Blah Blah Blah

"Anthropomorphism..." my professor drolls on, as she stands in front of the projector at the base of the lecture room. I'm sitting a few rows up; half listening/half daydreaming. From time to time I write down a reference page to study or refer back to.

"...is essentially the attribution of human traits and qualities to anything non-human. This is often manifested in ideologies, religious deities, and circumstances."

She begins to give examples from different cultures past and present. I'm half interested. But mostly my mind is wandering to all the things I'd rather be doing at this particular moment. This class is taking forever. I look at the clock; only 3 minutes have gone by since I last glanced at it -- but it felt like 30.

Sigh.

"As humans, we have a tendency to understand our world by projecting things that naturally occur within us and applying that mold, essentially, to that which we don't understand. By doing so it limits our ability to stay 'open minded' if you will. Applying a cookie cutter "human" mold to everything that is beyond our mental grasp; offers us a slanted insight. Similar to a two year old believing that the sun and moon rise and sets with them; so is the same logic applied to more abstract concepts and perceptions. To apply humanism to anything that is essentially, non-human, is ego centric; categorical, and short-sighted. But, it is a well embedded system of classification that we use cross-culturally as seen here in the paintings on the Sistine chapel,"

Boring, boring. Blah. Blah. Blah.

I like this professor. She's young. Fun. And she smiles like the true geek that she is when she gets excited about something. I think this morning she believes she's giving us some grandiose "aha!" ~ but it doesn't take an idiot to figure out what she is talking about.

"Cross-culturally we can see the repeated norm of classification using Anthropomorphism. Applying human emotions to events, tragedies, weather, and other circumstances is a classic example of this. For instance, this tribe in Kenya believes that the droughts are caused by the emotion of anger, as associated with their particular gods. God being angry can be seen in all cultures; both primitive and advanced. It is a natural truism of the human condition regardless of race, religion, or culture. To be human means to apply human traits to that which we have trouble understanding. Cultural byproducts and traditions, practices, and mores, often are the extension of anthropomorphic beliefs. Children dying of disease is God abandoning them. The emotion that is associated to the circumstance is human. The idea of abandonment, extends from the human understanding of loss, guilt, and tragedy. Storms that wipe out villages are often interpreted as anger and rage; oftentimes extending from their particular deity. Negative interpretations are embedded in human emotions. This is a universal characteristic of the human classification system and psyche."

She begins to show images of various tribes doing ceremonies, dances, and other rituals to combat the emotions perceived by their particular Gods as a way of explaining circumstances that they don't understand. I'm paying more attention because I actually think this is intriguing, but I still watch the clock, and it still creeps along.

"Anthropomorphic interpretation can be used with positive emotions as well; monarchies were built with the belief that the Gods were 'blessing' particular genealogies. In doing so, the emotions of favour and happiness that extend from acceptance were applied. We do this every day with the concept of luck. To be lucky, is often an extension of happiness and contentment from the universe or God. Social entitlement is also a good example of anthropomorphic interpretation; elitism, favour, and specialness are often terms used to exemplify this. A good example of this is what is happening in the middle east with the "holy land" for example. The idea and interpretation that God favours one particular group over another is often the leading catalyst to war, genocide, and other social detriments."

My professor moves on to animism and begins giving mystic examples from various Native American and African cultures. But I ponder a bit longer on the concept of anthropomorphism; and I wonder if other people -- particularly those that start wars; are aware of their limited belief system that is embedded in our human psychological make up?

Nirvana Dumb
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