Animism as a self identifier is a relatively new phenomenon. New Animism Info was spawned by a felt need for a directory and digest of animist thought being shared on the internet. Animism is arguably best described by Graham Harvey in his book Animism: Respecting the Living World:
“Animism has meant two quite different things in academic discussions in a number of disciplines. It has been a label for an alleged mistake in which people confuse inanimate matter for living beings in some way. More recently it has become a label for a style of worldview that recongnises the personhood of many beings with whom humans share this world.” (pg 205)
Harvey identifies the previous understanding as “old animism” and the later as “new animism”. Today’s animists are not only emerging out of traditional indigenous communities, but those of colonial heritage who have begun to relate to the world as animists, questioning and rejecting many constructs of modernity. Harvey continues to explain,
” [. . . ]new animism asks questions firmly embedded in the longer history of European thought.. In pondering who is personal and how persons might act well towards one another, the new animim finds new ways to ask a question that concerned Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli, Protestant Christian Reformers and ancestors of modernity.” (pg 206)
New Animism Info was born out of noticing new animism related blogs, forums, and other websites emerging on the internet. These sites draw directly from personal experience in relating to the living world in a way that can be best described as animism (some are aware of the research by Graham Harvey, Irving Hallowell, Nurtit Bird-David, and others). Graham concludes the book with,
“We have never been separate, unique or alone and it is time to stop deluding ourselves. Human cultures re not surrounded by ‘nature’ or ‘resources’, but by ‘a world full of cacophonous agencies’, i.e. many other vociferous persons. We are at home and our relations are all around us. The liberatory ‘good life’ begins with the respectful acknowledgment of the presence of persons, human and other-than-human, who make up the community of life. It continues with yet more respect and relating.” (pg 212)
Here you will find links to animism related information, news feed excerpts of personal blogs sharing thoughts on relating to the living world, and even some discussion forums. New Animism Info is a laber of love.
