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Single Idea 12281
[filed under theme 24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 1. A People / a. Human distinctiveness
]
Full Idea
It is an essential [kath' auto] property of man to be 'by nature a civilized animal'.
Clarification
'Kath' auto' really means 'intrinsic' or 'per se'
Gist of Idea
Man is intrinsically a civilized animal
Source
Aristotle (Topics [c.331 BCE], 128b17)
Book Ref
Aristotle: 'Posterior Analytics and Topica', ed/tr. Tredennick,H/Forster,ES [Harvard 1960], p.481
A Reaction
I take this, along with man being intrinsically rational, to be the foundation of Aristotelian ethics. Given that we are civilized, self-evident criteria emerge for how to be good at it. A good person is, above all, a good citizen.
The
23 ideas
with the same theme
[what distinguishes humanity from other animals]:
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7506
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God made man in his own image
[Anon (Tor)]
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5245
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Society collapses if people cannot rely on exchanging good for good and evil for evil
[Aristotle]
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5265
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Even more than a social being, man is a pairing and family being
[Aristotle]
|
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2803
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Man is by nature a political animal
[Aristotle]
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2820
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People want to live together, even when they don't want mutual help
[Aristotle]
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22586
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Only humans have reason
[Aristotle]
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12281
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Man is intrinsically a civilized animal
[Aristotle]
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21396
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Man is distinguished by knowing conditional truths, because impressions are connected
[Stoic school, by Long]
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3065
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Humans are naturally made for co-operation
[Aurelius]
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4855
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If people are obedient to reason, they will live in harmony
[Spinoza]
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19756
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Humans are less distinguished from other animals by understanding, than by being free agents
[Rousseau]
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21412
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Humans are distinguished from animals by their capacity to set themselves any sort of end
[Kant]
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21435
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Man is both social, and unsociable
[Kant]
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6934
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Man is not a particular being, like animals, but a universal being
[Feuerbach]
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6936
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The essence of man is in community, but with distinct individuals
[Feuerbach]
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5275
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Men distinguish themselves from animals when they begin to produce their means of subsistence
[Marx/Engels]
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5292
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Individuals are mutually hostile unless they group together in competition with other groups
[Marx/Engels]
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21992
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Producing their own subsistence distinguishes men from animals
[Marx/Engels]
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7166
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Man is above all a judging animal
[Nietzsche]
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20740
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Maybe humans are distinguished from other animals by feelings, rather than reason
[Unamuno]
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2558
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Since Hegel we have tended to see a human as merely animal if it is outside a society
[Rorty]
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4365
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We are distinct from other animals in behaving rationally - pursuing something as good, for reasons
[Hursthouse]
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20356
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Humans dominate because, unlike other animals, they have a synthesis of conflicting drives
[Richardson]
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