What is anthropomorphism?
Anthropomorphic language implies that non-human entities (bacteria, atoms, plants, etc.) have human qualities such as human experiences, human emotions, human motivations and cognition. This language may often be used metaphorically – but this may not always clear to a reader/listener and anthropomorphic statements may be used as if scientific explanations.
If such a metaphoric statement ("the atom wants…", "the virus decides…") is intended or understood as explanatory, it is an example of a pseudo-explanation (something that appears to be an explanation but has no scientific merit).
These ideas are discussed on other pages (for example, those linked below), but on this page I list some examples I have come across.
Read about anthropomorphism as an aspect of learners thinking and language
Read about anthropomorphism in public science discourse
Read about pseudo-explanations
Examples of anthropomorphism in public communication of science topics/concepts
Below are some examples of the use of anthropomorphism that I have noticed. (Some entries are repeated under several different pertinent headings.) These are often edited/paraphrased for brevity – but with a link to the full quotation and source (click on the link for a preview, then click on 'term details' if you wish to read the full entry.)
animals
- bees marshall themselves as they think best (Johannes Kepler)
- bees realised meat was available and decided to stop being vegetarian (Dr Laura Figueroa, University of Massachusetts Amherst)
- bees used geometrical forethought to work out the best shape for honeycomb cells (Pappus of Alexandria)
- baboons can be robbers (Alfred Russel Wallace)
- butterflies can be shy (Alfred Russel Wallace)
- fireflies will murder and steal (Education in Chemistry)
- fish hope some of their eggs survive (Dr Nandini Ramesh, University of California, Berkeley)
- monkey is concerned about lack of protein in diet (Dr Adrian Barnett, Hartpury University)
- moths thought switching to eating clothes would offer a better life (BBC Inside Science)
- sea-urchins lead a contemplative life (Ludwig von Bertalanffy)
- ticks think about when to have a meal (Prof. Sally Cutler, University of East London)
astronomy and cosmology
(see also: Space exploration)
- asteroids and comets attempted to deliver volatile substances to Earth ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- asteroids were gobbled up greedy planets ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- Betelgeuse shows petulant behaviour (NASA website)
- black holes can compose (NASA)
- comets do their best to avoid adhering to the classic Solar System models ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- comets grow up in a neighbourhood ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- Earth established itself as an important object in the solar system ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- Earth formed its own Moon ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- gravity tries to pull a white dwarf to be even denser (Prof. Mark Sullivan, University of Southampton)
- interplanetary dust particles really are teaching scientists ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- large planetesimals gobbled up smaller ones and asteroids ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- meteors and meteorites are impetuous ('The Comet is Coming! The feverish legacy of Mr Halley')
- most stars do not live by themsevles (Prof. Mark Sullivan, University of Southampton)
- planetesimals jostled for orbits ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- planets can be stolen by another star (Prof. Carolin Crawford, University of Cambridge)
- planets established themselves as the leaders of the pack ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- star is saying 'look at me, look at me – I'm interesting' (Prof. Paul Murdin, University of Cambridge)
- terrestrial particle might masquerade as space dust ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- the gravity of dark matter likes to bring everything together (Prof. Catherine Heymans, Astronomer Royal for Scotland)
- white dwarf steals from its companion star (Prof. Mark Sullivan, University of Southampton)
atoms and molecules
- a covalent bond is like when you meet someone and feel like you have always known them ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- an atom tries to balance competing forces ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- antiaromatic molecules are anxious (Dr Igor Alabugin, Florida State University)
- aromatic molecules are happy with themselves (Dr Igor Alabugin, Florida State University)
- atoms can be indifferent (Mario Bunge)
- atoms laid themselves in orderliness (Alan Holden)
- atoms look for others to bond with to complete them ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- atoms seach for dance partners ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- atoms try to climb out of magnetic trap (Physics World)
- covalent bonding is a collaborative effort to create a chemical balance where partners need each other ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- cyclobutadiene sheds its antiaromaticity by instantly dimerising (Chemistry World)
- cyclooctatetraene escapes antiaromatic fate by puckering up (Chemistry World)
- electrons arrange to spin in opposite directions (Alan Holden)
