformed government starts to form its self.
Mubarak will still rule, because he will just have pipit speaking for him. In the
end nothing will change.
Fallacy 2: Ad Hominem.
According to CNN news storie US openly breaks with strongman,
demands speedy exit.
By Helene Cooper, Mark Landler and Mark Mazzetti.
Feb 4 2011. http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-openly-breaks-with-strongman-demands-
speedy-exit-20110203-1afff.html.
“ Egypt's government hit back swiftly. The Foreign Ministry released a defiant statement saying
the calls from ''foreign parties'' had been ''rejected and aimed to incite the internal situation in
Egypt''.
That’s just like pointing the finger at someone and saying you are doing this, and
because of you this is happening, away of changing the subject passing the blame.
This a desperate man trying to fing a way out, and he is going to use every trick in
the book.
Trent Aldridge PHI 101
Animism is the idea that everything around us is living, for example, human beings and animals, to things such as rocks and toothpicks. It declares that they have not only a physical existence but a spiritual existence as well. It has been believed throughout a little more commonly that we, being humans, have a spiritual existence to go along with our physical existence but not so much with objects such as dust and water as far as I understand the definition to be.
I do believe that this idea is still lived today in our society. I address animism as a definition and idea that has originated from human beings themselves I address other living creatures besides us humans. Over time we have developed something called animal rights. Which to me appears to be the idea that animals are living creatures and have feelings and thoughts, and the right to live. There are groups that believe it is wrong to kill and eat them. There are even groups that defend the capture and captivity of them. For me this is a solid example that there are those that believe animals are living things that have rights similar to our own.
There are also things that do not have “faces” and may seem to be seen as less “living” but I still feel there are those that take them to be classified in the category of animism, being a living thing. Those are such things as plants and natural occurrences such as lightning, rivers, and trees. Although something like trees, as I perceive, are not seen to have “rights” like we give animals they are still fought for if not equally as hard to exist as I reference green peace and movements to save the rain forest. To come back to the lightning and rivers I believe that there is a belief of animism in the world about these things because they are seen as “changing” things. They are never the same. Lighting comes and goes, you can never step in the same river twice, and trees are either growing or dying. I see that there are those that see them as things that can give life, such as the water of a river to plants and fishes, and the air that a tree gives off to animals. As far as lightning I see that it would be a living thing as well, to reference my “changing” comment from before, that it is a changing element that is comparable to animals and plants as having its own nature.
The last element and idea I wish to touch on are those things seen as “unchanging” such as a rock, dirt, or plastic. I believe that there are those that see these things, in a scientific viewpoint first, for the microscopic elements that they are. For they are made up of cells and atoms just as anything else like a kangaroo or rose would be. For the lighter view point I see that they are believed to be animate in the sense that they interact with the grand world that we live in. Many things in our world are acknowledged, made, touched, used, and seen, for a few words to describe my point, which shows the connection of their changing role in our world.
These are a few explanations of why I believe that animism is very much real. I feel that it is present in our world and that we participate with it daily. Our world is much larger then what we sometimes imagine and comprehend.
Bethany Henry-Dicken
It is my firm belief and standing conversational disclaimer that there are always exceptions to the rule. Though, now that I think about it, it seems to be quite the paradox. Exceptions to the rule would mean there was no rule, interesting. Though it seems today we must turn our attention to animism. I was presented with the question is animism alive and well today; first I feel I must define such a word. Animism is the belief that even the inanimate harbor ‘souls’ and are living. Also, we acknowledge that such a thing may be alive, and not well.
Where animism may flourish most, is with children. Perhaps we have not considered such a situation for the belief of animism, but upon thought, it seems to be so. Consistently throughout human history children have named their toys and spoken to them as if they were real, perhaps they are. Dolls, toy cars, who’s really to say they can’t feel. The popular Disney movie toy story put into a visual reality what these beliefs entail, perhaps to the extreme. This scenario seems to be where animism is most alive, and well.
