Fontaine describes Descartes views of animals in The Disquisition in a negative light.
Descartes views animals as "machines" with "no
heart." Like many of my fellow classmates, I would have to disagree
with this viewpoint. While Descartes views animals as having "no
passion and no will", I think that animals do have intelligence,
understanding, and a heart.
Here’s an example of an animal's capacity for a heart in the link below.
The
video is of elephant parents rescuing their baby who has fallen over at
the zoo. The parents clearly show an understanding of their baby's
predicament and in no way does the behaviors of the elephants exemplify
machine-like characteristics. The
parents express concern for their offspring’s fall as well as compassion and
make sure to help their baby back up.
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