- excited electron will quickly find some way to return to the lowest energy state (Alan Holden)
- molecule finds itself unstable (Chemistry World)
- molecules can be very unhappy and nervous (Prof. Richard Feynman)
- molecule escapes antiaromaticity by undergoing cyclisation (Chemisrtry World)
- molecules in a gas have a high old time ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- molecules like to be next to each other (Prof. Richard Feynman)
- molecules of different conformation prefer different reaction pathways (Chemistry World)
- molecules pleaded allegiance to Newtonian mechanics ('The Dream Universe: How fundamental physics lost its way')
- molecules try to get into a water droplet (Prof. Richard Feynman)
- molecule twists to escape antiaromaticity (Chemistry World)
- molecules want as many partners as they can get (Prof. Richard Feynman)
- molecules want to escape the destabilising feature of antiaromaticity (Chemistry World)
- one atom gives up an electron for the sake of another ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- outer shell of carbon atom will always be looking for two oxygens to complete itself ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- there is a true meeting of minds when an electron is shared ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
Bacteria – see microbes
cells
- a neurone tries to make contact with a neighbour (Dr. Hannah Critchlow, Magdalene College, Cambridge)
- cancerous cells function selfishly ('Some Assembly Required:. Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
- cells can enjoy interacting (Professor Sian Harding, Imperial College London)
- cells discovered the advantages of communal life ('Vital Principles: The molecular mechanisms of life')
- cells had been independent individualists ('Vital Principles: The molecular mechanisms of life')
- cells inside bodies sacrifice themselves ('Some Assembly Required: Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
- cells know what they need to do; they will do what they know how to do best (Dr Nitzan Gonen, Bar-Ilan University)
- cells try to repair themselves ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- neurones speak to each other ('The Drugs That Changed Our Minds')
- tumour cells try to evade the immune system ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
(see also immune system)
chemical substances and reactions
- chemistry is all about elements trying to fill the outer shells of electrons ('Superheavy: Making and breaking the periodic table')
- element is eagerly trying to complete its outer shell ('Superheavy: Making and breaking the periodic table')
- HF loves the idea of donating a fluorine to SbF5 (Education in Chemistry)
- lithium is happy to give away an electron (Jeremy Wrathall of Cornish Lithium)
- lithium seeks out organs ('Finding Sanity: John Cade, lithium and the taming of bipolar disorder')
- oxygen likes to combine with things ('Astrobiology: The Search for Life Elsewhere in the Universe')
- proteins and amino acids and water desired a calm welcoming environment ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- radium mimics calcium (Chemistry World)
- silicon is happy just to combine with oxygen ('Astrobiology: The Search for Life Elsewhere in the Universe')
D.N.A.
- D.N.A. strands can be asked to find and bind to each other (Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, University of Cambridge)
- the environment decides how long D.N.A. survives (Dr David Duffy, University of Florida)
Earth and geology
- deep atmospheric convection likes to be over warm water (Dr Tim Stockdale, European Centre For Medium Range Weather Forecasts)
- Earth achieved a lot before humans appeared ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- Earth created oceans and an atmosphere ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- Earth found a way to change its appearance ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- tectonic plates attempt to float on the Earth's mantle ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- tectonic plates attempt to move past or towards one another ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- tectonic plates jostle for position ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- the biosphere has learned to recycle phosphorus (Prof. Marcia Bjornerud, Lawrence University)
- the Earth is trying to cool down (Dr James Hammond, Birkbeck, University of London)
- underground methane tries to get to the Earth surface (Professor Richard Davies, Newcastle University)
- water wants to move towards South America (Dr Tim Stockdale, European Centre For Medium Range Weather Forecasts)
electricity
- holes attempt to ascend at a pn junction (Alan Holden)
- hill urges holes to cross pn junction (Alan Holden)
energy and entropy
- energy fights to free itself from radioactive golf ball ('Half Lives: The unlikely history of radium')
- energy is greedily taken up to fuel life ('The Dream Universe: How fundamental physics lost its way')
ethology
- bitterns had a happy marriage (Jakob von Uexküll)
- dinoflaggelates use light to try to drive off predators (Dr Christopher Lowe, Swansea University)
- giraffes have worked out that trees communicate through hormones in the air (the Infinite Monkey Cage)
- neutral zone insinuates itself (Jakob von Uexküll)
- parents make mistake in preying on children (Jakob von Uexküll)
