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 make something alive. The old animism

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Many anthropologists ceased using the term animism, deeming it to be too close to early anthropological theory and religious polemic. However, the term had also been claimed by religious groups—namely indigenous communities and nature worshipers

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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,

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Science
In the early 20th century, William McDougall defended a form of animism in his book Body and Mind: A History and Defence of Animism (1911).
Physicist Nick Herbert has argued for "quantum animism" in

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• Anecdotal cognitivism
• Animatism
• Anima mundi

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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 thought surrounds how animals can be eaten or otherwise used for humans' subsistence needs. The actions of non-human

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