The new solitude: Melancholy anthropomorphism and the molecular gaze

Anthropomorphism, as it is usually understood, is a matter of identity. To anthropomorphize is to project a human identity onto something non-human. Originally, anthropomorphism referred to the "Ascription of a human form and attributes to the Deity." Now it means the "Ascription of a human attribute or personality to anything impersonal or irrational" ("Anthropomorphism"). If anthropomorphism often strikes us as a type of logical error, this is because we see the identity it produces—say, God in human form with flowing white beard—as a mistaken or metaphorical identity. In this sense, anthropomorphism presumes the relative stability and apriority of human and non-human identity. We say it is wrong to ascribe human form to God because we presume God's identity to be non-human.