What Separates Man from Animals?

Recently I was asked by a student, “What is the difference in God’s eyes between a person and an animal?” This is a very good question. Many animals are quite smart. Some can see further than humans while others can see things beyond the color spectrum of visible light. Some animals run faster, hear better, fight better, are stronger and can better endure challenging living conditions. So what sets people apart from animals in a special way?

Well, I do not claim to be a theologian, but I decided to approach this question from a scientific angle. I began discussing dolphins…

People love dolphins. They have that constant smile and seem to spend entire days playing and frolicking in the ocean, never being a menace to anyone (unless you’re a smelt). They are also quite intelligent: they have been shown to solve puzzles, seem to have a social structure within their pods, and can communicate using echolocation.

So what makes them different from us in God’s eyes? Their intelligence and communicative abilities may even rival some people, so intelligence cannot be a major factor.

Having worked with them for years, I would propose one of the noticeable, observable differences is that dolphins do not have morals. You see, we know they feel emotions; they can be happy, sad, and even angry. I have known some dolphins to pout, facing the corner of their tank because they popped a beach ball and we didn’t have any more. Honestly, working with them was almost good preparation for being a parent!

However, dolphins do not have an understanding of what is right or for that matter, what is true. Yet, man continually struggles with this idea. People have an innate need to seek the truth. They look for some framework under which they should behave. They are always discussing what is right and wrong - what should be done and what shouldn’t be done. What is the right way we should treat household pets; what is the right way we should care for children; what is the right way we should take care of our world; what is the right way we should behave towards others. We are always looking for what is proper.

I’ve heard Christians say that everyone is created with a Jesus-shaped hole in their heart, and they are seeking to fill that void in their lives, looking for what is True. Even among non-Christians, all people have this concept that there is at least some kind of right and wrong in the world.

Yet intelligent animals, such as dolphins (especially males), have been known to attack a young calf within their own group. Dolphins have been observed tormenting other animals for play, not considering that these actions may be wrong, not questioning the results of their behavior. Yes, there are some cases of dolphins protecting swimmers from sharks. That is a natural instinct that they have to protect the younger and weaker individuals living in their pods. They are mentally “wired” to protect their own, and sometimes will extend that protective behavior to fight off the bad guys from others, too. But I don’t believe it is altruistic.

Dolphins develop deep bonds within their pods. They care for and protect one another. They have been known to care for and protect human trainers with whom they work in marine aquariums, too. This bonding instinct and protective behavior helps their pods to survive in the wild.

But on the flip side, dolphins have been observed killing fish just so they can throw them around for play. Young males often will gang up on other animals and will hit them around.

When I worked in an aquarium, we had dolphins living in the same large tank as sharks. The dolphins had their own area in a separate, connected tank where they could sleep and play, away from all the fish, and they also were allowed into the tank from time to time to have more swimming space and be in a more natural environment. But sometimes, they would gang up on a shark, corralling it to the bottom of the tank for fun. You see, sharks don’t have swim bladders like other fish, so they have a harder time controlling their buoyancy, or their ability to stay at one place in the water column. The dolphins loved watching the sharks slowly float back up in the water column after they pushed them down.

Now that sounds like innocent play, but it kind-of scared the sharks (who are often not as vicious as the television shows depict!) and sometimes left severe bruises which was dangerous for their health. The dolphins did not worry that they may be harming the sharks.

Yet, don’t blame the dolphins. They do not have an ability to know that a behavior can be a “wrong” behavior. There is no moral compass from which they can work. And this is the same situation for all of the other “intelligent” animals on Earth.

Humans have an innate understanding that there is a right and a wrong in the world and it comes from the fact that we have a soul designed to have a relationship with our Creator.

This is a tangible observation we can make that separates people from animals.

Now don’t get me wrong. I still love dolphins! But when we impute on them human characteristics we begin to forget that God created people in His image to give Him glory.

And we can do this by studying, caring for and being amazed by His creation!