Hombre y animales, naturaleza compartida. Montaigne y Charron, pensadores contemporáneos

Resumen

Humans and animals, a shared nature. On Montaigne and Charron

In the Apology of Raimond Sebond, the first French philosopher, Montaigne, discusses the frontier that separates humans from beasts. He proposes that this boundary is almost inexistent, since one can find all or almost all of human attributes in animals. This is especially true when one thinks of sentiments and emotions, but also in some expressions of genuine affection, of reciprocity, of true communication. Although this anti-anthropocentric stand is not new in western tradition, it finds in Montaigne and in one of his disciples, Charron, strong arguments against the dualistic claims of Cartesians that are still used in contemporary discussions concerning the right of animals, the rights of non-humans. In fact, Descartes made a progress for human rights when he declared that “common sense” was universal in men, but he also made of animals simple machines. How can we argue in favor of a moral stance towards living beings? Five centuries ago a thinker and “animal lover” offered us interesting arguments.

Key words: Montaigne, Charron, Sebond, Descartes, beasts, animal nature, joint nature, cruelty, benevolence, animal rights.