"Animals are in possession of themselves; their soul is in possession of their body. But they have no right to their life, because they do not will it"

Hegel is making a difference in between animals and people. He acknowledges that animals have firm over their own bodies, but they do not have the ability to will or select their own existence or survival, unlike people. For that reason, he argues that animals do not have a right to their own lives in the exact same method that human beings do. This suggests a belief in the supremacy of human beings over animals, who are seen as inferior and lacking in the consciousness and autonomy that define human presence.