„Човекът е говорещо смъртно живо същество“ – едно алтернативно формулиране на класическата дефиниция за човека
“Man is a speaking mortal living being” – an alternative formulation of the classical definition of human nature

Summary/Abstract: The current paper is focused on tracing the origin of a formulation of the classical definition of man, which is influenced by the commentators of the sacred Hebrew texts. In the beginning we are introducing the general problem of localizing the first sourcesthat formulate the classical definition of a “rational mortal living being” and the relationship to Aristotle’s texts. Afterwards we are tracing a specific translation and interpretation of a verse from the first book of the Pentateuch in the Jewish tradition. This understanding of the mentioned passage gives rise to a series of commentaries and discussions on the nature of the human being in Medieval Jewish texts, which not only define the man as a rational creature, but put a specific emphasis on his ability to speak. The ability of speech, of course, doesn’t come to replace the understanding of the human as a rational creature, but gives a new perspective and nuance of the reading of the classical definition of human nature.

• Details
• Contents