II. Consideration of the Nature of Man

Through the third link of the human being, man experiences pleasure and pain, urges, instincts, passions and desires. These fill the body just as much as the bones, muscles and so on. The impressions are reflected through processes within. Man shares this body with animals, but not with the mineral and plant kingdoms. Plants can certainly react to stimuli, but they have no consciousness; they do not internally transform the stimulus into sensation. A blue litmus paper can turn red, but consciousness is not present.