“We are not just rather like animals; we are animals.”

—  Mary Midgley

Introduction, Beast and Man: The Roots of Human Nature (1979).
Context: We are not just rather like animals; we are animals. Our difference from other species may be striking, but comparisons with them have always been, and must be, crucial to our view of ourselves.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "We are not just rather like animals; we are animals." by Mary Midgley?
Mary Midgley photo
Mary Midgley 42
British philosopher and ethicist 1919–2018

Related quotes

Walt Disney photo

“We felt that the public, and especially the children, like animals that are cute and little. I think we are rather indebted to Charlie Chaplin for the idea.”

Walt Disney (1901–1966) American film producer and businessman

Stating that the development of the Mickey Mouse character was inspired by Charlie Chaplin's character "the Tramp", as quoted in How to Be Like Walt : Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life (2004) by Pat Williams and Jim Denney, p. 52
Context: We felt that the public, and especially the children, like animals that are cute and little. I think we are rather indebted to Charlie Chaplin for the idea. We wanted something appealing, and we thought of a tiny bit of a mouse that would have something of the wistfulness of Chaplin — a little fellow trying to do the best he could.

Michael Gove photo
Stephen Hawking photo

“For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We learned to talk and we learned to listen.”

Stephen Hawking (1942–2018) British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author

British Telecom advertisement (1993), part of which was used in Pink Floyd's Keep Talking (1994) and Talkin' Hawkin'<nowiki/> (2014)
Context: For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We learned to talk and we learned to listen. Speech has allowed the communication of ideas, enabling human beings to work together to build the impossible. Mankind's greatest achievements have come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not talking. It doesn't have to be like this. Our greatest hopes could become reality in the future. With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking.

Glenn Dorsey photo

“I'm passionate about animals. … I think animal protection is so important because they need love, too, just like we do. They’re with us through thick and thin, and it’s very important to protect them.”

Glenn Dorsey (1985) American football player, defensive lineman

"Glenn Dorsey for PETA" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOxVeO-qZUc, video interview with PETA (15 December 2011).

Barbara Kingsolver photo
Sri Aurobindo photo

“When we have passed beyond humanity, then we shall be the Man. The Animal was the helper; the Animal is the bar.”

Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950) Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru and poet

Thoughts and Glimpses (1916-17)

Dave Attell photo

“Even now, as we speak, people are having sex with animals. And we wonder why the animals attack us.”

Dave Attell (1965) comedian

"Skanks for the Memories"

“The shadow escapes from the body like an animal we had been sheltering.”

Source: Francis Bacon: The Logic of Sensation

Imre Kertész photo

“Survivors represent a separate species, just like an animal species.”

Imre Kertész (1929–2016) Hungarian writer

Liquidation (2003)
Context: Survivors represent a separate species, just like an animal species. We are all survivors, that is what determines our perverse and degenerate mental world. Auschwitz.

George Monbiot photo

“While we call ourselves animal lovers, and lavish kindness on our dogs and cats, we inflict brutal deprivations on billions of animals that are just as capable of suffering. The hypocrisy is so rank that future generations will marvel at how we could have failed to see it.”

George Monbiot (1963) English writer and political activist

"Goodbye – and good riddance – to livestock farming" https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/04/livestock-farming-artificial-meat-industry-animals,  The Guardian, 4 October 2017.

Related topics