animatism

noun

animatism

noun

Etymology From animate + -ism. Originally coined by British anthropologist Robert Marett to refer to "a belief in a generalized, impersonal power over which people have some measure of control".

1

Anthropology, Human sciences, Sciences The belief that everything is pervaded by a life force giving each inanimate object a consciousness or personality, but not a soul as in animism.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.