“The best definition of man is: a being that goes on two legs and is ungrateful.”

Variant translation: If I had to define man it would be: a biped, ungrateful.
Part 1, Chapter 8 (page 28)
Notes from Underground (1864)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Jan. 12, 2025. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The best definition of man is: a being that goes on two legs and is ungrateful." by Fyodor Dostoyevsky?
Fyodor Dostoyevsky photo
Fyodor Dostoyevsky 155
Russian author 1821–1881

Related quotes

George Orwell photo
George Orwell photo

“Four legs good, two legs bad.”

Source: Animal Farm

François de La Rochefoucauld photo

“A man may be ungrateful but is less chargeable with ingratitude than his benefactor.”

Tel homme est ingrat, qui est moins coupable de son ingratitude que celui qui lui a fait du bien.
Maxim 96.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665–1678)

Franklin D. Roosevelt photo
Hans-Georg Gadamer photo

“Aristotle established the classical definition of man, according to which man is the living being who has logos.”

Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900–2002) German philosopher

Man and Language (1966)
Context: Aristotle established the classical definition of man, according to which man is the living being who has logos. In the tradition of the West, this definition became canonical in a form which stated that man is the animal rationale, the rational being, distinguished from all other animals by his capacity for thought. Thus it rendered the Greek word logos as reason or thought. In truth, however, the primary meaning of this word is language.... The word logos means not only thought and language, but also concept and law.

Black Elk photo
George Orwell photo

“Four legs good, two legs better! All Animals Are Equal. But Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others.”

Variant: All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
Source: Animal Farm

Charles Dickens photo
Cornel West photo

Related topics