In 1978, John Cottingham argued that Descartes may not have denied all forms of animal sensation. Cottingham distinguished between cogitatio ("thought") and sensus ("sensation"), and pointed to passages in which Descartes described animals as expressing fear, hunger, and anger. He concluded that Descartes' position on animal feeling was less straightforward than later summaries often suggest.

Continuing influence

The doctrine of the animal machine continues to appear in

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