Humans and Dumb Animals
Forsey (Jane)
Source: Philosophy Now – Issue 25, 1999
Paper - Abstract

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Editor’s and Author’s Introductions

  1. Jane Forsey1 asks, what makes us so special?
  2. At stake is the human self-image. How special are we? Can we continue to rest easy in our claims to, or unspoken assumptions of, a privileged position over the rest of the natural world? Or does reflection require us to give way and accept that human beings are continuous with nature – especially animals – and thus not really ‘special’ at all?

Notes
  1. As the Introduction asks – are human animals on a continuum with other animals, or is there a ‘deep chasm’ between us and ‘the beasts’?
  2. The traditional arguments that claim there is a chasm are – says Forsey – because of three things we have that other animal lack:-
    1. Souls
    2. Free Will
    3. Language
  3. While Rene Descartes argued for all three2 of these distinctions, and hence for a ‘deep chasm’, modern arguments focus on language as a prerequisite for thought.
  4. Donald Davidson is cited as a supporter of the view that language is necessary for thought while Charles Taylor (and David Hume) argue against3.
Comment:

See Philosophy Now: Jane Forsey - Humans and Dumb Animals.


In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 1: Footnote 2: Footnote 3:

Text Colour Conventions (see disclaimer)

  1. Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2025
  2. Mauve: Text by correspondent(s) or other author(s); © the author(s)


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