A car called Keith: Why we give objects human characteristics

[Still Waters]

Why do we yell at our computer when it struggles to work? Why do some cars look like they're smiling? Why does your guitar seem free-spirited? This is because of our innate human tendency for anthropomorphism: the ascription of humanlike characteristics, intentions or emotions in nonhuman things.

However, why do we anthropomorphize objects at all? To explore this question, we conducted a study with the Human Futures Studio. We asked 125 adults about a possession that they had named to better understand the types of things people anthropomorphize and their reasons for doing so.

Anthropomorphism extends far beyond simply naming—it includes, for example, assigning characteristics like "temperamental" to your car instead when it has mechanical issues. For the purposes of our study, we considered naming as a common behavior that would provide a simple way for us to explore how, when explicitly asked, would people rationalize their anthropomorphic tendencies?

https://theconversation.com/a-car-called-keith-why-we-give-objects-human-characteristics-177799

[SHaYap]

K. I. T. T...

Nice to meet you... 

Quote

~

 

[Mr Walker]

On 3/26/2022 at 1:58 AM, Still Waters said:

Why do we yell at our computer when it struggles to work? Why do some cars look like they're smiling? Why does your guitar seem free-spirited? This is because of our innate human tendency for anthropomorphism: the ascription of humanlike characteristics, intentions or emotions in nonhuman things.

However, why do we anthropomorphize objects at all? To explore this question, we conducted a study with the Human Futures Studio. We asked 125 adults about a possession that they had named to better understand the types of things people anthropomorphize and their reasons for doing so.

Anthropomorphism extends far beyond simply naming—it includes, for example, assigning characteristics like "temperamental" to your car instead when it has mechanical issues. For the purposes of our study, we considered naming as a common behavior that would provide a simple way for us to explore how, when explicitly asked, would people rationalize their anthropomorphic tendencies?

https://theconversation.com/a-car-called-keith-why-we-give-objects-human-characteristics-177799

Not everyone does this, and it is only through academic studies and  observing others that I noticed that  some do 

No one in my family ever did this, which helps  explains why I don't. It would have been seen as illogical and irrational, even when the cause was understood.  

 Inanimate objects simply can't have feelings or personality. 

 Some animals can, but less so than human animals. Usually,  humans impose characteristics on animals, as they  do on cars etc  

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by Mr Walker

[openozy]

A lot of people name their cars and in a way think they are alive. They do eat fuel, drink radiator fluid,wake up when you start them, move and sleep when back in the garage. Also some people put so much of their love and energy into their metal baby it becomes an entity of sorts, to them anyway.

[openozy]

1 hour ago, Mr Walker said:

Not everyone does this, and it is only through academic studies and  observing others that I noticed that  some do 

No one in my family ever did this, which helps  explains why I don't. It would have been seen as illogical and irrational, even when the cause was understood.  

 Inanimate objects simply can't have feelings or personality. 

 Some animals can, but less so than human animals. Usually,  humans impose characteristics on animals, as they  do on cars etc  

 

All animals have just as many feelings and different personalities as humans. We may not notice though.

[Mr Walker]

5 hours ago, openozy said:

All animals have just as many feelings and different personalities as humans. We may not notice though.

Thats not scientifically correct. 

Humans are just more evolved animals,  but we do have a level of self aware consciousness, and language skills, which no other animals possess. 

We don't just have physical feelings but ones created by our minds, imaginations, beliefs  etc   I can love my dogs a lot more than they are capable of loving me 

However I did note that animals have more  feelings and personalities than inanimate objects. 

A dog can form a bond with you, which a teakettle (or motor car)  can not .

[openozy]

3 hours ago, Mr Walker said:

Thats not scientifically correct. 

Humans are just more evolved animals,  but we do have a level of self aware consciousness, and language skills, which no other animals possess. 

We don't just have physical feelings but ones created by our minds, imaginations, beliefs  etc   I can love my dogs a lot more than they are capable of loving me 

However I did note that animals have more  feelings and personalities than inanimate objects. 

A dog can form a bond with you, which a teakettle (or motor car)  can not .

I don't agree, that sounds like it's coming from a religious standpoint. Dogs are a lot more loyal to us than us to them, I'd call that love. A lot of birds mate for life, way more than humans. A lot of animals mourn their dead and the list goes on. We are so intelligent we are destroying the planet with overpopulation and the pollution it causes. Humans are probably the most mindless creature that ever existed here. I'd hardly call that superior.

[L.A.T.1961]

My estate car is nicknamed Thunderbird 2, you would need to know about Gerry Anderson to get the reference. 

 

 

 

 

[jmccr8]

I have never named my cars, they are all female and many times owned more than one at a time and you know how women get when you call them by another girls name.

Edited March 28, 2022 by jmccr8

[Mr Walker]

12 hours ago, openozy said:

I don't agree, that sounds like it's coming from a religious standpoint. Dogs are a lot more loyal to us than us to them, I'd call that love. A lot of birds mate for life, way more than humans. A lot of animals mourn their dead and the list goes on. We are so intelligent we are destroying the planet with overpopulation and the pollution it causes. Humans are probably the most mindless creature that ever existed here. I'd hardly call that superior.

