Children's animistic beliefs toward a humanoid robot and other objects.

This study examined children's beliefs about a humanoid robot by examining their behavioral and verbal responses. We investigated whether 3- and 5-year-old children would treat the humanoid robot gently along with other objects and tools with and without a face and whether 3- and 5-year-olds would attribute moral, perceptual, and psychological properties to these targets. Although 3-year-olds did not treat objects gently or rudely, they were likely to affirm that hitting targets was acceptable despite targets having psychological and perceptual properties. Thus, 3-year-olds' perception of the targets was incongruent with their behavior toward them. Most 5-year-olds treated a robot gently and were likely to affirm the robot's psychological characteristics. Behaviors and perceptions of the robot differed between 3- and 5-year-olds. Thus, children may start believing that robots are not alive at age five, and they can distinguish them from other objects even when the latter have faces. Developmental changes in children's animistic beliefs are also discussed.

Animism and science in European perspective.

The European tradition makes a sharp distinction between animism and science. On the basis of this distinction, either animism is reproved for failing to reach the heights of science, or science is reproved for failing to reach the heights of animism. In this essay, I draw on work in the history and philosophy and science, combined with a method from the sociology of scientific knowledge, to question the sharpness of this distinction. Along the way, I also take guidance from the research of North American Indigenous scholars. As it turns out, there is a rich, if largely overlooked, tradition of Aristotelian animism running through the history of modern European science, and this tradition sometimes resonates with Indigenous perspectives. By challenging the entrenched distinction between animism and science, I aim to help reconcile ongoing tensions between Indigenous and European scientific groups, and so strengthen prospects for their mutually beneficial cooperation.

Naming psychiatry: apropos earliest use of the term by Karl Friedrich Burdach (1800).

The term psychiatry (Psychiatrie) was first used in 1800, in the early work of Leipzig Romantic natural philosopher and later neuroanatomist Karl Friedrich Burdach; it was a recherché reference to medical animism. This little-known instance of neologism by a young ambitious author invites a brief lexicological study of psychiatry as a specialty in search of its place among the medical specialties, methods and applications. The European historical lexicology of psychiatry recalls the philosophical commentary tradition on Aristotle's De Anima, eventually (c. 1525) honoured with the mononym psychologia. The battle for the soul's science was superseded by the increasingly diverse theoretical, empirical, forensic and literary-humanitarian interests in mental medicine during the second half of the eighteenth century.

"o animista é sempre o outro": o encantamento dos objetos e a experiência analítica / "the animist is always the other": the enchantment of objects and the analytical experience

RESUMO: O objetivo do artigo é revisitar a noção de animismo em psicanálise a partir das provocações do perspectivismo ameríndio. Trata-se de abrir espaço para conceber formas de alteridade não apenas ancoradas no totemismo e na divisão moderna entre natureza e cultura. As considerações de Winnicott sobre o self e os objetos servirão de ponto de apoio para reverberar na teoria e na clínica psicanalíticas as torções em nossas próprias bases sustentadas no animismo e no totemismo. Espera-se interpolar a ancoragem psicanalítica no pensamento moderno colonialista e, pelo encantamento dos objetos, entrever algo que escapa ao nosso próprio espelho - afinal, o animista nem sempre é o outro.

ABSTRACT: This article aimed to revisit the concept of animism in psychoanalysis through the provocations of Amerindian perspectivism. This involves creating space to conceive forms of alterity not solely anchored in totemism and the modern division between nature and culture. Winnicott's considerations on the self and objects serve as a fulcrum to resonate within psychoanalytic theory and practice the twists in our own foundations rooted in animism and totemism. The intention is to interpose the psychoanalytic anchoring in modern colonialist thought and, through the enchantment of objects, glimpse something that eludes our own reflection. After all, the animist is not always the other.

Traditional Khmer Medicine and its role in wildlife use in modern-day Cambodia.

