View source for Anthropomorphism

[[Image:Down the Rabbit Hole.png|thumb|[[John Tenniel]]'s depiction of this anthropomorphic rabbit was featured in the first chapter of [[Lewis Carroll]]'s ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'']]

'''Anthropomorphism''' is the attribution of uniquely [[human]] characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, natural and supernatural phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. Subjects for anthropomorphism commonly include [[animal]]s and [[plant]]s depicted as creatures with human motivation able to reason and converse, forces of [[nature]] such as winds or the sun, components in [[game]]s, unseen or unknown sources of chance, etc. Almost anything can be subject to anthropomorphism. The term derives from a combination of the [[Greek language|Greek]] {{Polytonic|ἄνθρωπος}} (''ánthrōpos''), "human" and μορφή (''morphē''), "shape" or "form". 

Humans seem to have an innate capacity to project human characteristics in this way. Evidence from art and artifacts suggests it is a long-held propensity that can be dated back to earliest times. It is strongly associated with the art of [[storytelling]] where it also appears to have ancient roots. Most cultures possess a long-standing [[fable]] tradition with anthropomorphised animals as characters that can stand as commonly recognised [[Type (metaphysics)|types]] of human behaviour. The use of such literature to draw [[morality|moral]] conclusions can be highly complex.

Within these terms, humans have more recently been identified as having an equivalent opposite propensity to deny common traits with other species - most particularly apes - as part of a feeling that humans are unique and special.  This tendency has been referred to as '''Anthropodenial''' by primatologist [[Frans de Waal]].

==In religions and mythologies==
{{unreferenced-section|date=April 2008}}
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 [[deity|deities]] who express human characteristics such as [[jealousy]], [[hatred]], or [[love]] (cf. [[Yahweh]]). The [[family tree of the Greek gods|Greek gods]], such as [[Zeus]] and [[Apollo (god)|Apollo]], were often depicted in human form exhibiting both commendable and despicable human traits. Anthropomorphism in this case is sometimes referred to as [[Anthropotheism]].

==Anthropomorphites==
Numerous [[sect]]s throughout history have been called ''anthropomorphites'' attributing such things as hands and eyes to God, including a sect in [[Egypt]] in the [[4th century]], and a heretical, 10th-century sect, who literally interpreted [[Book of 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."<ref name="1728Cyclopedia">{{1728}} [http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/HistSciTech/HistSciTech-idx?type=turn&entity=HistSciTech000900240147&isize=L Anthropomorphite].</ref>

==Opposition to anthropomorphism==
Many religions and philosophies have condemned anthropomorphism for various reasons. Some [[Greek philosophy|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&ndash;347 [[Common Era|BC]]) [[Demiurge]] (craftsman) in the ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'' and [[Aristotle|Aristotle's]] (384&ndash;322 BC) [[Cosmological argument|prime mover]] in his ''[[Physics (Aristotle)|Physics]]'' are notable examples. The Greek philosopher [[Xenophanes]] (570&ndash;480 BC) 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 [[Middle Ages|Medieval]] Christian [[world view]] by the [[Scholasticism|Scholastics]], most notably [[Thomas Aquinas]]. Anthropomorphism of God is rejected by [[Judaism]] and [[Islam]], which both believe that God is beyond human limits of physical comprehension.  [[Judaism's]] opposition to anthropomorphism grew after the advent of Christianity, which claimed Jesus was a physical manifestation of God, until becoming codified in 13 principles of Jewish faith authored by [[Maimonides]] in the 12th Century. This debate often led to persecution of the Jewish people in Europe. 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 his book ''Faces in the Clouds: A New Theory of Religion'' (1993), [[Stewart Elliott Guthrie]] theorizes that all religions are anthropomorphisms that originate due to the brain's tendency to detect the presence or vestiges of other humans in natural phenomena.

On rare occasions the literary use of anthropomorphism has been opposed on non-religious or political grounds. [[Lewis Carroll|Lewis Carroll's]] novel ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' was [[list of banned books|banned]] in China's [[Hunan]] province in 1911 because "animals should not use human language" and it "put animals and human beings on the same level."<ref>Kenneth Specer Research Library, University of Kansas: http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/bannedbooks/variouscountries.html</ref> Later in the twentieth century [[George Orwell]]'s novella ''[[Animal Farm]]'' used anthropomorphism to satirize [[Communism]], as voiced by a pig in the famous passage "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". Also in "Wind in the Willows.

==In literature==
{{main|Personification}}

Anthropomorphism is a well-established [[literary device|device in literature]] from early times. 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. One poet who made high art of the literary device was the [[northern renaissance]] poet [[Robert Henryson]] in his ''[[Morall Fabillis]]'', where the blend of human and animal characteristics is especially subtle and [[ambiguous]]. The Indian books ''[[Panchatantra]]'' (The Five principles) and ''[[The Jataka tales]]'' employ anthropomorphized animals to illustrate various principles of life. 

[[Terry Pratchett]] uses the phrase ''anthropomorphic personification'' in his [[Discworld]] series, with his recurrent character of [[Death]] as the most popular example.  The [[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]] also appear as characters in [[Good Omens]], the book he co-authored with [[Neil Gaiman]]: [[War]] , [[Famine]], Pestilence (represented as Pollution), and [[Death]].  

Other examples include [[Winnie-the-pooh]], [[Beatrix Potter]], and Brian Jacques's [[Redwall]] series.

==See also==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
* [[Figure of speech]]
* [[Talking animal]]
* [[National personification]]
* [[Origins of language]]
* [[List of anthropomorphic personifications]]
* [[List of anthropomorphic animal superheroes]]
* [[Anthropopathy]]
* [[Metaphor]]
{{col-3}}
* [[Furry fandom]]
* [[Zoomorphism]]
* [[Pathetic fallacy]]
* [[Anthropocentrism]]
* [[The Twa Corbies]] 
* [[Louis Wain]]
* [[Animal cognition]]
* [[Cognitive ethology]]
{{col-3}}
* [[Android science]]
* [[Kemono]]
* [[Humanoid]]
* [[OS-tan]]
* [[Moé anthropomorphism]]
* [[Uncanny valley]]
* [[Rhetoric]]
* [[Description]]
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{citations missing|date=June 2008}}

== Futher reading ==
* Shipley, Orby. ed. ''A glossary of ecclesiastical terms''. 1872.

==External links==
{{wiktionary|Anthropomorphism|Anthropomorphism}}
*[http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/A/anthropomorphism.html Anthropomorphism at The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceflight]
{{commons|Category:Anthropomorphism}}

[[Category:Anthropomorphism|*]]
[[Category:Furry fandom]]
[[Category:Literary devices playing with meaning]]
[[Category:Descriptive technique]]

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