Aristotle’s idea of human exceptionalism suggested why he considered humans “above” animals. Although he believed that animals had souls (as did plants), they lacked the souls that only humans had. Plants only had a generative soul, which allowed them to grow and reproduce. Animals and humans had this and a sensitive soul, which allowed them to perceive and feel. Humans, however, are the only beings in possession of a rational soul, which allows them to think, reason, and act on more than instinct. Read full article here
Science
‘Ghostly’ neutrinos provide new path to study protons
In groundbreaking research, an international collaboration of scientists from the University of Rochester have used a beam of neutrinos to measure the size and shape of the protons that make up the nuclei of atoms. This feat, once thought impossible, provides scientists with a new way of looking at the small components of an atom’s nucleus and opens up a wealth of new information about the structure of an atom’s nucleus and the dynamics of the forces that affect neutrino interactions. The researchers solved the challenge of harnessing neutrinos in large numbers by using a neutrino detector containing a target of both hydrogen and carbon atoms, and over nine years of data collection at Fermilab’s accelerator. Read full article here