Man and Universe [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Some others believe that the main difference is that of life. Man is the
only fully living animal. Other animals have no feelings, and are not
conscious of pleasure and pain. They are just semi-living machines. Therefore
the true definition of man is that he is the living being. [2]
Other thinkers do not believe that, and maintain that there are basic
differences between other living beings and man. It appears that each
group of these scholars has concentrated on one human characteristic and
distinction. That is why man has been defined in so many different ways.
He has been described as a rational animal, an absolute-seeking being,
an unending being, an idealist, a seeker of values, a metaphysical animal,
an insatiable being, an indefinite being, a responsible being, a forward-looking
being, a free agent, an insurgent, a social order loving being, a beauty-loving
being, a justice-loving being, a double-faced being, an amorous being,
an obligated being, an intuitive being, a being believing in double standard,
a creator, a lonely being, an agitated being, a fundamentalist, doctrinaire,
a tool-maker, a supernaturalist, an imaginative being, a spiritualist,
a transcendentalist etc.

Obviously each of these descriptions is true in itself, but if we want to find out an expression inclusive of all the basic distinctions, then we should say that man is an animal endowed with knowledge and faith.

That is what the English philosopher Thomas Hobbs maintains.

[2] Well-known theory of Descartes