Man and Beast in French Thought of the Eighteenth Century by Hester Hastings

Man and Beast in French Thought of the Eighteenth Century by Hester Hastings, published in 1936. A scholarly examination of the philosophical and moral debates surrounding animals in the French Enlightenment, tracing how leading thinkers reconsidered the relationship between humanity and the animal world. Hastings explores questions central to the period, including the distinction between human and animal nature, the problem of the soul, sensibility, reason, and the emerging discourse on cruelty and moral responsibility toward animals. By situating these debates within broader Enlightenment concerns about reason, science, and ethics, the work illuminates a formative moment in the development of modern attitudes toward animal life. Softcover in original wraps as issued, showing only the very lightest shelfwear.