The Inventive Species

Similarities and Differences between Humans and Animals in Hume’s Philosophy

Abstract

Despite its importance for his anti-rationalist and naturalizing philosophical project, very little has been written on Hume’s discussion of animals. Hume reflects on animals by comparison with humans, as a way of enlarging the grounds of his conclusions about human nature. Thus, he concedes almost the same principles and operations to both of them, which renders the clarification of human peculiarities difficult to distinguish. This work will intend to address this question by looking over the features that Hume concedes to both animals and men, and then turning to what is specific to human beings. In that sense, abstract reasoning, inventive skill, sociability, and, in the moral field, the sentiment of humanity, are fundamental features.