Does animal include human?

Question

In today's English the word "animal" can include or exclude humans, depending on context. How about the word animal in classical Latin? Does it include humans? If not, is there a term that would cover human and other animals? If animal means "something with anima", then humans should be included, but this argument feels insufficient.

Answer 1

Animal is certainly applicable to men, both in classical literary usage and in prevalent philosophical discourse.

Classical Literary Usage

1. Referring to man

   First, a few examples of animal being used to refer to men, all taken from the Lewis & Short entry for animal:

   animal hoc prouidum, sagax, multiplex, acutum, memor, plenum rationis et consilii, quem uocamus hominem, praeclara quadam condicione generatum esse a supremo deo. (Cic. Leg. 1.22)

   and

   Sanctius his animal mentisque capacius altae
   deerat adhuc et quod dominari in cetera posset.
   Natus homo est... (Ov. M. 1.76-78)

2. Distinguishing from man

   Animal can also be used to distinguish from men. In other words, it can be used just as the English word animal. One example:

   Sed ea non ab hominibus modo petitur verum etiam ab animalibus... (Quint. 6, 3, 57)

Philosophical Usage

A strong philosophical current defined man as belong to the genus animal and having the specific difference of being rationale. This goes back to Aristotle's definition of man as a "zoon logikon."

Thus, Quintillian:

Itaque a genere perveniendum ad ultimam species: ut homo est animal non est satis, id enim genus est; mortale, etiamsi est species, cum aliis tamen communis finitio; rationale, nihil supererit ad demonstrandum id quod velis. (Quint. Inst. 5 10.56)

The medieval scholastics took and ran with this Aristotelian current. Aquinas provides a good example:

Unde etiam in rebus humanis, si quaeratur, quis est iste? Respondetur, Socrates, quod nomen est suppositi, si autem quaeratur, quid est iste? Respondetur, animal rationale et mortale. (Summa Theologiae I Q. 31 a. 2 ad 4)