A rather scary way to view animism is through the traditional Catholic looking glass, demonic possession. Most of today’s society is aware of the popular movie, ‘The Exorcist’, though for our purposes, this is nothing more than a reference to possessions. Throughout history, there have been multiple cases of object possession, sometimes even causing lifelong non-believers to reconsider. There is a range of vectors [carriers] for a possession to facilitate through. According to ancient Romans, some include corpses, plants, and animals. However, this does not exclude things that are, to most of us, truly inanimate, such as a book or a table. There have been numerous paranormal reports that certain objects carry a demon, ghost, poltergeist, or even a smell. As to which of these should be considered animism is up to the observationist, for perhaps a smell is just a smell. Maybe, there is something much larger behind it. Often in these cases, the object has an event tied to it such as a murder, or it has a meaning, could it be a token of love that anonymous just couldn’t let go? Upon a search for positive possessions, I was hard pressed to find anything. However, this does not mean that it does not exist. For example, I have a watch, whose battery has been long dead, and a jewelry box, whose ballerina and tune have been long stuck. These objects were passed to me by my great Grandmother, as she died when I was six or seven. Ever since I was a child, and up to this day, when I pull these objects out for observation, the watch will tick, just once or twice, and my ballerina will move and her tune will ring for just a moment. Maybe this is not so much animism as a tool for connecting to the living from some sort of world beyond. Who is to really say? There is no way for me, or anyone else to know if these objects are mechanically faulty, or truly inspired.
When it comes to other religion, there are many opposing views. (Big surprise…) though a common theme I’ve noticed while reading (including but not limited to) is much ancient and modern Hinduism, Islamic, and even western religions such as Paganism, have a strong theme of animism. Worth mention, is the belief of the previously talked about Christian ideal of demonic possession. This leads me to wonder if Christian civilization has taken a once positive idea and perhaps subconsciously turned it into a social and supernatural hindrance, as it is a well known religion based on negativity and disapproval of others beliefs. Though Christianity may be seen in many filtered lights, one term may tie one and all together. Mother Earth may be a worldly term for modern animism, through religion and non believers; most humans recognize Mother Earth as an entity, alive, growing, dying, smelling, hearing, and harboring all of our philosophical ideas about her.
So, is animism alive and well today? That is for you to decide.
http://www.believersweb.org/view.cfm?ID=1157
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Animism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonic_possession
Animism is the belief that everthing has a soul of spirit. they it is alive and well today.
Animism is the belief that everthing has a soul and spirit. and it is alive and well today.
Katherine D.
Animism is the archaic belief that everything, including inanimate objects, has a soul. It dates back as far as most religion goes. It’s the most basic “religion” or way of living.
As whether it is alive and well or not, I don’t believe so. This is into considering that 2.2 billion people are Christian; of those 1.1 is Roman Catholic. Being a former Catholic, I know that they believe even living animals don’t have souls. I remember the disappointment on my sister’s face when the church leader told us all of our pets were going to hell for not having a soul. That was a sad day.
Not to go about committing a fallacy by name-calling, but there is a level of hypocrisy here. As we can’t define “God”, I believe that it is sort of energy, and by worshiping that, it would be giving something inhuman a soul. Despite the ignorance of this, there are a few religions still in touch with the concept of animism. There is an acceptance in the east (China, Japan, etc) that everything has an energy flowing through it. Even if it is inanimate, like rocks, a river. Everything has a balance. It’s a very animistic culture.
Maybe they’re actually onto something. Think about how you used to talk to your Barbies or stuffed animals, and had tea parties. Maybe as children, adept to more psychic experiences than adults, they have instinctual tendency to play with toys like they are living, or are spiritual beings.
