What makes us human?

Lounging leopard by Skye Meaker. South Africa.
Grand Title Winner. Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018.

The question is an ancient one. As the human mind began to reason its place among the other inhabitants of this planet, as we began to realise the uniqueness of our species- our ability to understand, manipulate and dominate this world unlike any other species- this question has time and again been asked and debated. Why us? Why have not other animals had this ability? What is so different about us? To the ancients the boundary between humans and animals was one where it could easily be traversed. The early myths morphed animals and humans alike, interchanging their attributes- on the one hand animals seemingly took on the role of a protector/guardian, a benefactor or a long-departed ancestor and on the other, humans could be treated as nothing more than properties that were sold, bought, captured, or enslaved like animals.

Even in this age this question is still relevant to know what separates us from animals. Think of cases where we have come across; humans in personification of such states, which, it was thought only animals could posses, and emotions that animals exhibit which only humans were thought capable of. These events seemingly blur the boundary between animals and us.

In one recent exhibition of wild life photography at London's Natural History Museum, I came across this picture of a lounging leopard. The seemingly dreamy-eyed leopard made me think again, what has been a question that I have thought about time and again- do animals dream like us, do they think like us, do they experience the world like we do? How different are they from us?

And so, I have come to write down my thoughts on this topic. It is not the evolutionary path that led our ancestors to the present day modern humans, but it is the state of mind which distinguishes our species from other animals and that which makes us human in our thoughts and actions, that I wish to pursue.

The states of mind in their raw and their most basic forms could offer us the ground, wherein we can compare and understand the fundamental differences between us and them. And so for this reason I've considered animals (birds and invertebrates), which seemingly show a high level of cognition.

Let us consider the basic primal instincts; curiosity, compassion, the ability to care, to mourn the loss of close one, to cooperate, to communicate, to compete, to dominate, to submit, to attack, to protect, to punish, to share, to steal, to hoard, to explore, to keep clear of danger. These instincts are not unique to mankind, we have time and again observed animals from the lowest to the highest order exhibit some or all of these characteristics. Monkeys and other primates are known to be aware of death or passing away, they and the elephants and the whales are observed in the wild to mourn their dead mates, young ones or family members of their group. They are observed to hold on to their young ones' dead bodies for days on end. Most animals and birds can communicate, and not just among themselves but across the species barrier. The tendency of animals to adopt newborns of their own kind as well as of other species', the curious instances of predators that wouldn't harm newborn preys, the refusal to abandon a weakened or injured family member and instances of sharing food, are these not acts of compassion? Some animals are known to protect members of their own troop from danger, and have also been observed to come to the aid of other members which are neither of their troop nor of their own kind. At the risk of anthropomorphizing, are these behaviours not very human-like?

And how about complex emotions and behaviours? The need to sing, to dance, to form faithful bonds of love, an appreciation of aesthetics (the co-ordination of colours, shapes, sizes, textures), to dream, to imitate, to appease, to display pain, to display happiness or satisfaction, of loyalty, of envy, of sexuality, an awareness of one's place in the social hierarchy of a community. Are these complex emotions exhibited only by our own species? Again, the answer is no; we observe them in a large number of animals and birds. In new scientific observations we are now becoming aware of much advanced behaviours, such as the consciousness of rituals in chimpanzees.

If we and the majority of animals and birds exhibit the same basic emotions, then what is it that distinguishes us from them in the fundamental fabric? In essence are we not but clothed apes? What is it that makes us the 'wise human', the Homo sapiens? (although the epithet 'wise' should be a misnomer, if anything we are, we are unwise.)

I've thought about it and only two observations come to my mind, that could be only unique to us and not observed so far among other life forms on this planet. We are a species that is inquisitive and asks questions. This being the first one. We've always been wanting to know and make sense of things around us. Why? the basic of questions has always been on our mind, not just in the modern human but our ancestors too. This has always been driving us. A child is always full of whys?. From the beginning of human consciousness we have strived to know our place in the universe and the question to know why we are different from others is a testament to this inquisitive behaviour. Indeed some animals and birds have been observed using tools to solve problems analytically, however this is not questioning, but rather represents their ingenuity in overcoming obstacles to achieve results. However, a single instance of questioning by a grey parrot named Alex has been the only exception to this observation. Would this mean animals are capable of asking questions?, we do not know and only further scientific studies could provide us with a conclusive answer. Interestingly very few animals (mostly domesticated ones) are capable of understanding that something is asked to them through words or gestures and respond appropriately. So far it seems that only the cognition to understand questions prevails in animals but not the ability to ask one.

The second behaviour is that we are the only animal that tells stories. If one thinks of stories as mere passing on of information occurred in the past, then most other animals do it as well- they remember and propagate the knowledge of their feeding grounds and migratory routes that have been passed on over generations. But this is not telling stories as we do, telling stories in this sense means the ability to imagine the fantastic, to spawn fiction, to think of something that does not exist, an idea of the abstract. Only we can do that and no other living thing on this planet can. 

It is these two abilities, which we have developed over the course of evolution- a mere chance of random events, that have given us that edge over other animals to become who we are as a species now.

In short, we are a question-asking, story-telling ape!