--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When humans act like animals, they become…" description: "\"When humans act like animals, they become the most dangerous of animals to themselves and other humans, and this is because of another critical differe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/wendell-berry-236_animal_when-humans-act-like-animals-they-become_1492037.jpg" --- # When humans act like animals, they become the most… ![“When humans act like animals, they become the most dangerous of animals to themselves and other humans, and this is because of another critical difference between humans and animals: Whereas animals are usually restrained by the limits of physical appetites, humans have mental appetites that can…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/wendell-berry-236_animal_when-humans-act-like-animals-they-become_1492037.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/wendell-berry-236_animal_when-humans-act-like-animals-they-become_1492037.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a0/wendell-berry-236_animal_when-humans-act-like-animals-they-become_1492037.jpg) > “When humans act like animals, they become the most dangerous of animals to themselves and other humans, and this is because of another critical difference between humans and animals: Whereas animals are usually restrained by the limits of physical appetites, humans have mental appetites that can be far more gross and capacious than physical ones. Only humans squander and hoard, murder and pillage because of notions.” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans, unlike animals, are driven by expansive mental cravings that lead to destructive behaviors beyond physical needs. **In simple terms:** Human mental cravings cause harm beyond physical urges. Key Takeaway Control mental appetites to reduce harm. Themes human nature danger mental appetite self‑destruction Mood concerned reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - political leadership - environmental policy - personal self‑control - community building Key Concepts philosophy psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do mental desires shape our actions? - Can we redirect mental appetites toward constructive goals? A Different Perspective Humans can also channel mental appetites positively, not only destructively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Appetite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appetite/) [Consumerism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumerism/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Humans and animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans-and-animals/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Overconsumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overconsumption/) ## Related quotes > [For the real difference between humans and other animals is that humans alone have perception of good and evil, just and unjust, etc. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/for-the-real-difference-between-humans-and-other-animals-is-that/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The difference between animals and humans is that animals change themselves for the environment, but humans change the environment for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-difference-between-animals-and-humans-is-that-animals-change/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The difference between humans and wild animals is that humans pray before they commit murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-d-rrenmatt/the-difference-between-humans-and-wild-animals-is-that-humans-pray/) [Friedrich Durrenmatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-d-rrenmatt/) > [There is no differentiation between all living things: trees, river, animals, and humans. We are all one interdependent organism, so our focus may seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-somerhalder/there-is-no-differentiation-between-all-living-things-trees-river-2/) [Ian Somerhalder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-somerhalder/) > [Love of animals is a universal impulse, a common ground on which all of us may meet. By loving and understanding animals, perhaps we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-j-camuti/love-of-animals-is-a-universal-impulse-a-common-ground-on-which-all/) [Louis J. Camuti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-j-camuti/) > [Animals and humans come in many different sizes and colors, but we all have the same loving heart and soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-d-williams/animals-and-humans-come-in-many-different-sizes-and-colors-but-we-all/) [Anthony D. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-d-williams/) > [There is no differentiation between all living things: trees, river, animals, and humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-somerhalder/there-is-no-differentiation-between-all-living-things-trees-river/) [Ian Somerhalder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-somerhalder/) > [The love I have for our wildlife is so great, it fills my world. After Black Saturday I saw a world that was black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-reid/the-love-i-have-for-our-wildlife-is-so-great-it-fills-my-world-after/) Stella Reid > [The animal liberation movement is saying that where animals and humans have similar interests - we might take the interest in avoiding physical pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/the-animal-liberation-movement-is-saying-that-where-animals-and/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“Vengeance is primitive; which is why only two species in the universe practice it: humans and animals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/vengeance-is-primitive-which-is-why-only-two-species-in-the-universe/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“Humans and animals regard each other across a gulf of mutual incomprehension. With aliens, that has to go double.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/humans-and-animals-regard-each-other-across-a-gulf-of-mutual/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [“There are mystical, unbreakable bonds between all members of the natural world including humans and animals. Whether or not we remember or acknowledge this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-eiler/there-are-mystical-unbreakable-bonds-between-all-members-of-the/) Elizabeth Eiler > [There is increasing social concern about our use of nonhumans for experiments, food, clothing and entertainment. This concern about animals reflects both our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/there-is-increasing-social-concern-about-our-use-of-nonhumans-for/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Humans and animals are the largest in a difference \| after beating the animal will showyou the same love \| But man forgets the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-and-animals-are-the-largest-in-a-difference-after-beating-the/) Mak\_786 > [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. 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Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## 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 > [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": "When humans act like animals, they become the most dangerous of animals to themselves and other humans, and this is because of another critical difference between humans and animals: Whereas animals are usually restrained by the limits of physical appetites, humans have mental appetites that can be far more gross and capacious than physical ones. 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