Animism, though not as popular throughout the world compared to other ways of living, it basically giving everything life. Everything is alive in some way and can feel and has some sort of entity. This might do some people some good, maybe we can learn to respect nature more, not be so quick to kill a cockroach or pull grass.
http://www.fallibleblogma.com/index.php/how-many-catholics-are-in-the-world/
Nathalie PHI 101
To my understanding animism is the belief or thought that everything on this planet is a living thing and that it has a spirit of some kind. Like humans, animals, and plants.
Animism is in existence in today’s society. In the way that I can best give an example would be our planet earth for one. We have been taught that this entire planet is a living mechanism that keeps us the humans alive. Throughout time we have been demonstrated that we are the number one killers of the earth and we have been show that pollution is destroying the earth and how there is a hole in the ozone layer which protect us from the rays of the sun. Due to the circumstances there are groups out there that are trying to stop or reverse the damage that has been done to the planet and to educate people on how to live green life that will keep all living things that depend on this planet healthy and alive and not drive them to extinction. Also there are people who fight to preserve places like natural parks alive or around not only to keep living things a live but show and keep beautiful scenic places of Mother Nature.
I believe that even though you can find examples of animism, it is not very popular today. The term animism was founded by Sir. Edward Taylor in 1871 (animus or anima is the Latin word for mind or soul). Animism is the philosophical belief that everything in this world is living and has a spirit. This belief pre-dates back as far as we can imagine, with all different types of religions.
There are still people today that believe in animism. Native Americans believe in the living and breathing spirit of Mother Nature. There are many Paganism and Druidism religions around the world that have a base of animism, but this does not mean that animism is alive today.
In our present time we see many different religions and beliefs. Christians and Muslims believe that all humans have a soul; but would they say the same about a tree or rock? Most Atheists believe we live and die and there is nothing more. In this belief even humans can’t have souls because there is nothing left after our mortal bodies collapse. There would be nowhere for a soul to go.
To think animism is alive today you would have to speculate that it is widely believed and practiced. I do not believe this is true, since most of the world’s population is either Christian or Muslim. With so many different personal beliefs I cannot say one is right or wrong because I believe no one knows.
http://www.skepdic.com/animism.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animism
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/animism
Animism is a belief that spirits inhabits some or all classes ofnatural objects or phenomena. also is spiritual idea that souls or spirtis exist not only in human. Its is still alive today.
Tareney Frank- PHI 101
Animism is defined as the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings endowed with reason and intelligence that inhabit both objects and living beings and govern their existence. Everything is alive and has a soul in animism. This belief is alive and well today and I witness it every day. The Native American culture and beliefs follow this ideology closely; humans and the universe are interrelated and intertwined. Navajo beliefs are centered on mother earth and the bountiful beauty she beholds. Often Navajos give direct thanks toward every being whether it is a plant, animal or any part of nature. Animism is seen in all aspects of Navajo culture including; art, prayer and ceremony. Generally animism is practiced by people whom are more primitive or rural and is found throughout the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animism
http://www.encyclo.co.uk/define/Animism
Animism is the doctrine that things, even inanimate things, have souls. "Animus" is the Latin word for soul. Ancient belief is that Animism, spirit, or energy exists independently of the thing, whether that thing is dead or alive.
Some people believe that the souls of humans exist before or after the body dies. Some believe that the souls of animals and plants are never extinguished. Some think that inanimate objects have souls.
Today animism is definetly believed in and is popular with New Age practices. It is very popular with traditions like shamanism.
Animism is the doctrine that things, even inanimate things, have souls. "Animus" is the Latin word for soul. Ancient belief is that Animism, spirit, or energy exists independently of the thing, whether that thing is dead or alive.
Some people believe that the souls of humans exist before or after the body dies. Some believe that the souls of animals and plants are never extinguished. Some think that inanimate objects have souls.
