The idea of “human uniqueness” is fundamental to the human experience. For example, most people believe that it is fine to eat plants and animals but that eating other humans would be, well, not right. Why? Because humans have a higher value than other living things. In fact, humans are purposed to steward and to harvest plants and animals.
But is that an assumption that is based on a worldview that is not true? Worse still, could that reflect a brutal prejudice in you, called “speciesism” by some modern academics?
Human uniqueness in relation to the rest of the animal kingdom is a subject that has caused increasing polarity of opinion in recent years. On one end of the spectrum, humans are just another animal on the long list of species, separated from other mammals only by an exceptional “brain to body mass” ratio. On the other end of the spectrum, humans will forever be the ultimate creation, endowed with the Imago Dei: uniquely endowed as carriers of the image of God, the spark of the Divine.
So, which is it? Or does the truth lie somewhere in between? Explore the issue in this Thinker Education course experience, examining the difference between human beings and animals.
Michelangelo, “The Creation of Adam”
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