Individuals across Cambodia depend on the use of natural products in Traditional Khmer Medicine (TKM), a traditional medicine system in Cambodia that has been practiced for hundreds of years. Cambodia is rich in fauna and flora species, many of which have been, and continue to be, traded domestically for traditional medicine use. Combined with other known exploitative practices, such as snaring for wild meat consumption and international trade in wildlife, domestic trade in wildlife medicine threatens populations of regional conservation importance. Here, we provide an updated understanding about how TKM is practiced in modern times; how TKM practices are transmitted and adapted; and roles of wildlife part remedies in TKM historically and presently. We conducted semi-structured interviews with TKM practitioners in Stung Treng, Mondulkiri Province, and at the National Center for Traditional Medicine in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. TKM is generally practiced in the private sector and is mostly informal, without enrollment in any academic training. TKM practitioner roles commonly involve collecting, preparing, selling, and advising on medicine, rather than providing direct treatment. Over half of the interviewed TKM practitioners (57.6%) were still prescribing wildlife parts as medicine over the past 5 years, with 28 species of wild animals reported. Lorises and porcupine were the wildlife products cited as being in highest demand in TKM, primarily prescribed for women's illnesses such as post-partum fatigue (Toas and Sawsaye kchey). However, the supply of wildlife products sourced from the wild was reported to have dropped in the 5 years prior to the survey, which represents an opportunity to reduce prescription of threatened wildlife. We suggest that our results be used to inform tailored demand reduction interventions designed to encourage greater reliance on biomedicine and non-threatened plants, particularly in rural areas where use of biomedicine may still be limited.

Different models of anthropomorphism across cultures and ontological limits in current frameworks the integrative framework of anthropomorphism.

Anthropomorphism describes the tendency to ascribe human characteristics to nonhuman agents. Due to the increased interest in social robotics, anthropomorphism has become a core concept of human-robot interaction (HRI) studies. However, the wide use of this concept resulted in an interchangeability of its definition. In the present study, we propose an integrative framework of anthropomorphism (IFA) encompassing three levels: cultural, individual general tendencies, and direct attributions of human-like characteristics to robots. We also acknowledge the Western bias of the state-of-the-art view of anthropomorphism and develop a cross-cultural approach. In two studies, participants from various cultures completed tasks and questionnaires assessing their animism beliefs, individual tendencies to endow robots with mental properties, spirit, and consider them as more or less human. We also evaluated their attributions of mental anthropomorphic characteristics towards robots (i.e., cognition, emotion, intention). Our results demonstrate, in both experiments, that a three-level model (as hypothesized in the IFA) reliably explains the collected data. We found an overall influence of animism (cultural level) on the two lower levels, and an influence of the individual tendencies to mentalize, spiritualize and humanize (individual level) on the attribution of cognition, emotion and intention. In addition, in Experiment 2, the analyses show a more anthropocentric view of the mind for Western than East-Asian participants. As such, Western perception of robots depends more on humanization while East-Asian on mentalization. We further discuss these results in relation to the anthropomorphism literature and argue for the use of integrative cross-cultural model in HRI research.

Spirituality and Well-Being: Theory, Science, and the Nature Connection.

The links between spirituality and eudaimonic well-being are examined, beginning with a look at theoretical issues as to whether spirituality is best construed as part of well-being, or as a possible influence on well-being. A brief review of scientific findings from the MIDUS study linking religion and spirituality to well-being and other outcomes is then provided to show recent empirical work on these topics. Suggestions for future work are also provided. The third section is forward-thinking and addresses the power of nature to nurture spirituality and well-being, beginning with a look at how current research has linked nature to human flourishing. Issues of spirituality are rarely mentioned in this literature, despite evidence that nature has long been a source of inspiration in poetry, literature, art, and music. These works reveal that the natural world speaks to the human soul. To explore such ideas, parts of Jungian psychology are revisited: the soul's longing for poetry, myth, and metaphor; the importance of animism, which sees nature as a field inhabited by spirit; and the devaluing of ancient cultures. The final section considers the wisdom of the indigenous peoples who saw spirit in everything. Their inputs, exemplified with "Two-Eyed Seeing", offer new visions for thinking about the interplay of spirituality, well-being, and the natural world.

Re/turning to soil: becoming one-bodied with the Earth.

