What distinguishes man from animals? As Condillac observed in 1755, to inquire into the nature of animals is ultimately to ask what makes us human. Engaging current debates in science and philosophy, Alain de Benoist addresses this essential question, tracing two millennia of reflections on humanity’s place in nature — from Aristotle and the Stoics through Christianity, modern philosophy, anthropology, and the latest research in biology and ethology.
Rejecting both the separation of man from the living world and the reduction of humanity to mere animality, Alain de Benoist’s Animals and Men charts a third way. In this concise tour de force that bridges whole epochs, disciplines, and ethical dilemmas, de Benoist sheds light on how man is an “unfinished” creature, open to the world, living and breathing by language, culture, and organization as much as by environment and instinct.
The leading philosopher of the European “New Right” offers a much-needed defense of human singularity that takes into consideration our rootedness in nature, the dignity of animals, and our intimate relationship with the living beings of our cosmos.