Its interesting that you should feel it is a religious viewpoint.

I was raised an atheist/secular humanist and read widely on the natural world form infancy  I studied human cognition speech and psychology at uni

While today it is recognised that other animals have more awareness than we once understood no scientist believes they are anything comparable with, or approaching human level cognition or self  aware consciousness Somewhere over 100000 years ago, humans made a quantitative jump in speech awareness and abilty (involving abstract and symbolic thinking )  which has not evolved yet in any other animal

Dogs a re programmed and conditioned  to be loyal and obedient  (we made them so from  wild wolves ) 

Humans can also be programmed and conditioned but we also have choices only available to self aware and  self conscious beings I can choose to love and protect my dogs for many reasons or i can choose not to but, in either case, I am making a fully conscious and aware choice.   

For a start,  abstract and symbolic thinking   requires the abilty for complex mental language which no other animal has ie in humans love is not just  a feeling, but an abstract mental construct,  which has to be taught and learned in childhood for it to exist. 

Humans don't just feel organically/physically  or in ways we are evolved to do We construct emotional responses, and can choose them based on our abstract language, imagination and awareness.  So we can cry while reading a book or watching a movie, at the love or pain of others,  even while we are sitting in comfort 

Humans still tend to judge and think of other animals from  our own competencies ie we feel constructed cognitive responses, like love, or hate, so we believe other animals must be able to also do so   

Very few, if any, animals have the capacity to do this 

If the y did the y would be constructing religious beliefs and acting on them or writing abstract poetry and philosophy 

Because we have the awareness and abilty, we have a responsibility  to others and to our natural world No other animal has  such a responsibility nor feels it  I consciously choose to love and care for my dogs They don't have the abilty to choose to love me. 

Superior is a value judgement 

We have capabilities to create and destroy  which other animals do not Does that make us superior?  

You are correct in questioning whether we have the wisdom to choose wisely Other animals don't have the abilty to destroy the world, and thus don't have to worry about it   We are actually naked apes, with the same biological drivers as all primates, but  also with the self aware consciousness to give us choices, and the technological abilty to be very powerful creators or destroyers.  

We don't have a responsibility  to other animals because they are the same as us, but because they are not.  ie power confers responsibility and duty. 

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by Mr Walker

[openozy]

1 hour ago, Mr Walker said:

Dogs a re programmed and conditioned  to be loyal and obedient  (we made them so from  wild wolves )

Wolves are loyal and obedient to the pack, humans have just become the pack leader with dogs, they haven't programmed this into dogs at all. In fact they have degraded the wolf in many ways. Most breeds are one trick ponies and are a far cry from the far more intelligent, awesome animal the wolf is.

 

1 hour ago, Mr Walker said:

While today it is recognised that other animals have more awareness than we once understood no scientist believes they are anything comparable with, or approaching human level cognition or self  aware consciousness

That's today, we have come a long way in accepting this but scientists still have a very long journey. I don't think they want to know the truth about animals and have to deal with the horrors they endure in battery cages and feedlots in order to feed our insanely overpopulated world. If we were that much above other animals, why is this happening? I keep animals for food but they live a great life and are treated with care and respect as I would want to be.

[the13bats]

On 3/28/2022 at 7:46 AM, openozy said:

I don't agree, that sounds like it's coming from a religious standpoint. Dogs are a lot more loyal to us than us to them, I'd call that love. A lot of birds mate for life, way more than humans. A lot of animals mourn their dead and the list goes on. We are so intelligent we are destroying the planet with overpopulation and the pollution it causes. Humans are probably the most mindless creature that ever existed here. I'd hardly call that superior.

You know there is a huge difference between opinion and fact, as i post this i will block a member after i post this as i just dont need that ego driven know it all attitude right now.

While you and i do not agree on spookies we also both agree our reasons are based on our own experences, evidence etc and we cannot prove the other side wrong.

I look at animals as i do people and perhaps the most "conscience" animal ( dog or cat just for example ) might not be more involved than say a young toddler or adult with a mental issues effecting that part of their brain

i have seen example of my cat luna for example she has some sort of conscience and intuitiveness, there are behaviours that she exhibites only when i am at my worse deep sick dark depression, and its not me reading into it, the skeptic me has tested this.

a person might not think anything more than im laying in bed resting yet never fear this cat goes into a complete different type actions really odd for her and shes not asking for food or water or to play and only stops when she sees im reactiong in a positive way not matter how long it takes,

No, i have no idea how much animals do "ponder" or think about something but its obvious all their actions are not just inherited reaction, and some animals seem to exibit little to none of this.

[openozy]

13 hours ago, the13bats said:

While you and i do not agree on spookies we also both agree our reasons are based on our own experences, evidence etc and we cannot prove the other side wrong.

