Sir Edward Tylor had initially wanted to describe the phenomenon as spiritualism, but realised that such would cause confusion with the modern religion of spiritualism, which was then prevalent across Western nations.

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Earlier anthropological perspectives, which have since been termed the old animism, were concerned with knowledge on what is alive and what factors

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Many anthropologists ceased using the term animism, deeming it to be too close to early anthropological theory and religious

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There is ongoing disagreement (and no general consensus) as to whether animism is merely a singular, broadly encompassing religious belief or a worldview in and of itself, comprising many diverse mythologies found worldwide in many diverse

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Science
In the early 20th century, William McDougalldefended a form of animism in his book Body and Mind: A History and Defence of Animism

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• Anecdotal cognitivism
• Animatism
• Ecotheology
• Hylozoism

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Non-human animals
Animism entails the belief that "all living things have a soul", and thus a central concern of animist

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