[1] Burke's definition of man states: "Man is the symbol-using (symbol-making, symbol-misusing) animal, inventor of the negative (or moralized by the negative), separated from his natural condition by instruments of his own making, goaded by the spirit of hierarchy (or moved by the sense of order), and rotten with perfection".
To illustrate this point, Burke recalls seeing a bird trapped inside a college classroom.
While Burke struggles with using the word inventor for he feels that language has invented man, he points out that negatives do not exist in nature.
Burke refers to Aristotle's notion of entelechy, which states that we seek to reach the perfection of our kind.
Lastly, Burke explains that such dichotomies of perfection give credence to man's belief in God and Devil and Heaven and Hell.
Their definition is as follows: "Woman is the symbol-receiving animal, inventor of nothing, submerged in her natural conditions by instruments of man's making, goaded at the bottom of hierarchy, and rotten by perfection".
She calls particularly for a restructuring each part of Burke's definition into terms that are founded on but surpass radical feminist ideologies as seen above.
Condit defines people as those who play with symbols, invent the negative and possible morality, changed from nature by tools that men and woman have collectively made, struggling for equality, and at times rotten and perfect.
Burke posits that man uses symbols to obtain his goals, thus his motives are often carried out as acts based on his intentions.
Thus Burke maintains that man's actions (use or misuse of symbols) are based on choices and not a compulsion or sickness.
This has great implications for modern psychology which often views abnormal and criminal behavior as an illness that is forced upon those who act out in unacceptable ways.