Today animism is definetly believed in and is popular with New Age practices. It is very popular with traditions like shamanism.-Christyn Ferra
In the case of "Is Animism alive to this day?”, I would have to say yes it is. Another term for animism is Anthropomorphic which means that humans associate human motivations to all things living or not. From the everyday household dog or cat, to the smallest molecules under a microscope, there is energy contained and moving.
Another perspective that I hold is the whole religion base and other cultures who don't worship Christianity. There are religions out there that hold strong that there are non-human “spirits.” Feng Shui is a big thing in the Chinese culture and has been a real big reason for buildings to be built. Feng Shui was, in its infancy in Ancient China, a system of laws that harness the laws of Heaven and Earth for aesthetic reason. If Heaven and Earth have laws, would that not mean that there is some kind of “spirit” which could create a force of life?
Simplicity!
Takiyah Ross
2/9/2011
Animism PP2
What is Animism? Animism is kind of a folklore or myth. It has to do with people that believe in animism which also believe that there are spirits and souls in plants,animals and objects. Those who believe feel like tht spirits and hurt them. Animism has been decribed as a source of black magic and witch craft and those who choose to practice it are commiting a sin and will go to hell. It's also been said that there is is only 1 god and that one should not practice worshiping more then 1 god. The idea of Anmism is alive and well because there are a lot of people who believe in multiple gods not just and there is a hire being then just god and that people do come back to life other in different forms or objects. I think you should practice whatever makes you happy and brings self fulfillment.
Posted for Yoseline Castillo:
In animism, nature is alive around you with spirits, though not quite like gods. Rocks and trees have their own spirits. It's sort of thought that this was the first form of religion/belief. Is it alive today? I believe yes. Take away the technology, the language and the culture of the modern world, and imagine life in simpler settings and times. Make an attempt based on pure observation without modern perspectives to explain why things are as they are. Imagine yourself as a baby seeing fire for the first time. Then imagine what the Homo sapiens must have thought of when they first discovered it. Listen for that often obscure inner voice to tell you and be guided by your instinct, your physical skills, your reason and your imagination to find some way to survive on an unpredictable planet. By doing this you will come close to the experience of the first conscious humans in primitive cultures and also what is the foundational perception for almost all religions and societies to this day. Animism lies at the root level of much of human understanding of the universe.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3670017.stm
http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/a/animism.htm
According to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/animism, animism “The belief, common among so-called primitive people, that objects and natural phenomena, such as rivers, rocks, and wind, are alive and have feelings and intentions”
I do think the idea is still alive tell this day. Take a look at the American Indians that live on the reservations that still practices the old religion. When they speak of the earth they say mother earth or Great Spirit. Referring to the earth as mother or spirit, meaning they see the earth having assents that will help and guide throughout their lives.
Also the Wiccan religion preaches that the world and everything in the world (that is natural) has a spirit or an essences of some kind.
According to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/animism, animism “The belief, common among so-called primitive people, that objects and natural phenomena, such as rivers, rocks, and wind, are alive and have feelings and intentions”
I do think the idea is still alive tell this day. Take a look at the American Indians that live on the reservations that still practices the old religion. When they speak of the earth they say mother earth or Great Spirit. Referring to the earth as mother or spirit, meaning they see the earth having assents that will help and guide throughout their lives.
Also the Wiccan religion preaches that the world and everything in the world (that is natural) has a spirit or an essences of some kind.
According to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/animism, animism “The belief, common among so-called primitive people, that objects and natural phenomena, such as rivers, rocks, and wind, are alive and have feelings and intentions”
I do think the idea is still alive tell this day. Take a look at the American Indians that live on the reservations that still practices the old religion. When they speak of the earth they say mother earth or Great Spirit. Referring to the earth as mother or spirit, meaning they see the earth having assents that will help and guide throughout their lives.
