--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The human animal has evolved as a…" description: "\"The human animal has evolved as a preeminently social animal.\" — Leon Kass" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/leon-kass-12927_animal_the-human-animal-has-evolved-as-a-preemi_1821919.jpg" --- # The human animal has evolved as a preeminently social… ![“The human animal has evolved as a preeminently social animal.” quote by Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/leon-kass-12927_animal_the-human-animal-has-evolved-as-a-preemi_1821919.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/leon-kass-12927_animal_the-human-animal-has-evolved-as-a-preemi_1821919.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/leon-kass-12927_animal_the-human-animal-has-evolved-as-a-preemi_1821919.jpg) > “The human animal has evolved as a preeminently social animal.” [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human beings are fundamentally social, shaping behavior and evolution through relationships. **In simple terms:** Humans are naturally social. Key Takeaway Foster community connections. Themes social evolution relationships Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - teamwork - family life - education - mental health Key Concepts anthropology psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you nurture social ties? - What social need feels most vital? A Different Perspective Social bonds can be strained by isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal Evolved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-evolved-2200823/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Evolved Preeminently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolved-preeminently-2200825/) [Human animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-animal/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Preeminently Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preeminently-social-2200824/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-animal-323657/) ## Related quotes > [Architecture arises out of our need to shelter the human animal in a spatial environment and to enclose the social animal in a group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-l-geddes/architecture-arises-out-of-our-need-to-shelter-the-human-animal-in-a/) [Robert L. Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-l-geddes/) > [Even very smart people can try to shoehorn new information that just doesn't fit into an existing paradigm.For a long time the story that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/even-very-smart-people-can-try-to-shoehorn-new-information-that-just/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Many textbooks point out that no animal has evolved wheels and cite the fact as an example of how evolution is often incapable of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/many-textbooks-point-out-that-no-animal-has-evolved-wheels-and-cite/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [The human animal originally came from out-of-doors. When spring begins to move in his bones, he just must get out again. Moreover, as civilization,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/the-human-animal-originally-came-from-out-of-doors-when-spring-begins/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [Everybody's strange everywhere. Most of the trick of being a social animal is pretending you're not. But who do you fool? Nobody worth talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/everybody-s-strange-everywhere-most-of-the-trick-of-being-a-social/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“As a social animal, we have a deeply rooted desire to belong to a social group—a preferred tribe, if you will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/as-a-social-animal-we-have-a-deeply-rooted-desire-to-belong-to-a/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“to say that man is a social animal is also to say that man never lives in a world completely of his own choosing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gresham-m-sykes/to-say-that-man-is-a-social-animal-is-also-to-say-that-man-never/) [Gresham M. Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gresham-m-sykes/) > [“Homo Sapiens evolved to think of people as divided into us and them. 'Us' was the group immediately around you, whoever you were, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/homo-sapiens-evolved-to-think-of-people-as-divided-into-us-and-them/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [If you want to design a successful human society you need to know what kind of animal we are. Are we a social animal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/if-you-want-to-design-a-successful-human-society-you-need-to-know/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [MAN is a social animal, gregarious by nature, and finds his greatest sense of security and satisfaction in the company of others who share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/man-is-a-social-animal-gregarious-by-nature-and-finds-his-greatest/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Basically, a human being is a social animal. So, if you create some short moment of happiness for people, you get deep satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/basically-a-human-being-is-a-social-animal-so-if-you-create-some/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Man owes his strength in the struggle for existence to the fact that he is a social animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/man-owes-his-strength-in-the-struggle-for-existence-to-the-fact-that/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“SOCIAL ANIMAL ALWAYS COME ACROSS SEVERAL COMPLICATIONS”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bishop-of-nyssa-gregory/social-animal-always-come-across-several-complications/) [Bishop of Nyssa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bishop-of-nyssa-gregory/) > [A cat can be social, but a dog, we've bred this hyper social animal that's really truly different and will do stuff for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/a-cat-can-be-social-but-a-dog-we-ve-bred-this-hyper-social-animal/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Man is a social animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/man-is-a-social-animal/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) ## More by Leon Kass > [Limits have to be set on how far one can simply use the... cleverness that we have to make changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/limits-have-to-be-set-on-how-far-one-can-simply-use-the-cleverness/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [The so-called right to reproduce is not an unlimited right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/the-so-called-right-to-reproduce-is-not-an-unlimited-right/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [I don't believe that efforts to prohibit only so-called reproductive cloning can be successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/i-don-t-believe-that-efforts-to-prohibit-only-so-called-reproductive/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Many other countries have already banned human cloning, and there are efforts at the UN to make such a ban universal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/many-other-countries-have-already-banned-human-cloning-and-there-are/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [We may simply not be wise enough to do some of the kinds of engineering things that people are talking about doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/we-may-simply-not-be-wise-enough-to-do-some-of-the-kinds-of/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [The technical is not just the machinery. The technical is a disposition to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/the-technical-is-not-just-the-machinery-the-technical-is-a/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [I've been opposed to human cloning from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/i-ve-been-opposed-to-human-cloning-from-the-very-beginning/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Genetics is crude, but neuroscience goes directly to work on the brain, and the mind follows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/genetics-is-crude-but-neuroscience-goes-directly-to-work-on-the-brain/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Cloning represents a very clear, powerful, and immediate example in which we are in danger of turning procreation into manufacture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/cloning-represents-a-very-clear-powerful-and-immediate-example-in/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [Human life without death would be something other than human; consciousness of mortality gives rise to out deepest longings and greatest accomplishments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/human-life-without-death-would-be-something-other-than-human/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [If you have easy self-contentment, you might have a very, very cheap source of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/if-you-have-easy-self-contentment-you-might-have-a-very-very-cheap/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [It's a short step from the belief that every child should be wanted to the belief that a child exists to satisfy our wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/it-s-a-short-step-from-the-belief-that-every-child-should-be-wanted/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [My job is to provide the president with the richest possible consideration, so that he knows what is at stake in whatever decision he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/my-job-is-to-provide-the-president-with-the-richest-possible/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [In cloning, in contrast, reproduction is asexual - the cloned child is the product not of two but of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/in-cloning-in-contrast-reproduction-is-asexual-the-cloned-child-is/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [There were certain questions about the foundations of morals that advances in science all threaten to make more complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/there-were-certain-questions-about-the-foundations-of-morals-that/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) [Explore all 52 Leon Kass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) ## More Animal 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/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. 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. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [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/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“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/) > [“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. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The human animal has evolved as a preeminently social animal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leon Kass" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/the-human-animal-has-evolved-as-a-preeminently-social-animal/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/the-human-animal-has-evolved-as-a-preeminently-social-animal/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/leon-kass-12927_animal_the-human-animal-has-evolved-as-a-preemi_1821919.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/leon-kass-12927_animal_the-human-animal-has-evolved-as-a-preemi_1821919.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/leon-kass-12927_animal_the-human-animal-has-evolved-as-a-preemi_1821919.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The human animal has evolved as a preeminently social animal.” — Leon Kass", "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": "Leon Kass", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The human animal has evolved as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/the-human-animal-has-evolved-as-a-preeminently-social-animal/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/the-human-animal-has-evolved-as-a-preeminently-social-animal/#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 } } ] } ```