From the Greek words anthropos and morphe, meaning man and form, respectively. Anthropomorphism refers to the tendency to understand or interpret something that is not human or personal in a human or personal sense. To perceive God the Father as a man with white hair and a white curly beard is to perceive Him anthropomorphically. In the same way, if I define the stone that struck me on the head as vicious, I have perceived this inanimate object in a personal sense, here in the sense of the human will. But only voluntarily acting agents can be bearers of vicious or bad will, so this concept is wrong.
In general, recognizing a concept as anthropomorphic is equivalent to proving it wrong. Such concepts include “relying” on the qualities of phenomena or abilities that are actually lacking in this place.
However, Charles S. Peirce opposes the full condemnation of anthropomorphic concepts.
He believes that people are so limited in their intentions by their practical experience, their brains are so consistently used as tools for their needs and desires that they cannot understand anything that goes beyond the limitations of that experience. Hence he concludes “Anthropomorphic” are almost all [human] concepts in their depth “(CP 5.47).