I think everyone should respect other's beliefs either way but if something paranormal can be disproved I find it a bit disappointing but enlightening and it is what it is. With animals they are always compared to us when I feel they have things we have lost along the way. We overthink everything and we end up messed up. I think it's the reason people self medicate with alcohol and drugs. In moderation the herb one can help relax us with minimal or no damage unlike grog and man made elicit and prescription drugs. We have had our run ins but there is something I like about you bats so try and relax man and I'm sure you'll be fine .

[the13bats]

2 hours ago, openozy said:

I think everyone should respect other's beliefs either way but if something paranormal can be disproved I find it a bit disappointing but enlightening and it is what it is. With animals they are always compared to us when I feel they have things we have lost along the way. We overthink everything and we end up messed up. I think it's the reason people self medicate with alcohol and drugs. In moderation the herb one can help relax us with minimal or no damage unlike grog and man made elicit and prescription drugs. We have had our run ins but there is something I like about you bats so try and relax man and I'm sure you'll be fine .

Thanx for the kindness,

Its a bit ironic funny i work in the club music biz i look like i would do everything but i dont drink smoke or use drugs not to party or rx,

My mental issues are such fun, weed which since its somewhat legal here now is everywhere if i smoked it it gives me panic attacks, no kidding tina just gets knocked out, a guess DJ we have shes such a burner her contact buzz almost sets me off, lol.

Hell , i find more comfort from my cat luna than i do in most people.

I had to look at thread topic see how much im derailing it, i think an answer to the threads questions might lie in the movie castaway, tom hanks makes a soccer ball his friend, in the most basic form i believe humans down right need other humans, so many song lyrics make this point.

Some turn away due to being hurt and jaded.

[Tiggs]

All of my guitars have names.

Not really thought about why, but I guess it's because they're unique, from my perspective, rather than just replaceable objects.

[Mr Walker]

On 3/29/2022 at 11:55 AM, openozy said:

Wolves are loyal and obedient to the pack, humans have just become the pack leader with dogs, they haven't programmed this into dogs at all. In fact they have degraded the wolf in many ways. Most breeds are one trick ponies and are a far cry from the far more intelligent, awesome animal the wolf is.

 

That's today, we have come a long way in accepting this but scientists still have a very long journey. I don't think they want to know the truth about animals and have to deal with the horrors they endure in battery cages and feedlots in order to feed our insanely overpopulated world. If we were that much above other animals, why is this happening? I keep animals for food but they live a great life and are treated with care and respect as I would want to be.

There is no excuse for a human being harming another animal unnecessarily, or being cruel to one.

  We know better, and can make choices which other animals cannot.   Why are some people cruel? Because  they were never taught not to be, or lack the will and discipline to refrain from  cruelty. However humans also  care for, protect, and support non human animals. Cross species empathy is very rare, if  not unknown, outside of human beings.

Nature evolved the pack hierarchy of dogs. Humans utilise it for their own ends. However, there is also an evolved mutual  benefit to dogs and humans, when we hunt together or protect each other.    

[Mr Walker]

On 4/4/2022 at 7:05 PM, the13bats said:

You know there is a huge difference between opinion and fact, as i post this i will block a member after i post this as i just dont need that ego driven know it all attitude right now.

While you and i do not agree on spookies we also both agree our reasons are based on our own experences, evidence etc and we cannot prove the other side wrong.

I look at animals as i do people and perhaps the most "conscience" animal ( dog or cat just for example ) might not be more involved than say a young toddler or adult with a mental issues effecting that part of their brain

i have seen example of my cat luna for example she has some sort of conscience and intuitiveness, there are behaviours that she exhibites only when i am at my worse deep sick dark depression, and its not me reading into it, the skeptic me has tested this.

a person might not think anything more than im laying in bed resting yet never fear this cat goes into a complete different type actions really odd for her and shes not asking for food or water or to play and only stops when she sees im reactiong in a positive way not matter how long it takes,

No, i have no idea how much animals do "ponder" or think about something but its obvious all their actions are not just inherited reaction, and some animals seem to exibit little to none of this.

It is probably me you have blocked, but a response is required 

I go by science, not emotive reasoning.

By looking at the science we can see the similarities and great differences between humans and other animals. 

In some basic ways a few animals appear to have the abilities of a very young child but without the child's language abilty (inner language) 

it is language and abstract symbolic thinking which differentiates humans from other animals 

Some animals use tools and a few even make them That puts them more than100000 years  behind modern  humans  ie the y dont make symbolic items or have any spiritual beliefs, because they lack the sophistication of mental  language to do so.

To some this makes animals lesser beings who deserve no special attention or protection.

I see it differently Our unique abilities and skills, as well as our sophistication of language and understanding   of things like the nature of pain, suffering, guilt and grief, give us a duty of care to all other animals and to our environment 

Sure, we can put a human first, but we also have to care about, and refrain from  cruelty to, other species.   

[openozy]

15 minutes ago, Mr Walker said:

Cross species empathy is very rare, if  not unknown, outside of human beings.

Empathy could be one thing that separates us from other species. I do pest control removing rabbits from farms and have a line bred hunting whippet who is a born rabbiter. She lets baby rabbits run to safety but not grown rabbits. I thought this was empathy but could be the little ones are no challenge so she doesn't bother chasing.