Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion

15

ANSCOMBE, GERTRUDE ELIZABETH MARGARET

morally and even divinely permissible to
raise and eat animals. Judaism and Chris-
tianity historically recognized animals
in terms of distinct species (as opposed
to coming from a common origin, à la
Darwin). While this may be in tension
with contemporary biology, it was also
part of a general theology that saw intrin-
sic value in diversity or multiplicity.
Some religions consider certain animals
sacred, such as the cow in Hinduism or
the dove in Christianity. Many Buddhists
and Hindus are vegetarians out of respect
for animals. Many Jains wear cloths over
their mouths so they can avoid breathing
in (and thereby killing) any living organ-
isms. Some Native American traditions
believe that when humans pick their
totem animal—an animal that possesses
traits similar to the person—that animal
gains a spiritual or religious significance.
The relationship of humans and non-
human animals has occupied a great deal
of philosophy of religion since Darwin
in the nineteenth century and the mod-
ern environmental movement, which,
in the late twentieth century, challenged
religious traditions to practice greater
stewardship over the natural world.

ANIMISM. From the Latin anima (“soul”),
animism is the belief that animals, plants,
and even non-living entities have souls
or spirits. It has often been used to refer
to indigenous religions, although some
scholars find it a pejorative gloss. There is,
however, nothing intrinsically derogatory

about a worldview that recognizes spirit

or experience as a widespread component

in the physical world. Early twenty-first

century philosophers have re-engaged

the prospects of a pan-psychist view of

reality, the view that experience or the

mental is laced throughout what is

typically assumed to be an inanimate

world. Galen Strawson is a contemporary

defender of pan-psychism.

ANOMIE. Broken limits. An anomic per-

son is one who is in a state without norms

or rules. In some religions, suicide is con-

sidered an anomic act for it breaks the

foundational norm of self-preservation

and integrity.

ANONYMOUS CHRISTIAN. See KARL

RAHNER.

ANSCOMBE, GERTRUDE ELIZABETH

MARGARET (1919–2001). An early fol-

lower of Wittgenstein. Along with Alistair

MacIntyre she helped stimulate a revival

of virtue theory in the late twentieth cen-

tury. The use of the term “consequential-

ism” in analytic philosophy comes from

one of her articles, “Modern Moral Philo-

sophy” (1958). She converted to Roman

Catholicism while an undergraduate stu-

dent and was not afraid to publicly defend

her faith (she was arrested twice for

protesting in front of abortion clinics).

Anscombe famously opposed C. S. Lewis