- songbirds seek out protected nesting sites (Jakob von Uexküll)
evolution and life
- Earth allowed lifeforms to grow on it ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
fluids
- a jet tries to becomes a cylinder (Physics World)
- gas bubbles work their way to the top ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
forces
- curved violin string wants to go back to being straight ('The Dream Universe: How fundamental physics lost its way')
- drumskin wants to return to its neutral position ('The Dream Universe: How fundamental physics lost its way')
- force tries to push ions about (Alan Holden)
- force will endevour to free its companions (Sir William Crookes)
- matter opposes change with all the means at its disposal (Alan Holden)
- under compression gas complies as reluctantly as it can (Alan Holden)
genetics and genetic engineering
- D.N.A. strands can be asked to find and bind to each other (Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, University of Cambridge)
- genes struggle to contain selfish elements ('Some Assembly Required. Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
- some genes just live to jump around ('Some Assembly Required. Decoding four billion years of life, from ancient fossils to DNA')
- yeast can be asked to produce silk (Dr Aarathi Prasad, UCL)
gravity
- gravity is trying to make every structure collapse (Roma Agrawal)
- heavy bodies endeavour to reach the earth (Sir John F. W. Herschel)
hormones
- adrenaline makes requests (Dr. Andrew Baker, Hennepin County medical examiner)
immune system and infection/disease
- anaphylaxis occurs when cells decide they do not like something (Prof. Theresa MacPhail, Stevens Institute of Technology)
- cancer cells are adept at hiding in the body (BBC News)
- immune cells may have unhealthy interests ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- immune cells try to kill pathogens (Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee, Columbia University)
- immune system primed to look for an enemy (BBC News)
- immune system seeks out traces of cancer (BBC News)
- natural killer cells interrogate other cells they meet ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- natural killer cells are trigger-happy ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- natural killer cells can be calmed ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- natural killer cells can be placated ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- natural killer cells interrogate other cells they meet ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- natural killer cells know about stress ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- natural killer cells plan their killings ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- tuberculosis is a cunning disease ('The Remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the quest to cure tuberculosis')
- tumour cells try to evade the immune system ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
light and optics
- light travels happily along ('Light Years. The extraordinary story of mankind's fascination with light')
- photon decides which state it is going be in ('Light Years. The extraordinary story of mankind's fascination with light')
- photon knows how thick a window is ('Light Years. The extraordinary story of mankind's fascination with light')
magnetism
- iron strives towards a magnet (Albert Einstein)
- lodestone feeds on iron (William Gilbert)
- parts of a broken magnet desire to be united (William Gilbert)
materials
- austenite does not want to change crystal structure (Professor Sir Harry Bhadeshia, University of Cambridge and Queen Mary University)
- ferrite does not like foreign atoms (Professor Sir Harry Bhadeshia, University of Cambridge and Queen Mary University)
- glass wants to be 6 mm deep (glassblower)
- lodestone feeds on iron (William Gilbert)
- sand wants to form a slope (Prof. Bruce Malamud, Durham University)
- vapour field takes notice of crystal shape (Prof. B. J. Mason)
mechanics
microbes
- AIDS virus subverts host cells ('Almost Like a Whale. The origin of species updated')
- bacteria try to eat natural polyesters (Professor John McGeehan, University of Portmouth)
- bacteriophages make sure bacteria do not dominate (Prof. James Ebdon, University of Brighton)
- dinoflaggelates use light to try to drive off predators (Dr Christopher Lowe, Swansea University)
- gut bacteria really enjoy foods rich in fibre (Dr Emily Leeming, King's College London)
- IgG3 is able to go into those sites where viruses might try to hide (Prof. Onur Boyman, University Hospital Zurich)
- microbes do not just accept defeat (BBC Inside Science)
- microbes happily cling to spacecraft ('Astrobiology: The Search for Life Elsewhere in the Universe')
- microbes need quality sleep (Prof. Tim Spector, King's College London)
- microbes think about where to live (Dr. Susanne P. Schwenze, Open University)
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis is content to make itself inconspicuous ('The Remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the quest to cure tuberculosis')
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis perseveres ('The Remedy: Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle, and the quest to cure tuberculosis')
