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Single Idea 19756
[filed under theme 24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 1. A People / a. Human distinctiveness
]
Full Idea
It is not so much understanding which causes the specific distinction of man from all other animals as it is his being a free agent.
Gist of Idea
Humans are less distinguished from other animals by understanding, than by being free agents
Source
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Discourse on the Origin of Inequality [1754], Part I)
Book Ref
Rousseau,Jean-Jacques: 'The Basic Political Writings', ed/tr. Cress,Donald A. [Hackett 1987], p.45
A Reaction
I'm not sure how deep Rousseau takes 'free' to go. Having little enthusiasm for free will, I would say that we are distinguished by the complexity of our decision making. But I attribute that to meta-thought, the mark of humanity.
The
23 ideas
with the same theme
[what distinguishes humanity from other animals]:
7506
|
God made man in his own image
[Anon (Tor)]
|
5245
|
Society collapses if people cannot rely on exchanging good for good and evil for evil
[Aristotle]
|
5265
|
Even more than a social being, man is a pairing and family being
[Aristotle]
|
2803
|
Man is by nature a political animal
[Aristotle]
|
2820
|
People want to live together, even when they don't want mutual help
[Aristotle]
|
22586
|
Only humans have reason
[Aristotle]
|
12281
|
Man is intrinsically a civilized animal
[Aristotle]
|
21396
|
Man is distinguished by knowing conditional truths, because impressions are connected
[Stoic school, by Long]
|
3065
|
Humans are naturally made for co-operation
[Aurelius]
|
4855
|
If people are obedient to reason, they will live in harmony
[Spinoza]
|
19756
|
Humans are less distinguished from other animals by understanding, than by being free agents
[Rousseau]
|
21412
|
Humans are distinguished from animals by their capacity to set themselves any sort of end
[Kant]
|
21435
|
Man is both social, and unsociable
[Kant]
|
6934
|
Man is not a particular being, like animals, but a universal being
[Feuerbach]
|
6936
|
The essence of man is in community, but with distinct individuals
[Feuerbach]
|
5275
|
Men distinguish themselves from animals when they begin to produce their means of subsistence
[Marx/Engels]
|
5292
|
Individuals are mutually hostile unless they group together in competition with other groups
[Marx/Engels]
|
21992
|
Producing their own subsistence distinguishes men from animals
[Marx/Engels]
|
7166
|
Man is above all a judging animal
[Nietzsche]
|
20740
|
Maybe humans are distinguished from other animals by feelings, rather than reason
[Unamuno]
|
2558
|
Since Hegel we have tended to see a human as merely animal if it is outside a society
[Rorty]
|
4365
|
We are distinct from other animals in behaving rationally - pursuing something as good, for reasons
[Hursthouse]
|
20356
|
Humans dominate because, unlike other animals, they have a synthesis of conflicting drives
[Richardson]
|