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animal

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
any member of the animal kingdom (kingdom Animalia), as distinguished from organisms of the plant kingdom (kingdom Plantae) and the kingdoms Fungi , Protista , and Monera in the five-kingdom system of classification. (Another classification system, suggested by genetic sequencing studies, places animals with plants and some other forms in a larger taxonomic unit called the eukarya to distinguish them from the prokaryotic bacteria and archaea, or ancient bacteria.) Essentially, animals are many-celled heterotrophic organisms. Plants and algae characteristically manufacture their food from inorganic substances (usually by photosynthesis); animals must secure food already organized into organic substances. They are dependent upon photosynthetic organisms, which provide oxygen as a byproduct and are the ultimate source of all their food. Animals (as well as plants) provide carbon dioxide through respiration and the decomposition of their dead bodies (see carbon cycle ; nitrogen cycle ). In…
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Full text Article animal

From Philip's Encyclopedia
Living organism of the animal kingdom, usually distinguishable from members of the plant kingdom by its power of locomotion (at least during some stage of its existence); a well-defined body shape; limited growth; its feeding exclusively on organic matter; the production of two different kinds of…
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Full text Article animal

From Word Origins
Etymologically, an animal is a being which breathes (compare DEER ). Its immediate source was the Latin adjective animālis ‘having a soul’, a derivative of the noun anima ‘breath, soul’ (which also gave English the verb and adjective animate [15]). Anima is a member of a set of related words in…
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Full text Article Animals

From Cambridge Dictionary of Christian Theology
In the last twenty years or so, the animal-rights movement has put animals on the agenda of Christian theology. Before that, modern theology neglected the topic of animals, which is striking given how present animals are throughout the Bible. Since animal-rights advocates sometimes blame animal…
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Full text Article Animals

From Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World
Despite its anthropocentric character, premodern Islamic tradition was remarkably committed to the well-being of nonhuman animals, as indicated by the number of protections extended to most species and the level of concern reflected in discussions of animal themes. Beyond the ethical and legal…
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Full text Article ANIMALS

From The Essentials of Philosophy and Ethics
From the Genesis story of the Bible, to the analytic arguments of Donald Davidson in the twentieth century, Western thought has allotted non-human animals a relatively low status, both cognitively and ethically. Some philosophers, most notably DESCARTES , have even insisted that animals are mere…
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Full text Article ANIMALS

From Encyclopedia of Jewish Folklore and Traditions
Animals are mentioned frequently in Jewish folklore, which throughout history has been shaped and influenced by the beliefs and cultures not only of particular Jewish groups but also of the peoples among whom Jews lived in the Diaspora. The tales, songs, parables, and proverbs relating to animals…
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Full text Article ANIMAL

From Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
American environmentalist and nature writer We have never entered into an animal's mind and we cannot know what it is like, or even if it exists. The risk of attributing too much is no greater than the risk of attributing too little. In Krutch, Joseph Wood The Great Chain of Life Prologue (p. x ) …
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Full text Article animal

From The Chambers Dictionary
an organism having life, sensation and voluntary motion (typically distinguished from a plant, which is organized and has life, but apparently not sensation or voluntary motion); often, a lower animal, ie one below man; a mammal; a brutish or sensual man; a person, thing, organization, etc, as in…
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Full text Article animal

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
any member of the animal kingdom (kingdom Animalia), as distinguished from organisms of the plant kingdom (kingdom Plantae) and the kingdoms Fungi , Protista , and Monera in the five-kingdom system of classification. (Another classification system, suggested by genetic sequencing studies, places…
| 382 words
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Full text Article animal

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Member of the kingdom Animalia, one of the major categories of living things, the science of which is zoology . Animals are all multicellular heterotrophs (they obtain their energy from organic substances produced by other organisms); they have eukaryotic cells (the genetic material is contained…
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