"... we are not rational beings; we are rationalizing beings." | A) B. F. Skinner B) Anna McKim C) Ivan Pavlov D) Giovanni Boccaccio |
The quote above is attorney Anna McKim's take on a quotation originally by science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein,
"Man is not a rational animal; he is a rationalizing animal."
Giovanni Boccaccio was a renaissance humanist and author of Decameron, considered by many to be one of the earliest great masterpieces of European storytelling. Regarding humanism, humanists cannot agree on what humanism is. What it means to be a humanist has changed over time as different movements have identified with it, and the renaissance humanism of Boccaccio's day should not be confused with modern "humanist" movements.