Discourse on the Method, part 5, ¶ 9-12

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René Descartes

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Lakewood Historical Society (lakewoodhistorical.org) The mission of the Lakewood Historical Society is to identify, preserve and perpetuate Lakewood’s history through educational programs, preservation and exhibits that celebrate the sites and people of Lakewood and its role in the development of the Pacific Northwest.

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Discourse on the Method (Veitch translation)

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For if such were the case, since they are endowed with many organs analogous to ours, they could as easily communicate their thoughts to us as to their fellows.

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And this proves not only that the brutes have less Reason than man, but that they have none at all: for we see that very little is required to enable a person to speak; and since a certain inequality of capacity is observable among animals of the same species, as well as among men, and since some are more capable of being instructed than others, it is incredible that the most perfect ape or parrot of its species, should not in this be equal to the most stupid infant of its kind, or at least to one that was crack-brained, unless the soul of brutes were of a nature wholly different from ours.