Schools of Thought
Compare Schools
Select up to 5 schools to compare their attributes side by side. Rows with differing values are highlighted.
Select schools to compare:
#1
Realism
#2
Idealism
#3
Existentialism
#4
Pragmatism
#5
Phenomenology
#6
Relativism
#7
Determinism
#8
Presentism
#9
Eternalism
#10
Multiverse Theory
#11
Simulation Theory
#12
Naturalism
#13
Relationalism
#14
Quantum Realism
#15
Dualism
#16
Panpsychism
#17
Pragmatic Realism
#18
Process Philosophy
#19
Structuralism
#20
Postmodernism
#21
Dialectical Materialism
#22
Absurdism
#23
Phenomenalism
#24
Critical Realism
#25
Empiricism
#26
Rationalism
#27
Transcendentalism
#28
Solipsism
#29
Buddhism
#30
Kantian Transcendental Idealism
#31
Stoicism
#32
Constructivism
#33
Advaita Vedanta
#34
Catholic/Thomistic
#35
Nihilism
#36
Reformed / Calvinist Theology
#37
Neo-Platonism
#38
Analytic Metaphysics / Logical Atomism
#39
Logical Positivism
#40
Taoism
#41
Confucianism
#42
Jainism / Anekantavada
#43
Samkhya
#44
Occasionalism
#45
Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO)
#46
Pyrrhonism
#47
Sufism / Wahdat al-Wujud
#48
Kabbalah (Lurianic)
#49
Hylomorphism
#50
Neutral Monism
#51
Yogacara
#52
Zoroastrianism
#53
Deep Ecology
#54
Dataism / Information Ontology
#55
Animism / Relational-Indigenous Worldview
✓
#56
Ubuntu / African Communal Ontology
#57
Transhumanism / Posthumanism
#58
Psychedelic / Entheogenic Worldview
#59
Afrofuturism / Black Quantum Futurism
#60
Gamer / Virtual-Realist Worldview
#61
Wellness / Energetic Worldview
| Attribute |
#55
Animism / Relational-Indigenous Worldview
Indigenous traditions worldwide (Aboriginal, Native American, Amazonian, African); theorized by Philippe Descola, Viveiros de Castro, Graham Harvey
|
|---|---|
| Time · Extent | Infinite |
| Time · Ontological Status | Relational |
| Time · Grain | Continuous |
| Time · Freedom | Non-Deterministic |
| Time · Traversability | Cyclical |
| Time · Dimensionality | One |
| Time · Direction | Multi-directional |
| Space · Extent | Finite |
| Space · Ontological Status | Relational |
| Space · Curvature | Curved |
| Space · Dimensionality | Three |
| Space · Locality | Non-local |
| Matter · Extent | Finite |
| Matter · Ontological Status | Relational |
| Matter · Conservation | Conserved |
| Matter · Dimensionality | Three |
| Matter · Locality | Non-local |
| Observer · Time Instance | Multiple |
| Observer · Space Instance | Multiple |
| Observer · Knowledge Extent | Immediate |
| Observer · Knowledge Retainment | Total |
| Observer · Physicality | Both |
| Observer · Agency | Active |
| Observer · Number | Plural |
| Energy · Extent | Infinite |
| Energy · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Energy · Conservation | Conserved |
| Energy · Dispersibility | Reversible |
| Information · Ontological Status | Relational |
| Information · Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Granularity | Continuous |
| Observer Analysis (Full Text) | |
| Animism / Relational-Indigenous Worldview | The observer is a person among persons — but "person" extends far beyond the human to include animals, plants, rivers, mountains, and spirits, all of whom see, know, and relate. The observer exists across multiple times (ancestral, present, and dreaming) and multiple places (the visible world and the spirit world interpenetrate). Knowledge is immediate and relational — it comes through direct encounter, ceremony, and kinship with other-than-human persons, not through detached analysis. Yet this relational knowledge accumulates across generations through oral tradition, story, and ritual practice. The observer is both embodied and ensouled — body and spirit are not separate but woven together. Observation is active and reciprocal: to see is to be seen, to know is to be in relationship. The plurality of observers includes the entire community of beings. |