- Propionibacterium acnes adores consuming fat ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- Propionibacterium acnes has bad table manners ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- Propionibacterium acnes loves to picnic ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- Propionibacterium acnes smacks its lips ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
- some bacteria are very happy to feed on hydrogen sulphide (Dr. Jean-Marie Volland, Laboratory for Research in Complex Systems)
- some strains of bacteria prefer to live in tumours (Dr Susan Woods, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute)
- virus is well versed in dark arts skills ('Immune. How your body defends and protects you')
- virus particles hide beneath a cloak ('Almost Like a Whale: The origin of species updated')
- virus will attempt to survive (Nadhim Zahawi M.P., 'vaccines minister')
- virus will find ways to infect vaccinated people (Prof. Andrew Pollard, University of Oxford)
- virus will try every combination of mutations (Dr Theodora Hatziioannou, Rockerfeller University)
- viruses like Autumn and Winter (Rt. Hon. Sajid Javid MP)
- virus thinks England and Scotland are the same country (Boris Johnson, MP)
nature ✫
- nature can show concern ('Catching Stardust: Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- Nature contrives to outwit us (Wolfgang Smith)
- nature does not waste energy (Prof. Roger Rowell, University of Wisconsin-Madison)
- nature is lazy ('Light Years: The extraordinary story of mankind's fascination with light')
- nature will look at the forces, configurations and energies (Nancy Cartwright)
- nature writes down the operator and solves the quantum statistical equation (Nancy Cartwright)
✫ Note: It was traditional in writing about nature, even sometimes in scientific writing, to personify 'her' as a 'she'. Read about personification in science writing.
plants
- plants allocate their resources (Dr Stuart Farrimond)
- plants realise when under high stress (Dr Nicola Cannon, Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester)
- plants want to be rigid and upright (Chemistry World)
- trees can feel peaky and under the weather (Tony Kirkham, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)
physiology
- liver will break down anything it does not like the look of (Prof. Ian Gilmore, University of Liverpool)
- spleen is multi-talented ('Immune: How your body defends and protects you')
protein
- acetylcholinesterase waits patiently for a signal (RCSB Protein Data Bank)
- protein GDF15 was talking to the brain to tell the brain to reduce feeding (Dr. Gregory Steinberg, McMaster University)
- proteins appreciate the roles of their peers ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- proteins can be fickle and capricious ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- proteins recognise and respect the need for difference ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
- proteins respect each other ('Explaining Humans: What science can teach us about life, love and relationships')
radioactivity and nuclear physics
- atomic nuclei can be content or agitated (Prof. Alan Lightman)
- atomic nucleus tries to get rid of its excitation energy (Mario Bunge)
- energy fights to free itself from radioactive golf ball ('Half Lives: The unlikely history of radium')
- hungry nuclei grab neutrons ('Superheavy. Making and breaking the periodic table')
- nucleus discards neutrons to stave off fission ('Superheavy. Making and breaking the periodic table')
- nucleus will twist while trying to hold onto its protons ('Superheavy: Making and breaking the periodic table')
- uranium bomb did not need to worry about imploding ('Superheavy. Making and breaking the periodic table')
solar system
- comets have social lives ('The Comet is Coming!')
- composition of asteroid Bennu is trying to tell us about its history (Prof. Sara Russel)
- Halley's comet has a wanton tail ('The Comet is Coming!')
space exploration
- lander Philae was intrepid ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- Philae had the ride of its life after landing on a comet ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- Rosetta spacecraft contended with a lonely journey ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- Rosetta spacecraft hibernated for several years ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- Rosetta spacecraft might get utterly confused and make mistakes ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- Rosetta spacecraft might not have awoken ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- Rosetta spacecraft was plucky ('Catching Stardust. Comets, asteroids and the birth of the solar system')
- spacecraft attempt to go to Mercury (Science News)
subatomic particles
- electrons seek states (Alan Holden)
- electrons try to stay out of one another's way (Alan Holden)
- neutrinos are very shy (Prof. Andrew Pontzen, UCL)
- neutrons do not like to be compressed (Prof. Carolin Crawford, University of Cambridge)
viruses – see microbes
units and metrology
- the calorie is holding on stubbornly ('My name is Becquerel. The stories of the scientists whose names were given to the international units of measure')
- the joule is having a hard time establishing itself ('My name is Becquerel. The stories of the scientists whose names were given to the international units of measure')
The COVID-19 virus is often said to be a 'clever' or 'sneaky' virus. (Read 'So who's not a clever little virus then?')