Also the Wiccan religion preaches that the world and everything in the world (that is natural) has a spirit or an essences of some kind.
http://www.hedweb.com/bgcharlton/animism.html
http://www.marketfaith.org/resources/Animism.pdf
http://www.joyofsects.com/world/indians.shtml
Animism what is it? Is it something that still alive today? Animism has been well around me for some time now. It's somesthing that I grew up with during my childhood. But what is other cultures perception of animsm? many eastern philosphies believe in a energy called qi as the force in our bodies that gives us the energy to heal, and grow strong if practiced right. For the people in India yoga is the foundation for their spirituality.However there isn't many aminism found in the United States. Maybe due to the fact Western influenced society is more mterialistic that Eastern infuenced society. In this fast paced world we live in surrounded by media, sports politics, wall street, and government animisim is something hardly on people's mind when it comes to logic. The only animisim I found my self knowing in my own native american spirituality. believing that the every thing in nature has it's place in the spirit world down to the tiniest bug to the universe these subjects are expressed in spiritual and healing ceromonies. for me that is my animism
Animism has been a very popular topic in many other countries including ours. Many reality shows still promote the belief of ghosts, spirits that are not firmly connected to anything physical. Some believe they can communicate with the dead or a spirit. I would call this Divination; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divination
Divination (from Latin divinare "to foresee, to be inspired by a god"[2], related to divinus, divine) is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of a standardized process or ritual.[3] It is an integral part of witchcraft and has been used in various forms for thousands of years. Diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency, most often describe as an angel or a god though viewed by Christians, Jews and Muslims as a fallen angel or demon.[4] Divination can be seen as a systematic method with which to organize what appear to be disjointed, random facets of existence such that they provide insight into a problem at hand. If a distinction is to be made between divination and fortune-telling, divination has a formal or ritual and often social character, usually in a religious context, as seen in traditional African medicine; while fortune-telling is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and religion.
Divination is often dismissed by sceptics, including the scientific community, as being mere superstition: in the 2nd century, Lucian devoted a witty essay to the career of a charlatan, Alexander the false prophet, trained by "one of those who advertise enchantments, miraculous incantations, charms for your love-affairs, visitations for your enemies, disclosures of buried treasure, and successions to estates"[5], though most Romans believed in dreams and charms. It is considered a sin in most Christian denominations and Judaism.
Junuee Castro
PHI 101, 6pm
Blog #2>>> ANIMISM
Considering the grandiose task that humanity embarked couple centuries ago, questioning our universe- inside and out; as stated in our text, “the place of mind and spirit in a world of matter and energy is still among our basic problems.” (50) Some may trace it as a simple problem due to a possible concrete understanding of such topic. Others, however, have no intention whatsoever to even consider it. There are those who are still searching for more amongst themselves as Thales insisted to do so.
Within our high-tech, scientific developed world, conquering and exploring outside planets and atmospheres, it is difficult at times to maintain “upbeat” in this high pace society. Along with that, innovated ideas also take place in one’s beliefs where “new” religions, cults, practices loom. In the late 1960’s for example, the “New Age” era came along and today, more than 20 percent of Americans follow this spiritual practice. They believe in the “aspects of cosmology, astrology, esotericism, alternative medicine, music, psychology, and philosophy.” Animism derives from the Latin word anima (breath/soul) and defines every object as having a soul and as a living thing. An example of this belief can be found in this New Age movement when they consider crystals as a healing object. They may be used in meditation holding the crystal in one’s hands and submitting oneself to its “live” energy and power to amend the person’s physical or spiritual ailments. Another example is their way of relying on their future by how the stars, moon and planets align and revolve. We can see how astrology is a matter of life by which people depend on their tomorrow. Last, the belief that paper or carton, base component of tarot cards; have a tremendous impact on making decision and believing upon their personal affairs. How, in a way, these cards “speak” their concerns and “tell” you which direction to route. We have seen some examples of how animism is still alive today. Therefore, it is difficult to elude such practices which prevail even within our materialistic world.
-Robert Fawcett, Author
The Major Religions of the World ....Revisited
www.majoreligionsoftheworld.com
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