What Separates Us from Animals?

                 If you asked a group of people if they considered themselves to be animals, I think it’s safe to say most of them would say no. Of course, there would be a few who would try to be clever and scientific by saying that humans are technically animals, as if we all don’t already know that. But I think most people would say they would consider themselves to be different from animals. Why is that? Is it our separation from nature? Could it be our advanced social interactions? Some religious beliefs say that humans have souls, and animals do not, so could that be it? Maybe it's our use of tools? It’s an interesting thing to think about.

                I think the most compelling difference between humans and animals revolves around our self-awareness.  Sure, there is not really a definitive way to test for self-awareness in animals right now (or at least not that I know of). But with a few exceptions (cetaceans, apes, etc.), I think it is a safe bet to say that animals aren't self-aware. At least not in the way humans are. Humans, in my opinion, have a unique combination of language and self-awareness that allows for us to think in ways that are different from how animals do. Let me explain.

                I heard a short documentary on the radio a while ago about a guy who was deaf from birth, and hadn't learned sign language, or any form of language at all. Take a minute to let that sink in. What would it be like, to live without hearing your own voice in your head? It’s hard to imagine. Could you think? Could you make the same kind of connections between things that you can now? Let’s say you’re in the forest, and you find a stream. You then think something along the lines of, “There’s a stream.” When you leave the stream, and then want to find it again, you think “Oh, the stream was right by the big tree” or whatever. The point is, language helps you to connect things that you wouldn't be able to connect without language. How could we count objects or measure elapsed time or gauge distance traveled without language? If you take the language that we all learn in some form or another away, humans seem to creep closer and closer to animals. Crazy, right?

                So how can you really measure or know anything about a creature’s self-awareness if you can’t listen inside its head for that internal monologue (presumably) so distinct to humanity? I would argue you can’t, and my suspicion would be that this man without language (who was eventually taught sign language) didn't know he was self-aware until he had the words in his brain to do it. By that logic, we can’t necessarily infer anything about, say, the self-awareness of dolphins and whales, nor can we measure how close these animals really are to us.

                “But,” you might say, “there are lots of animals that use language. Does that mean that they’re ALL self-aware? Or that they’re ALL basically at a human-level of intelligence?” Basically, I would say no. Language as a communication with others and language that plays inside your head (also known as thinking) are two very different things. Animals can be guided by instinct, hunger, fear, and other more “simple” or “primal” motives and means of information collection, and these animals can use various noises to communicate things with their fellows. These calls can relay simple information and show anger, fear, pain, etc. That does not mean, however, that these animals can talk to themselves. Just because you can make sounds as a reaction to seeing a certain behavior or feeling a certain way does not mean that you can use this simple language to think and reason. In that way, I would say most animals simply do not have the brain power to use language to its full effect. I'm not saying that animals can't think at all, but I am saying that their inability to think in words keeps them locked out of a more advanced way of thinking of the world.

                But how can I say that? Well, basically it’s just my opinion based on my logic. However, it isn't necessarily true. For all I know, dogs could be thinking and talking to themselves all the time.
                So is there really an inherent quality that makes us human? I don't think so. I would argue that we have sort of taught ourselves to be human. What I mean by that is this: we have no inherent qualities that set us apart from other animals. However, due to our high intelligence and continuous connection, we are able to retain what we learn. Over time, and a series of coincidences, we developed various things, and these things stuck. Sure, this all hinged on our high intelligence, meaning most other animals aren't able to do this. But I would argue that if you took a bunch of babies and put them in a forest, perhaps with some other kind of animal similar to us, say chimpanzees (I am not saying this is a good idea at all) I bet they would exhibit characteristics very similar to those animals. This is because of human's immense capacity for learning. We can learn almost anything, and over thousands of generations we taught ourselves  how to be "different" from other animals.
                So do I think that we are the different from animals? Well, yes and no. Yes, I think humans, at our current state, are totally separate from animals. We are capable of abstract thought, we have morals (for the most part), we have very complex interactions. These are not things I believe any other animal has. However, I would say we are not so biologically removed. Babies are not born with moral codes, nor do they automatically develop an internal dialogue or think in words and abstract concepts. They are taught these things. Basically, I think we are animals in theory, but not in practice.
                Now, obviously, this is all conjecture. I don't know any of this for sure. This brings me to my final point: how can we ever really know if animals are “human like?” The only way we can really know how animals think is by somehow getting inside their heads. And that is something that I’m not sure we’ll ever really be able to do.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not fun to think about.