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Rational Animal is a classical definition of man. [1]It first appears as a definition in Aristotle's Metaphysics.
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Descartes
In Meditation II of Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes arrives at his famous "I am, I exist" claim. He then goes on to wonder "What am I?" He considers and rejects, "rational animal":
Shall I say 'a rational animal'? No; for then I should have to inquire what an animal is, what rationality is, and in this one question would lead me down the slope to other harder ones.[2]
Quotes
- Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. – Oscar Wilde
- It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this. – Bertrand Russell
References
- ^ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognition-animal/
- ^ The Philosophical Writings of Descartes Volumn II. Translated by John Cottingham, Robert Stoothoff, Dugald Murdoch. Cambridge University Press. 1984.
See also
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