Panorama of the World: Humanization in daily life and religion

Monday, November 12, 2018

Humanization in daily life and religion

Humanization is the giving of human qualities to inanimate objects, animals, forces of nature, and so on. In Greek the concept is called Anthropomorphism, a word that means 'human form'.

In the language of speech and writing, humanization is a kind of common metaphor, designed to create an emotional impression. Examples are: the bosom of the earth, the howl of the wind. It is one of the most characteristic traits of humankind.

In everyday life, thinking about important objects is common as having human qualities. Advances in artificial intelligence can make humanization an even more significant phenomenon. Artificial intelligence greatly increases the humanization threshold of computers. Advanced computers can display specific human behaviors, such as learning from error or expecting to receive certain information. Of course there are also robots that mimic the movements and shape of people. At the same time, many devices are already operating according to instructions in speech.

Humanization of animals has been accepted since the dawn of mankind. There are alternative books and teachings dealing with the comparison between human traits and animal traits. The theme is common in children's books. Examples include: Isofus Proverbs, Animal Farm, Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, Wind in the Willows, and so on.

Walt Disney took the theme of comic anthropomorphism and brought it to the center of culture. A central part of the children's time is devoted to watching cartoons, in which animalism is very common. Characters from Mickey Mouse, Kermit the Frog, Bugs Bunny, etc., are for the children a significant imitation heroes.

The pantheon of gods in Greek mythology is entirely of humanized figures: Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Poseidon, Eros, Venus, Mars, and others. Mythology stories are mostly the story of the gods' plots among humans. Below the gods there is a level of demi-gods, which is the result of a pairing between the gods and ordinary human beings, who became human beings with divine attributes, such as Perseus, Hercules, and Psyche.

In the Hindu religion there are many deities, each of which has specific and distinct human characteristics.

The monotheistic religious faith generally considers it wrong to describe the God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as human. God is abstract in form and properties. However, it is very difficult for the average person to describe God without an anthropomorphic framework. It should also be noted that the biblical creation story describes God creating man in His image.

Modern geographers are aware that religion can be a starting point for building an ethnic and national identity, and religious ideology and practice have a great influence on location. Immigration processes have also created landscape changes, as there are many immigrant communities defined by religion.

Public places not defined by religion in the recent past, including the city, the neighborhood, the street, the schools, and many domestic spaces, and at the same time parts of the media and the economy, have become areas that combine religious practice in an informal manner. In this way, humanization has, in fact, became the most important driving force in interpersonal communication.