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Full Idea
The having of general ideas is that which puts a perfect distinction betwixt man and brutes.
Gist of Idea
Unlike humans, animals cannot entertain general ideas
Source
John Locke (Essay Conc Human Understanding (2nd Ed) [1694], 2.11.10)
Book Ref
Locke,John: 'Essay Concerning Human Understanding', ed/tr. Nidditch,P.H. [OUP 1979], p.159
A Reaction
Animals were massively underestimated before the twentieth century. Animals must recognise types of things, as well as individual things. They must register that an individual animal is a dangerous or tasty species. Locke grants them 'some reason'.
| 20916 | Animals have a share of reason [Democritus, by Porphyry] |
| 1875 | Dogs show reason in decisions made by elimination [Chrysippus, by Sext.Empiricus] |
| 3615 | Little reason is needed to speak, so animals have no reason at all [Descartes] |
| 17204 | Animals are often observed to be wiser than people [Spinoza] |
| 12483 | Unlike humans, animals cannot entertain general ideas [Locke] |
| 5061 | Animals are semi-rational because they connect facts, but they don't see causes [Leibniz] |
| 5054 | Animal thought is a shadow of reasoning, connecting sequences of images by imagination [Leibniz] |
| 5032 | It seems probable that animals have souls, but not consciousness [Leibniz] |
| 6713 | If animals have ideas, and are not machines, they must have some reason [Berkeley] |
| 19220 | We may think animals reason very little, but they hardly ever make mistakes! [Peirce] |
| 22651 | Dogs' curiosity only concerns what will happen next [James] |
| 4908 | No one knows if animals are conscious [Carter,R] |