What qualities do we have that separate us from the animals? This is a long-debated question that led to many theories and ideas about man. I surfed the net and came up with commonly heard, serious and sometimes hilarious positions.

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1. Man is rational (intelligent) and has a choice. Human intelligence is is the only one which “breaks out” of the routine of physical nature. No animal has ever thought more than just having to satisfy its basic needs like eating, drinking, reproducing, among others. Can animals think about Calculus, Physics, or just plain Geometry? It also takes time to fully educate man; imagine how much time we spend in the elementary, high school and college years, even postgraduate courses.
2. Man has financial worries. Quotes Romain Roland, a French writer, “I know at last what distinguishes man from animals; financial worries.” Animals do not worry about credit cards, loans, and all those stuff.
3. Man is a political animal. According to Aristotle, since man is the one animal that tries to order his social arrangements according to his sense of the justice of those arrangements, he is a political animal. Perhaps the ants do.
4. Man blushes and grow pale. We can express our embarassment by blushing. No animal can do this. Maybe a monkey?
5. Man changes his environment and transcends his natural, physical ability. Man is unlike animals because instead of just adapting himself to his environment, he can change his environment to suit himself. Instead of just escaping the heat, he invented airconditioners; and instead of walking to reach his destination, he invented modern vehicles and can even fly great distances.
6. Man has the desire to take medicine. According to Sir William Osler, perhaps the greatest feature that distinguishes man from animals is his desire to take medicine. Man wants to extend his life or avoid feelings of uneasiness by taking medicine. (I thought I saw our dog nibble on some grass whenever he has diarrhea. :->)
7. Man has a soul. The body is like a tent; God created the human body for the soul (in His image) to dwell in. With this God-given quality, man can think into the eternal and infinite.

Well, man is a complex phenomenon in this world. If we have faith in God, then the matter is resolved. That in man is a God-given soul, not present in animals, which was given life from God’s breath (Genesis 2:7). The ultimate purpose of man on earth is to glorify God. Can animals do that too?