Single Idea 20740

[catalogued under 24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 1. A People / a. Human distinctiveness]

Full Idea

Man is said to be a reasoning animal. I do not know why he has not been defined as an affective or feeling animal. Perhaps that which differentiates him from other animals is feeling rather than reason.

Gist of Idea

Maybe humans are distinguished from other animals by feelings, rather than reason

Source

Miguel de Unamuno (The Tragic Sense of Life [1912], p.3), quoted by Kevin Aho - Existentialism: an introduction 2 'Problem'

Book Reference

Aho,Kevin: 'Existentialism: an introduction' [Polity 2014], p.22


A Reaction

Perfectly plausible, given that we presume that our feelings are startlingly different from other animals - even if we feel far more community with other mammals than we did in Unamuno's day.