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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2021/Paper I/Anthropology of Religion
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper I 2021 10 Marks Model Answer Available

Animism and Deep Ecology — 2021 Paper I

Question · 2021 · Paper I · 10 Marks

Animism and Deep Ecology

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Approach

  • Demand of Question: Explain Animism and Deep Ecology and establish the relationship between the two.
  • Structuring the Response: Define both concepts, explain their major features, and then compare their similarities and differences.
  • Key Dimensions to Cover: Tylor, Hallowell, Bird-David, Arne Næss; personhood, reciprocity, biospherical egalitarianism and human–nature interconnectedness.

Model Answer

Introduction

E.B. Tylor, in Primitive Culture (1871), defined Animism as the “belief in spiritual beings,” referring to the attribution of soul, spirit or agency to humans and elements of the natural world. The term Deep Ecology was introduced by Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss in his 1973 article, “The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement: A Summary,” to describe an ecological perspective that rejects human-centred domination and views humans as part of an interconnected biosphere.

Animism

Tylor explained animism through experiences such as dreams, death and visions, which led humans to conceptualise souls and spirits.

Later anthropologists broadened the concept:

  • A. Irving Hallowell, in “Ojibwa Ontology, Behavior and World View” (1960), showed that the Ojibwa recognised certain natural beings as “other-than-human persons.”
  • Nurit Bird-David, in “Animism Revisited: Personhood, Environment, and Relational Epistemology” (1999), based on the Nayaka of South India, interpreted animism as a relational epistemology in which humans understand their environment through reciprocal relationships.

Personhood → Relationship → Reciprocity → Interconnectedness

Deep Ecology

Næss distinguished between:

  • Shallow Ecology: protection of the environment largely for human health, prosperity and resource security.
  • Deep Ecology: transformation of the human relationship with the entire ecological community.

Its major principles include:

  • Biospherical egalitarianism – humans are not inherently superior to other life.
  • Relationality – organisms exist within networks of ecological relationships.
  • Diversity and symbiosis – biological diversity has ecological significance.
  • Value beyond utility – non-human life cannot be reduced merely to a resource for humans.
  • Limited human interference with ecological processes.

Arne Næss and George Sessions (1984) later articulated the Eight-Point Deep Ecology Platform, emphasising the flourishing of human and non-human life and preservation of diversity.

Animism and Deep Ecology

Animism Deep Ecology
Cultural/cosmological worldview Modern ecological philosophy
Non-humans may possess spirit, agency or personhood Non-human nature has value beyond human utility
Emphasises relationships and reciprocity Emphasises ecological interconnectedness
Example: Ojibwa, Nayaka Normative environmental ethic

Thus, both question the sharp human–nature dichotomy and anthropocentric treatment of nature. However, animism is an emic and culturally embedded ontology, whereas Deep Ecology is a consciously formulated philosophical and ethical position.

Conclusion

Animism and Deep Ecology converge in locating humans within a larger community of life. Anthropology, however, distinguishes the lived relational cosmology of animistic societies from the modern ecological ethics formulated by Deep Ecology.

2026 Myth as oral literature. 2026 How do religious beliefs help people to devise cultural mechanisms to adapt to their environment? Discuss in detail with appropriate examples. 2025 Critically examine James Frazer's theory of evolutionism. Elucidate the place of religion in modernity. 2023 How did Clifford Geertz look at religion ? Differentiate between anthropological and psychological approaches to the study of religion.

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UPSC Anthropology Optional 2021 — Paper I

28 questions

1(a) Animism and Deep Ecology

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 5. Religion > Forms of religion > Animism
2021Paper IAnthropology of ReligionModel answer available

5(d) Descent Groups

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 2.5 Kinship > Descent groups
2021Paper IKinshipModel answer available

5(a) Human adolescent growth spurt

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 10. Human growth and development > Stages of growth > Adolescence
2021Paper IHuman Genetics & Human BiologyModel answer available

5(e) Modes of Subsistence

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 3. Economic Organization > Modes of subsistence
2021Paper IEconomic & Political AnthropologyModel answer available

5(b) The losses and gains of erect posture

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 1.5 Characteristics of Primates > Skeletal changes due to erect posture
2021Paper IHuman Evolution & PrimatologyModel answer available

1(e) Thermoluminescence (TL) dating

10 Marks150 words
Syllabus: Paper I > 1.8(a) Chronology: relative and absolute dating methods
2021Paper IPrehistoric ArchaeologyModel answer available