--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From the physical point of view, a man is…" description: "\"From the physical point of view, a man is nothing more than a system of cells, or from the mental point of view, than a system of representations; in e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/emile-durkheim-7413_animals_from-the-physical-point-of-view-a-man-is_1404119.jpg" --- # From the physical point of view, a man is nothing more… ![“From the physical point of view, a man is nothing more than a system of cells, or from the mental point of view, than a system of representations; in either case, he differs only in degree from animals.” quote by Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/emile-durkheim-7413_animals_from-the-physical-point-of-view-a-man-is_1404119.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/emile-durkheim-7413_animals_from-the-physical-point-of-view-a-man-is_1404119.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/emile-durkheim-7413_animals_from-the-physical-point-of-view-a-man-is_1404119.jpg) > “From the physical point of view, a man is nothing more than a system of cells, or from the mental point of view, than a system of representations; in either case, he differs only in degree from animals.” [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans are biologically and mentally similar to animals, differing mainly in complexity of cells and mental representations. **In simple terms:** People are like animals, just more complex. Key Takeaway Recognize shared biological roots. Themes biology philosophy human nature Mood analytical thoughtful Type academic philosophical When to use this quote - discussing ethics - debating AI consciousness - educational curricula on evolution Key Concepts materialism cognitive science comparative anatomy Questions to Reflect On - What makes human societies unique? - How do we balance biological sameness with cultural diversity? A Different Perspective Oversimplifies cultural and moral distinctions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Case](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/case/) [Cells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cells/) [Cells Mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cells-mental-4929327/) [Degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degree/) [Differs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differs/) [Either](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/either/) [He](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Man Cells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-cells-4929326/) [Mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental/) [Mental Point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-point-2771237/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [Only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/only/) [Physical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical/) [Point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) [Representations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representations-348771/) [System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/) [Than](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/than/) [View](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/view/) [View Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/view-man-4929328/) ## Related quotes > [“Without a proper view of God there cannot exist a proper view of man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-macarthur/without-a-proper-view-of-god-there-cannot-exist-a-proper-view-of-man/) [John F. MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-macarthur/) > [From a mental point of view, as I've had to rebuild my life from zero, it has been crucial I've never given up, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kubica/from-a-mental-point-of-view-as-i-ve-had-to-rebuild-my-life-from-zero/) [Robert Kubica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kubica/) > [No windows give a better view than those a man brings with him in his head, not asking for tickets of admission, since at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-calder-n-de-la-barca/no-windows-give-a-better-view-than-those-a-man-brings-with-him-in-his/) [Pedro Calderon de la Barca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-calder-n-de-la-barca/) > [Spending time with the horses was also a good place to escape to if you were having a bad day, so it was good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millie-bright/spending-time-with-the-horses-was-also-a-good-place-to-escape-to-if/) [Millie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millie-bright/) > [Religious representations are collective representations which express collective realities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/religious-representations-are-collective-representations-which/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [All representations of a thing are inherently abstract.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/all-representations-of-a-thing-are-inherently-abstract/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [People learn who they are by the images of themselves, the representations that they seek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lennix/people-learn-who-they-are-by-the-images-of-themselves-the/) [Harry Lennix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lennix/) > [One of the reasons I always come back to representations of loneliness in plays, films, and literature is that they give us specific examples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/one-of-the-reasons-i-always-come-back-to-representations-of/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) > [If you understand something in only one way, then you don't really understand it at all. The secret of what anything means to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/if-you-understand-something-in-only-one-way-then-you-don-t-really/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [“From \*the form of time and of the single dimension\* of the series of representations, on account of which the intellect, in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/from-the-form-of-time-and-of-the-single-dimension-of-the-series-of/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“Intellectual representations are the activity itself, dependent on a kind of consciousness that is skeptical, engaged, unremittingly devote to rational investigation and moral judgement;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-w-said/intellectual-representations-are-the-activity-itself-dependent-on-a/) [Edward W. Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-w-said/) > [In A.I., the holy grail was how do you generate internal representations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/in-a-i-the-holy-grail-was-how-do-you-generate-internal-representations/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [“We tend to treat labels as real, rather than as representations of reality”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dewight-r-middleton/we-tend-to-treat-labels-as-real-rather-than-as-representations-of/) [Dewight R. Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dewight-r-middleton/) > [Performance's only life is in the present. Performance cannot be saved, recorded, documented, or otherwise participate in the circulation of representations of representations: once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-phelan/performance-s-only-life-is-in-the-present-performance-cannot-be-saved/) [Peggy Phelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-phelan/) > [The universe is an enormous direct product of representations of symmetry groups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/the-universe-is-an-enormous-direct-product-of-representations-of/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) ## More by Emile Durkheim > [Man seeks to learn, and man kills himself because of the loss of cohesion in his religious society; he does not kill himself because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/man-seeks-to-learn-and-man-kills-himself-because-of-the-loss-of/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Irrespective of any external, regulatory force, our capacity for feeling is in itself an insatiable and bottomless abyss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/irrespective-of-any-external-regulatory-force-our-capacity-for/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Man's characteristic privilege is that the bond he accepts is not physical but moral; that is, social. He is governed not by a material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/man-s-characteristic-privilege-is-that-the-bond-he-accepts-is-not/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [It is only by historical analysis that we can discover what makes up man, since it is only in the course of history that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/it-is-only-by-historical-analysis-that-we-can-discover-what-makes-up/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [There is no sociology worthy of the name which does not possess a historical character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/there-is-no-sociology-worthy-of-the-name-which-does-not-possess-a/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The liberal professions, and in a wider sense the well-to-do classes, are certainly those with the liveliest taste for knowledge and the most active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-liberal-professions-and-in-a-wider-sense-the-well-to-do-classes/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [If religion has given birth to all that is essential in society, it is because the idea of society is the soul of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/if-religion-has-given-birth-to-all-that-is-essential-in-society-it-is/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The man whose whole activity is diverted to inner meditation becomes insensible to all his surroundings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-man-whose-whole-activity-is-diverted-to-inner-meditation-becomes/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Man is a moral being, only because he lives in society. Let all social life disappear and morality will disappear with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/man-is-a-moral-being-only-because-he-lives-in-society-let-all-social/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [One does not advance when one walks toward no goal, or - which is the same thing - when his goal is infinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/one-does-not-advance-when-one-walks-toward-no-goal-or-which-is-the/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The roles of art, morality, religion, political faith, science itself are not to repair organic exhaustion nor to provide sound functioning of the organs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-roles-of-art-morality-religion-political-faith-science-itself-are/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [One cannot long remain so absorbed in contemplation of emptiness without being increasingly attracted to it. In vain, one bestows on it the name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/one-cannot-long-remain-so-absorbed-in-contemplation-of-emptiness/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The man whose whole activity is diverted to inner meditation becomes insensible to all his surroundings. His passions are mere appearances, being sterile. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-man-whose-whole-activity-is-diverted-to-inner-meditation-becomes-2/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [By definition, sacred beings are separated beings. That which characterizes them is that there is a break of continuity between them and the profane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/by-definition-sacred-beings-are-separated-beings-that-which/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [For a long time it has been known that the first systems of representations with which men have pictured to themselves the world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/for-a-long-time-it-has-been-known-that-the-first-systems-of/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) [Explore all 87 Emile Durkheim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) ## More Animals quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? 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/) > [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/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "From the physical point of view, a man is nothing more than a system of cells, or from the mental point of view, than a system of representations; in either case, he differs only in degree from animals.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emile Durkheim" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/from-the-physical-point-of-view-a-man-is-nothing-more-than-a-system/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animals" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/from-the-physical-point-of-view-a-man-is-nothing-more-than-a-system/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/emile-durkheim-7413_animals_from-the-physical-point-of-view-a-man-is_1404119.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/emile-durkheim-7413_animals_from-the-physical-point-of-view-a-man-is_1404119.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/emile-durkheim-7413_animals_from-the-physical-point-of-view-a-man-is_1404119.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“From the physical point of view, a man is nothing more than a system of cells, or from the mental point of…” — Emile Durkheim", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Emile Durkheim", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "From the physical point of view,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/from-the-physical-point-of-view-a-man-is-nothing-more-than-a-system/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/from-the-physical-point-of-view-a-man-is-nothing-more-than-a-system/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```