Notes on the Human Difference

This paper should be conceived as a very general discussion on the topic of the human difference. What I am about to advance is not a standard theoretical proposal, since I draw from a (neo)classical background in a cultural context where the empiricist heritage appears to be more influent and widespread. The fundamental theses of my paper are two. The first one is that what differentiates human beings from animals resides in the relation of the entire person to what I call transcendental infinity. The second one is that every reduction of the human being ultimately results in a contradiction. In order to support these theses, I will first clarify the different meanings of the words ‘infinite’ and ‘infinity’, which I use here as synonyms. Secondly, I will attempt to explain how the reference to transcendental infinity gives an account of the specific mental, affective, and bodily life of the human being. Finally, I aim to point out the fundamental reason for the irreducibility of the human difference.