cynomorphism

English

Etymology

cyno- +‎ -morphism

Noun

cynomorphism (uncountable)

1. (nonce word) The manner in which a dog sees the world, including the attribution of doglike characteristics to non-canine animals, especially humans.
   • 1892 December, Louis Robinson, “Canine Morals and Manners”, in The Popular Science Monthly, page 177:

     This should teach us to bear in mind that there is, affecting the dog's point of view, almost undoubtedly such a thing as cynomorphism, and that he has his peculiar and limited ideas of life and range of mental vision, and therefore perforce makes his artificial surroundings square with them.

   • 2004, Stanley Coren, How Dogs Think: Understanding the Canine Mind, Free Press, →ISBN, page 290:

     Without anthropomorphism on our part and cynomorphism on the dog's part, it is unlikely that dogs could have been successfully domesticated and eventually come to live in our homes and serve as companions and workmates.

   • 2008 December, Dario Martinelli, Kristian Bankov, “Bankov's Razor Versus Martinelli's Canon: A Confrontation Around Biosemiotics”, in Biosemiotics, volume 1, number 3, page 413:

     Finally, this definition implies the Razor-friendly dualism Nature/Culture, by using a two-way-only approach, from animals to humans and back (zoomorphism), without the pluralistic biosemiotic-friendly suggestion there might be, say, a cynomorphism or at least an icthyomorphism.