Do Androids Dream of Enlightenment? Reflections on the Evolution of Animism in Eventual Conscious Entities [¿Sueñan Los Androides Con la Iluminación? Reflexiones Sobre la Evolución del Animismo en Eventuales Entidades Conscientes]

The following pages analyse the millenary persistence of the animistic imaginary as a way of explaining reality. Its development from the notion of mana to the notion of soul in Western thought and its evolution in the idea of the monstrous in science fiction are discussed. It also analyses the animistic imaginary in Eastern traditions, especially the concept of illu-mination of objects and artifacts as animated entities under the influence of Buddhism and Shintoism. Finally, it reflects on how animism has nowadays derived into a “technoanimism” to explain the agency of artificial intelligences and androids. © The Authors.