This Don Juan was kind to women and courteous to men as your daughter here was kind to her pet cats and dogs; but such kindness is a denial of the exclusively human character of the soul.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Shaw suggests treating humans like pets denies human dignity; a philosophical critique on kindness.
- In plain terms
- Kindness that ignores human nature is shallow.
- What can you take from it?
- Respect human complexity.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can kindness be too simple?
- What defines human character?
Another view
It dismisses simple kindness.
More from George Bernard Shaw
Beware of the pursuit of the Superhuman: it leads to an indiscriminate contempt for the Human.
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