Anima mundi is the soul of the world, a pure ethereal spirit, which was proclaimed by some ancient philosophers to be diffused throughout all nature.

"...Therefore, we may consequently state that: this world is indeed a living being endowed with a soul and intelligence ... a single visible living entity containing all other living entities, which by their nature are all related."
— Plato, Timaeus, 29/30; 4th century B.C.

Plato is believed to have originated the idea, but the concept's much more ancient origins have been discovered. The belief prevailed in systems of some eastern philosophers. The Stoicsembraced anima mundi as the only vital force in the universe. Hermetic philosophers like Paracelsus, Baruch Spinoza, Leibnitz and Friedrich Schelling held similar concepts. Gaia Theorists like Stephan Harding have recently championed the idea.

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