Creatures of Habit: Condillac on the Abilities of Animals

Dunham, Jeremy

Abstract

This chapter gives an account of Condillac’s understanding of the abilities of human and non-human animals in his 1755 Traité des animaux. It argues that if we understand abilities in the broadest sense to capture all the things an animal is able to do, we find in Condillac’s philosophy two classes of animal abilities: instincts and habits. Instincts are abilities that depend on the body alone. This class includes our ability to receive sensations, distinguish pleasure from pain, and make some primitive impulsive movements. Habits are learned abilities that involve the co-ordination of the body and mind. They are intelligent powers. This class includes our ability to perceive the world (our ability to understand our sensations) and all skilled movements. This chapter shows that by keeping this distinction in mind, we can obtain a better understanding of (i) his objections to the “mechanist” account of animal abilities offered by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon; (ii) Condillac’s own genetic account of animal abilities; and (iii) the reasons why Condillac often complains about explanations of animal abilities that involve instincts and innate faculties despite using the terms himself.

Citation

Dunham, J. (2024). Creatures of Habit: Condillac on the Abilities of Animals. In S. Bender, & D. Perler (Eds.), Powers and Abilities in Early Modern Philosophy (245-264). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003305316-13

• Acceptance Date: Apr 4, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jun 27, 2024
• Publication Date: Jun 28, 2024
• Deposit Date: Aug 20, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 28, 2025
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 245-264
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Book Title: Powers and Abilities in Early Modern Philosophy
• Chapter Number: 12
• ISBN: 9781003305316
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003305316-13
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2762534