“It seems to me perfectly possible to act humanely towards other beings, whether humans or animals or plants. One simply has to learn how to behave. To behave "humanely" it is perfectly possible to do without the notion of "humanity."” HumansSeemsHumanityAnimalPlantNotionBehave Author:Talal Asad
“Language has multiple uses, and is embedded in different forms of life. It is not necessary to have this grand concept of "humanity" in order to behave decently.” DifferentUseFormHumanityOrderLanguageConceptsBehaveMultipleEmbedded Author:Talal Asad
“The notion of "humanity" as a form of transcendence derives, I think, from the conviction that intellectuality possesses an absolute power, from the demand that our best behavior depends on our ability to think abstractly, in terms of a universal rule, about something called humanity, that we need to understand humanity abstractly so that we can act responsibly towards those who represent it.” ThinkingNeedsFormHumanityTermAbilityDependsDemandBehaviorUniversalAbsolutesNotionConvictionTranscendenceAbsolute Power Author:Talal Asad
“To behave "humanely" it is perfectly possible to do without the notion of "humanity."” HumanityNotionBehave Author:Talal Asad