This paper curates four experiential narratives and poetry by the five co-authors that illustrate epistemic and ontic shift from the Modern Western (ModWest) mindset to a holistic, embodied and animistic mindset. Coming from different cultural backgrounds, yet having been systemically influenced by the dominant ModWest views and values, each author has initiated an ongoing shift in consciousness, demonstrating how such transformations are possible. Affirming that a shift in consciousness is not simply a matter of cognitive change but is a thoroughly holistic process, the authors write in autobiographical narratives and poetry to capture and convey embodied and emplaced, experiential understanding and feelings, or 'felt sense.' Deep changes in the consciousness, such as these epistemic shifts, take the whole ensemble of "body + mind + heart + soul + spirit + the world" as the unit of change for learning. Through these writings, they sensuously and feelingly, existentially-and-spiritually and discursively explore possibilities of becoming one-bodied with the animate Earth. They call this the re-bonding project through which they address humanity's first-order bonding rupture between Humans and the Earth community.

Bajo la influencia del budismo y el animismo: cuerpo, enfermedad, medicina y cuidados en el cine de Apichatpong Weerasethakul (los ejemplos de Syndromes and a Century, 2006 y Cemetery of Splendour, 2015) / Under the influence of Buddhism and animism: body, disease, medicine and care in the cinema of Apichatpong Weerasethakul (the examples of Syndromes and a Century, 2006 and Cemetery of Splendour, 2015)

El modelo biomédico occidental ha sido ampliamente retratado en el cine y las series televisivas. El artículo busca poner ejemplos de modelos terapéuticos alternativos al biomédico que aún tienen mucha presencia en culturas no occidentales, combinándose a menudo con el modelo biomédico y que no han sido tan reflejados en el cine. Ponemos ejemplos de dos películas del director tailandés Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Syndromes and a Century (Sang Sattawat, 2006) y Cemetery of Splendor (Rak Ti Khon Kaen, 2015). Estas películas nos muestran cómo en la región tailandesa de Isan se combina el modelo biomédico, de origen occidental pero ya plenamente asentado en el país, con técnicas meditativas y prácticas mágicas influidas por el budismo theravada y el animismo de origen laosiano practicados en la región. (AU)

The Western biomedical model has been widely portrayed in film and television series. The article seeks to give examples of alternative therapeutic models to biomedical that still have a strong presence in non-western cultures, often combining with the biomedical model and that have not been so reflected in the cinema. We give examples of two films by the Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Syndromes and a Century (Sang Sattawat, 2006) and Cemetery of Splendour (Rak Ti Khon Kaen, 2015). These films show us how in the Thai region of Isan the biomedical model of Western origin but already fully established in the country is combined with meditative techniques and magical practices influenced by Theravada Buddhism and animism of Laotian origin practiced in the region. (AU)

Animism and natural teleology from Avicenna to Boyle.

Historians have claimed that the two closely related concepts of animism and natural teleology were both decisively rejected in the Scientific Revolution. They tout Robert Boyle as an early modern warden against pre-modern animism. Discussing Avicenna, Aquinas, and Buridan, as well as Renaissance psychology, I instead suggest that teleology went through a slow and uneven process of rationalization. As Neoplatonic theology gained influence over Aristotelian natural philosophy, the meaning of animism likewise grew obscure. Boyle, as some historians have shown, exemplifies this uneven process. There is an unresolved tension between his religious convictions and the implicit animism of his empirical practice.

Water spirits within the fishers' worldview: implications for fishing management in Northeast Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Historically, aquatic environments are linked to the worldview of many local people, where there is an interconnection between the natural world, the supernatural, and the social organization. In this study, we provided a discussion on how the supernatural beings that inhabit the freshwater systems interact with artisanal fishers and fishing resources in the riverine community of Parnaíba River middle course, in Mid North of Northeast Brazil. We also provided the implications of these interactions on the fisher's behaviors and how the acculturation process (e.g., introduction of new religions) can affect the fishers' worldview. METHOD: The selection of participants was done through intentional sampling. The content qualitative analysis was carried out to interpret the data from semi-structured interviews with 29 artisanal fishers. RESULTS: The mythical representations that inhabit the aquatic environments in the surveyed area were as follows: Mãe d' água, Cabeça de cuia, Muleque d'água, Visage, Piratinga, Sucuiuiu, and Luz e Arco-íris. These beings have distinctions regarding the form and attributions and can be associated with seasonality (temporal markers) and specific habitats (spatial markers). The respect and fear feeling of the mythical beings were striking among the fishers interviewed. For instance, we have record offering practices in order to obtain protection and success during the fisheries. These practices suggest that there may be local conservationist habits in fisheries management. However, the advancement of urbanization and the introduction of new religions that deny the existence of mythical entities are factors that can generate the acculturation process among the fishers. CONCLUSIONS: It is therefore necessary to carry out more studies in the surveyed area in order to evaluate the existence of possible patterns in the relationship between fisher and mythical beings. This information could confirm the role of mythical beings as environmental regulators. Consequently, it could be considered in the conservationist policies of fishery resources, reinforcing the importance of local knowledge and cultural factors for fishing management approaches.

