Tool Use

Not least through the distinction of man as tool maker (“Man the Tool Maker” [190]), which derives from the special ability to use objects to expand the functional possibilities of his body, the use of tools has been regarded as a brilliant achievement of human reason, by some even as its highest form; for some philosophers and anthropologists, this distinction is even the outstanding, defining characteristic of humans. Indeed, there is no doubt that man’s technical intelligence crystallises in the production of tools and takes ever higher and more complex forms, just think of rockets flying to the moon or particle accelerators treating cancer [191, 192].