Animism: Or, Thought Currents of Primitive Peoples (Forgotten Books) - Softcover

Animism (from Latin anima, "soul") is the belief that souls inhabit all or most objects. Animism attributes personalized souls to animals, vegetables, and minerals wherein the material object is-to some degree-governed by the qualities which compose its particular soul. Animistic religions generally do not accept a sharp distinction between spirit and matter, and they generally assume that this unification of matter and spirit plays a role in daily life.

Animism may also be understood as the belief that "the world is a sacred place and humans belong in such a world". From this point of view, animism may be considered diametrically opposed to the viewpoint of most major religions. All of the long standing, "major" historical civilized religions describe the earth as either a place of inevitable suffering (Buddhist) or sin (Christian), and as something to escape or transcend. This is overly simplified but nevertheless highlights the difference from the view that the world is sacred and humans belong here.

More generally, animism is simply the belief in souls. In this general sense, animism is present in nearly all religions. (Quote from wikipedia.org)

About the Author

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564 - 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was