This post is a long overdue sequel to one I wrote several months ago, outlining the interesting argument for Aristotilian form found in the first chapter of The Hungry Soul:Eating and the Perfecting of Our Nature. That argument proved to be a foundation for the consideration of richer themes.

The second chapter of Mr. Kass’ book marries science to philosophy with the same thoroughness and eloquence as the first, but his focus shifts from the animal soul to consider what the structure and operation of the human body reveal about human nature. He introduces this theme with a famous quote from Ovid: “And, though all other animals are prone, and fix their gaze upon the earth, he gave to man an uplifted face and bade him stand erect and turn his eyes to heaven.” Ovid recalls a distinction often taken for granted but which is, nonetheless, an important indication of man’s role in creation and his “standing” among animals.

Kass quotes Erwin Straus: “The shape and function of the human body are determined in almost every detail by, and for, the upright posture,” and this upright posture, “enables us to see things in their distance without any intention incorporating them.” Unlike other animals, man is capable of discerning and appreciating universal truths, of pursuing knowledge for its own sake. Our structure reveals this in other ways. For example, standing erect frees the arm and hand for greater motion, thus, the hand becomes what Kass calls a “true sense organ,” used to examine and identify material objects. This greater mobility also suits man for craftsmanship and artistry. Many human gestures indicate the unique human capacity even more clearly. By pointing “we quite literally constitute a relation with another human being, a relation based on our mutual openness to the world.”(Kass) It is a sign of the human potential for both friendship and philosophy. Likewise, the “curiously discriminating receptivity of the open hand contains and expresses our curiously theoretical and contemplative attitude.”(Kass)

Other aspects of the human form are equally telling. For instance, “the relation of sight and bite distinguishes the human face from those of lower animals.”(Straus) In other words, the physical arrangement of animal eyes often suggests a subordination of vision to eating, as when they sit directly above a snout, structurally directed toward objects before the mouth. In this regard, the human face displays a marked difference from most animals. Furthermore, in humans, the sense of sight exceeds that of smell: “Whereas smell, like taste, with which it is intimately connected, is a chemical sense indifferent to the forms of things, sight — especially in higher animals — brings awareness of wholes.”(Kass) Again, “man in upright posture, his feet on the ground and his head uplifted, does not move in the line of his digestive axis; he moves in the direction of his vision.” This primacy of vision indicates the distinctly human orientation toward knowing. We are designed to apprehend truth; we are designed for the Beatific Vision.

With this special capacity for understanding comes a special kind of freedom, which also finds expression in the unique human form. Instinct influences other animals much more forcibly and in a broader respect than man, who possesses greater understanding and a correspondingly greater control over his actions. Kass quotes Rousseau: “a beast cannot deviate from the rule that is prescribed to it even when it would be advantageous for it to do so, and a man deviates from it often to his detriment.” Human omnivorousness is one indication of this. The teeth and digestive system of man allow for greater variety of diet than those of any other creature. In the words of Kass, “the unspecialized and multipotent character of human dentition is paralleled by the unspecialized and versatile character of human jaw movements.” This indicates a unique freedom. Unlike lower animals, man chooses freely between contraries. The physical capacity for motion and perception, manifestations of human understanding and freedom, indicate that man is a rational creature, possessing free will. This capacity for deliberate, reasoned choice distinguishes man as an ethical animal. Regardless of how a man employs this freedom, it sets him apart from other animals as a creature with a higher purpose in the world and, therefore, a higher standing.