Anthropomorphism: what it is and how it influences us

Anthropomorphism consists of giving human characteristics or traits to objects, animals or plants, to entities that are not human.

The purpose of this projection is to give peace of mind and security, the unknown or different can create insecurity or fear. Likewise, human features capture our attention more, perceiving them closer. We see the application of anthropomorphism in different areas such as in animals; in religion, to describe the gods; in the representation of aliens; in the construction of robots or in the explanation of meteorological phenomena.

In this article we will talk about anthropomorphism and we will see what its relationship with anthropocentrism is, what it produces in people and what its functionality is.

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What is anthropomorphism?

Anthropomorphism is grant human qualities to animals, plants, objects... That is, describe with characteristics of people to living beings or objects that are not. This humanization of the environment that surrounds us is done with the intention of providing us with peace of mind when describing and presenting something as known, similar to us, since otherwise what we cannot explain or do not know generates discomfort and concern.

This projection of human traits is common during childhood, decreasing with age, although as we have pointed out it can also be present in adulthood. So we see how anthropomorphism is typical among humans, that is, we show this tendency to humanize our environment. For example, we give animals feelings or actions typical of people or even give life to objects that really don't have it.

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Relationship between anthropomorphic and anthropocentric

Both terms, both anthropomorphic and anthropocentric, refer to man, since they carry the prefix "anthropo". Although the total meaning of the concepts is different, anthropomorphic means "form of man" and anthropocentric "the center is man", the two terms are related, since in both cases we see a tendency to give greater importance to man and to place the human being as a central being.

It is common for human beings to consider ourselves the most superior beings or at least act as such.. For this reason, and since we perceive the world from our experience as people, it is easy for us to value or describe our environment with the characteristics of our species.

As we have said, this action gives us peace of mind and provides us with greater security, we do not understand life without these characteristics that belong, so it is common that when we must describe, for example, animals, we use expressions such as "is happy" or "smiles", it is even It is common to see cartoons for children that show animals with human physical features such as fingers or human abilities such as being able to speak.

The two concepts give priority and conceive and understand the world from the vision of man, putting human beings at the center. This conception also reminds us of the geocentric view of the solar system when we believed that all the planets, including the sun, revolved around the earth, thus reinforcing their belief in the superiority and importance of people, although we currently know that this mode of solar system is not Right.

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What produces the anthropomorphic conception?

Giving human traits to our environment is something we do unconsciously, being difficult to control, since the human being does not understand the world without himself. Therefore, being used to using certain expressions or behaviors, it is easy for us to refer in the same way using the same terms for everything around us. This fact creates in us a cognitive distortion, a way of understanding or seeing the world around us different from reality.

As we have already said, doing so gives us this security and peace of mind, since it allows us to explain things or make sense of events that would otherwise be difficult for us. understand, and if there is something that human beings cannot stand, it is not knowing the reason for things or the lack of explanation or information about a done. This anthropomorphism is applied in many areas; For example, we tend to treat our pets or animals as if they were human, we give them own characteristics and we act with them as if they were another person, we can even reach talk to them

Likewise, anthropomorphism has also been used in the natural environment. For example, when talking about the sea we can say that it is calm or furious. In the same way, we use the description of humans to explain events that we do not understand or lack information on. We see how the representation of a superior being, of a god, is made using characteristics that belong to us, both physical and psychological. In the Christian religion it is common to represent God as a man, describing him as someone good, who takes care of us, who protects us and watches over us, referring to him as a father.

In the absence of knowledge or information, such as beliefs in gods, we see how Nature has always been represented with human features, thus observing the tendency to explain something that we do not know or cannot know 100%. The same thing happened when our ancestors tried to explain events that escaped their understanding, such as the rain or the air, explanations of human behavior were given, such as the crying of the gods or the gods who are blowing.

Although we currently know the reason for its appearance, and, therefore, it is not so common to use the anthropomorphism, these explanations such as those of the storm or the wind are still used in occasions to explain phenomena to children when they cannot understand more complex explanations.

Another example of anthropomorphism can be seen in the construction of robots. Currently, with the development of technology we have been able to create machines, using characteristics characteristic of human beings both physically and psychologically, we intend to achieve the maximum similarity between both of them.

We also see the use of anthropomorphism to represent the unknown when making descriptions of aliens.. These beings that live outside the earth can have any form and act in any way, but when we represent them in movies or images we perceive the tendency to use human features such as two legs, two arms, eyes, head and even give them the ability to speak or emotions, as we saw in the E.T. the alien. It is difficult to imagine beings that are not similar to us, and doing so can cause us fear.

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How does anthropomorphism affect us?

As we have already seen, anthropomorphism can generate a distortion of reality, that is, perceive the world around us in a less objective way. If we are aware of it, it does not have to be valued as something bad. In other words, anthropomorphism does not imply an alteration or affect the functionality of the person, but it can be useful to know this effect and that we show this tendency so that be more aware of reality and that not everything is so similar to us, that not everything revolves around the human being, that there are distinctive characteristics just as valid as ours.

Sometimes, when the intention is to be objective, to really know the world, we must avoid this conception. For example, when studying and getting to know animals we must try not to give them human traits and be aware of their animal nature. that makes them unique and different from us, define them without using human words, this is the best way to be more faithful to the reality.

Despite not being a recommended behavior for knowledge of the real world, it has been useful on some occasions, since after all it is not bad for humans. Treating pets like humans (or rather giving them human traits) can help people who feel alone to feel more accompanied.

Let's not get confused, we do not want to say that the relationship with animals is a substitute for the relationship with other people, since these are not equivalent, but it can help reduce the need for social relationships that we humans tend to show given our status as human beings. sociable

Similarly, the resource of anthropomorphism in paintings, literature or audiovisuals is also frequently used, and can give greater richness to these works of art; allows you to connect better with people, draw their attention, because as we have seen, in the end, the traits Humans are the ones that capture our attention the most, helping us to feel closer to the artistic work, animal or being higher.