Embracing diverse worldviews to share planet Earth.

Leading societies toward a more sustainable, equitably shared, and environmentally just future requires elevating and strengthening conversations on the nonmaterial and perhaps unquantifiable values of nonhuman nature to humanity. Debates among conservationists relating to the appropriateness of valuing ecosystems in terms of their human utility have eclipsed the more important and impactful task of expressing conservation concerns in terms that are meaningful to diverse stakeholders. We considered the wide global diversity of perspectives on the biosocial complex-the relationships and interactions between all living species on Earth-and argue that humanity's best chance for effective conservation is to take a pluralistic approach that engages seriously with the worldviews of all stakeholders. Many worldviews-particularly those in indigenous cultures-place a higher value on the spiritual and nonmaterial aspects than what is often represented by the discourse surrounding Western conservation policy. Alternative framings of the biosocial complex that recognize nature's intrinsic value can be powerful motivators for social change and for local-scale conservation efforts. At a national and international level, changing ethical framings of human relationships with nature have started influencing conceptions of human rights relating to the environment and of the rights of nature itself. This change has led to an increased role of the judiciary in promoting environmental sustainability and promoting justice for groups who are most often affected by environmental harms. We hope our essay will motivate the scientific community to change its own perception of what a sound and sustainable relationship between humanity and other species should be and will help citizens become active environmental subjects, connected to the ecosystems around them.

Adopción de Diferentes Cosmovisiones para Compartir el Planeta Tierra Resumen Para poder llevar a las sociedades hacia un futuro sustentable, compartido equitativa y ambientalmente justo se requiere elevar y fortalecer las conversaciones sobre los valores no materiales y probablemente imposibles de cuantificar que la naturaleza no humana tiene para la humanidad. Los debates entre los conservacionistas en relación con lo apropiado que es valorar los ecosistemas en términos de utilidad para los humanos han eclipsado la labor más importante e impactante de expresar los asuntos de conservación en términos que son significativos para diferentes accionistas. Consideramos la amplia diversidad mundial de perspectivas que existen sobre el complejo biosocial - las relaciones e interacciones entre todas las especies vivientes en la Tierra - y argumentamos que la mejor oportunidad que tiene la humanidad para lograr una conservación efectiva es realizar una estrategia pluralística que se comprometa seriamente con las cosmovisiones de todos los accionistas. Muchas cosmovisiones - particularmente aquellas de las culturas indígenas - les otorgan un valor más alto a los aspectos espirituales y no materiales que lo que se suele representar en el discurso que rodea la política de conservación occidental. Los marcos alternativos del complejo biosocial que reconocen el valor intrínseco de la naturaleza pueden ser motivadores poderosos para el cambio social y para los esfuerzos de conservación a escala local. A nivel nacional e internacional, el cambio de los marcos éticos de las relaciones humanas con la naturaleza ha comenzado a influenciar las concepciones de los derechos humanos en relación con el ambiente y los derechos de la naturaleza misma. Este cambio ha resultado en un papel mucho mayor del poder judicial en la promoción de la sustentabilidad ambiental y de la justicia para grupos a los que con frecuencia les afectan los daños ambientales. Esperamos que nuestro ensayo motive a la comunidad científica a cambiar su propia percepción de lo que debe ser una relación sana y sustentable entre la humanidad y otras especies y que ayude a los ciudadanos a volverse sujetos ambientales más activos y conectados con el ecosistema.

Anthropomorphism in Human-Animal Interactions: A Pragmatist View.

