--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man is a rational animal. He can think up…" description: "\"Man is a rational animal. He can think up a reason for anything he wants to believe.\" — Anatole France" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/anatole-france-1443_animal_man-is-a-rational-animal-he-can-think-up_1705570.jpg" --- # Man is a rational animal. He can think up a reason for… ![“Man is a rational animal. He can think up a reason for anything he wants to believe.” quote by Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/anatole-france-1443_animal_man-is-a-rational-animal-he-can-think-up_1705570.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/anatole-france-1443_animal_man-is-a-rational-animal-he-can-think-up_1705570.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/anatole-france-1443_animal_man-is-a-rational-animal-he-can-think-up_1705570.jpg) > “Man is a rational animal. He can think up a reason for anything he wants to believe.” [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human rationality can be twisted to justify any belief, highlighting cognitive bias. **In simple terms:** Reason can justify any belief. Key Takeaway Question rational justifications. Themes cognitive bias belief systems critical thinking Mood critical inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - debate - education - media literacy Key Concepts philosophy psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize self‑justifying reasoning? - What safeguards prevent misuse of rationality? A Different Perspective People may resist confronting their biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Man is not a rational animal, he is a rationalizing animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/man-is-not-a-rational-animal-he-is-a-rationalizing-animal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man is a rational animal—so at least I have been told. … Aristotle, so far as I know, was the first man to proclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/man-is-a-rational-animal-so-at-least-i-have-been-told-aristotle-so/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/man-is-a-rational-animal-who-always-loses-his-temper-when-he-is/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“The only thing rational about man, the rational animal, is his ability to rationalize his own present position.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-macdiarmid/the-only-thing-rational-about-man-the-rational-animal-is-his-ability/) Allen MacDiarmid > [“Man is a rational animal. But that does not mean that he is a reasonable animal. It means only that he has reason, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sheed/man-is-a-rational-animal-but-that-does-not-mean-that-he-is-a/) [Frank Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sheed/) > [I wonder who it was defined man as a rational animal. It was the most premature definition ever given. Man is many things, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-wonder-who-it-was-defined-man-as-a-rational-animal-it-was-the-most/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“One is tempted to define man as a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/one-is-tempted-to-define-man-as-a-rational-animal-who-always-loses/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [ Man \[is\] a rational animal, endowed by nature with rights and with an innate sense of justice. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/man-is-a-rational-animal-endowed-by-nature-with-rights-and-with-an/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/it-has-been-said-that-man-is-a-rational-animal-all-my-life-i-have/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Man is a rational animal – so at least I have been told. 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Throughout a long life I have searched diligently for evidence in favor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/man-is-a-rational-animal-so-at-least-we-have-been-told-throughout-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [All the evidence of history suggests that man is indeed a rational animal, but with a near infinite capacity for folly. . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-the-evidence-of-history-suggests-that-man-is-indeed-a-rational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I consider the differences between man and animals in propensities, feelings, and intellectual faculties, to be the result of the same cause as that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-william-lawrence-1st-baronet/i-consider-the-differences-between-man-and-animals-in-propensities/) Sir William Lawrence, 1st Baronet ## More by Anatole France > [“No, let us not conquer the heavens. It is enough to have the power to do so. War engenders war, and victory defeat. God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/no-let-us-not-conquer-the-heavens-it-is-enough-to-have-the-power-to/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [We have drugs to make women speak, but none to keep them silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/we-have-drugs-to-make-women-speak-but-none-to-keep-them-silent/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [The law ... allows rich as well as poor to sleep under bridges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/the-law-allows-rich-as-well-as-poor-to-sleep-under-bridges/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [“...the adventure of the soul among the masterpieces.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/the-adventure-of-the-soul-among-the-masterpieces/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [“If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/if-fifty-million-people-say-a-foolish-thing-it-is-still-a-foolish/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [The future is a convenient place for dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/the-future-is-a-convenient-place-for-dreams/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [The truth is that life is delicious, horrible, charming, frightful, sweet, bitter, and that is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/the-truth-is-that-life-is-delicious-horrible-charming-frightful-sweet/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [“And what, above all, I blame in you is that you have not married in compliance with the law and given children to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/and-what-above-all-i-blame-in-you-is-that-you-have-not-married-in/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [An old philosopher said to Monsieur Coignard, a Reverend Father: 'You are a pig!' 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A few choice spirits carry the germs of it in them, but these do not develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/the-faculty-of-doubting-is-rare-among-men-a-few-choice-spirits-carry/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [When a thing has been said and well said, have no scruple; take it and copy it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/when-a-thing-has-been-said-and-well-said-have-no-scruple-take-it-and/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [Without the utopians of other times, men would still live in caves, miserable and naked;...utopia is the principle of all progress, adn the essay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/without-the-utopians-of-other-times-men-would-still-live-in-caves/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) [Explore all 228 Anatole France quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. 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He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. 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The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. 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