Quote:
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Originally Posted by Raynor
Concerning the rohirrim, we could at best accuse them of being dumb in the past, not able to distinguish some, arguably, rather ugly humanoid beings from beasts.
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I probably didn't spell out what I meant clearly enough the last time...
In classical thought it's not a question of appearance but of
essentia, of what one is, not how one looks. The Greeks surely had no problem recognising familiar features in Persians. Still the Persians were not men but beasts because they lacked the essence of humanity (mankind) which is Reason expressed through Greek language and which is shown in the reasoned society they had built them in the city-states.
So the ancient thought didn't classify the world according to looks but according to essences. The prof knew this well enough and I believe used it accordingly... At least I see the stance of the Rohirrim quite unproblematically in this way.