This paper explores anthropomorphism in human-animal interactions from the theoretical perspectives of pragmatism and anthropology of human-animal communication. Its aim is to challenge the conception of anthropomorphism as the attribution/inference of human properties to a non-human animal - particularly as a special case of the theory of mind. The author's goal is to articulate a plausible an alternative conception of anthropomorphism as a situated direct perception of human properties by someone who is engaged in a given situation and sensitive to what the animal is doing to them. Rooted in pragmatist theory as well as in contemporary anthropological studies, this paper offers an original perspective for in depth ethnographic and empirical studies of anthropomorphism-in-situation. Such studies could bring new insights in the study of how ordinary people make sense of animal behaviors in real-life situations.

Grounding principles for inferring agency: Two cultural perspectives.

The present research investigates cultural variation in grounding principles for inferring agency in order to address an important theoretical debate: does cultural diversity in agency concepts reflect an animistic overextension of (universal) folkpsychology, as many have argued, or an alternative theory of folkcommunication based on relational principles? In two experiments, mind perception measures were adapted to assess beliefs concerning the agency of non-animal kinds (plants, abiotic kinds, complex artifacts) among Indigenous Ngöbe adults in Panama and US college students. Agency attributions varied systematically, with Ngöbe ascribing greater agency to non-animal natural kinds and US college participants ascribing greater agency to complex artifacts. Analysis of explanations revealed divergent interpretations of agency as a prototypically human capacity requiring consciousness (US), versus a relational capacity expressed in directed interactions (Ngöbe). Converging measures further illuminated the inferential principles underlying these agency attributions. (1) An experimental relational framing of agency probes facilitated Ngöbe but not US agency attributions. (2) Further analysis showed that three key dimensions of agency attribution (experience, cognition, animacy) are organized differently across cultures. (3) A Bayesian approach to cultural consensus modeling confirmed the presence of two distinct consensus models rather than variations on a single (universal) model. Together, these results indicate that conceptual frameworks for agency differ across US college and Ngöbe communities. We conclude that Ngöbe concepts of agency derive from a distinct theory of folkcommunication based on an ecocentric prototype rather than overextensions of an anthropocentric folkpsychology. These observations suggest that folkpsychology and mind perception represent culture specific frameworks for agency, with significant implications for domain-specificity theory and our understanding of cognitive diversity.

Semantic Differential Scale Method Can Reveal Multi-Dimensional Aspects of Mind Perception.

As humans, we tend to perceive minds in both living and non-living entities, such as robots. From a questionnaire developed in a previous mind perception study, authors found that perceived minds could be located on two dimensions "experience" and "agency." This questionnaire allowed the assessment of how we perceive minds of various entities from a multi-dimensional point of view. In this questionnaire, subjects had to evaluate explicit mental capacities of target characters (e.g., capacity to feel hunger). However, we sometimes perceive minds in non-living entities, even though we cannot attribute these evidently biological capacities to the entity. In this study, we performed a large-scale web survey to assess mind perception by using the semantic differential scale method. We revealed that two mind dimensions "emotion" and "intelligence," respectively, corresponded to the two mind dimensions (experience and agency) proposed in a previous mind perception study. We did this without having to ask about specific mental capacities. We believe that the semantic differential scale is a useful method to assess the dimensions of mind perception especially for non-living entities that are hard to be attributed to biological capacities.

Arte da era glacial – arte das cavernas – e o primeiro totem da humanidade (ou, não é que Totem e tabu pode estar certo?) / Ice age art – cave art – and humanity’s first totem (or, isn’t it that Totem and taboo could be right?)

O homem leão, uma escultura totêmica datada de 40.000 anos atrás, até o momento objeto artístico mais antigo da humanidade. A revolução do paleolítico superior, era em que, de acordo com os arqueólogos especialistas, nasceram: linguagem falada, música, arte, religião e uma sociedade maior e mais complexa. De acordo com esses especialistas, não influenciados pela psicanálise, o surgimento da metáfora teria sido o portador dessa revolução. Utilizando conceitos psicanalíticos pode-se ver o início do inconsciente dinâmico, recalque e angústia. A arte das cavernas como a forma de aplacar a percepção da morte pela religião. Assim levando aos estudos mais recentes sobre totemismo e xamanismo. Especialistas em arte das cavernas interpretam as criaturas meio animais como seres metamórficos, mediadores entre este mundo e o outro. No referencial psicanalítico, podem ser interpretados como operadores da transformação do animismo e sua psicose latente num totemismo mais estável e na neurose. (AU)

