Animism holds that living systems differ from dead systems because living systems are possessed by spirits that are intrinsically agentic and capable of experience.

“I think this, uh, is an experimental question, right? Uh, all cultures outside of ours are animist cultures, and animism is the belief that the difference between living and dead systems is that the living systems are possessed by spirits, and spirits are intrinsically agentic and capable of experience.”