Soul of animals

人皆惻隱之心，哲學家的思想當真好難理解。

笛卡爾說，人是這個星球的所有人也是主宰，可動物卻只是個自動的機器，一架會動的機械，也就是拉丁文說的「machina animata」。動物哀鳴的時候，其實不是在叫痛，那不過是機械運轉不順所發出的雜聲音。馬車的輪子發出雜音，並不是因為馬車不舒服，只是因為輪子沒有上油而已。同理，我們也沒理由給動物的叫聲多作解釋，或是為那些在實驗室裡被人活活閞膛剖肚的狗兒哀嘆。

米蘭‧昆德拉《生命中不能承受之輕》

Man is master and proprietor, says Descartes, whereas the beast is merely an automaton, an animated machine, a machina animata. When an animal laments, it is not a lament; it is merely the rasp of a poorly functioning mechanism. When a wagon wheel grates, the wagon is not in pain; it simply needs oiling. Thus, we have no reason to grieve for a dog being carved up alive in the laboratory.

Hans, J. S. (1991). The Origins of the Gods. Suny Press.

proprietor: owner

automaton: robot

animated: alive

lament: to mourn aloud

wagon: a usually four-wheeled vehicle for transporting bulky commodities and drawn originally by animals

grate: to utter in a harsh voice