The lion man, a totemic sculpture, dating about 40.000 years ago, up to now humanity’s oldest artistic artefact. The Upper Paleolithic Revolution, according to archaeology specialists, age when were born: spoken language, music, art, religion and a larger and more complex society. According to these specialists, uninfluenced by psychoanalysis, the appearance of metaphor was this revolution’s bearer. Using psychoanalytic concepts one can see the beginning of dynamic unconscious, repression and anxiety. Cave art as way of appeasing death’s awareness through religion. Conducting thus to the more recente studies about totemism and shamanism. Cave art specialists interpret half animal metamorphic beings as mediators between this and the otherworld. Through a pscyhoanalytic reading, also working to con vert animism and it’s enclosing psychosis, into more stable totemism and neuroses

Animating Brains.

A recent paper famously accused the rising field of social neuroscience of using faulty statistics under the catchy title 'Voodoo Correlations in Social Neuroscience'. This Special Issue invites us to take this claim as the starting point for a cross-cultural analysis: in which meaningful ways can recent research in the burgeoning field of functional imaging be described as, contrasted with, or simply compared to animistic practices? And what light does such a reading shed on the dynamics and effectiveness of a century of brain research into higher mental functions? Reviewing the heated debate from 2009 around recent trends in neuroimaging as a possible candidate for current instances of 'soul catching', the paper will then compare these forms of primarily image-based brain research with older regimes, revolving around the deciphering of the brain's electrical activity. How has the move from a decoding paradigm to a representational regime affected the conceptualisation of self, psyche, mind and soul (if there still is such an entity)? And in what ways does modern technoscience provide new tools for animating brains?

Hunter-Gatherers and the Origins of Religion.

Recent studies of the evolution of religion have revealed the cognitive underpinnings of belief in supernatural agents, the role of ritual in promoting cooperation, and the contribution of morally punishing high gods to the growth and stabilization of human society. The universality of religion across human society points to a deep evolutionary past. However, specific traits of nascent religiosity, and the sequence in which they emerged, have remained unknown. Here we reconstruct the evolution of religious beliefs and behaviors in early modern humans using a global sample of hunter-gatherers and seven traits describing hunter-gatherer religiosity: animism, belief in an afterlife, shamanism, ancestor worship, high gods, and worship of ancestors or high gods who are active in human affairs. We reconstruct ancestral character states using a time-calibrated supertree based on published phylogenetic trees and linguistic classification and then test for correlated evolution between the characters and for the direction of cultural change. Results indicate that the oldest trait of religion, present in the most recent common ancestor of present-day hunter-gatherers, was animism, in agreement with long-standing beliefs about the fundamental role of this trait. Belief in an afterlife emerged, followed by shamanism and ancestor worship. Ancestor spirits or high gods who are active in human affairs were absent in early humans, suggesting a deep history for the egalitarian nature of hunter-gatherer societies. There is a significant positive relationship between most characters investigated, but the trait "high gods" stands apart, suggesting that belief in a single creator deity can emerge in a society regardless of other aspects of its religion.

Miku's mask: Fictional encounters in children's costume play.

Children's engagement with Japanese toys and fictional characters has taken on new significance in the age of YouTube. Drawing on ethnographic research on technology-mediated play among 8- and 9-year-olds in Norway, this article shows how boundaries between "real" humans and "fake" non-humans are blurred and undermined when children take on the perspective of a fictional pop star known as Miku. I argue that YouTube provides a platform for children's playful experimentation with posthuman subjectivities, where they orient themselves toward the future not in terms of becoming adult but in terms of multiple becomings.

The 'Preliminary Discourse' to Methodical Nosology, by François Boissier de Sauvages (1772).

The eighteenth century witnessed an intense drive to classify diseases as natural kinds. Together with Linné, Macbride, Cullen, Sagar and Vogel, François Boissier de Sauvages, Professor of Medicine at Montpellier, was an important player in this process. In his monumental Nosologie Méthodique, Sauvages based his nosological system on the more botanico view proposed by Thomas Sydenham, namely, that human diseases (including mental ailments) should be classified in the same way as were plants. Classic Text No. 104 is an abridged translation of the Preliminary Discourse to the Nosologie Méthodique.