When “rational animal” is selected as the definition of “man,” this does not
mean that the concept “man” becomes a shorthand tag for “anything whatever that
has rationality and animality.” It does not mean that the concept “man” is
interchangeable with the phrase “rational animal,” and that all of man’s other
characteristics are excluded from the concept. It means: A certain type of
entity, including all its characteristics, is, in the present context of
knowledge, most fundamentally distinguished from all other entities by the fact
that it is a rational animal. All the presently available knowledge of man’s
other characteristics is required to validate this definition, and is implied
by it. All these other characteristics remain part of the content of the
concept “man.”