MAN

Man and Animal In the universe known to us, man is the only creature who possesses superior intelligence. No other creature, so far as we know, is so abundantly endowed with this faculty. Animals, apparently very much like us in certain ways, exist nevertheless on a lower plane, because all their actions are governed by instinct. Instinct, in the broad sense, may be defined as unconscious intelligence. Conscious intelligence, the wellspring of moral choice, is the hallmark of homo-sapiens: no other species can lay claim to it. Modern research has shown that the human brain has infinite potential: it contains about hundred billion neurons or nerve cells and an equal number of non-neuronal cells. This means that man, is born with unlimited capacities. But experience shows that everyone departs from this world with an acute sense of having failed to achieve what he most desired. Fulfillment is the deepest aspiration of the human being. But seldom does anyone attain this objective before death overcomes him. This is a tragedy which falls to the lot of the majority of men and women in this life. In this world, there are innumerable creatures other than man. They are born and they die like human beings. But unlike man, they are never faced with the problem of discontentment. The word ‘tragedy’ exists only in the human lexicon. Nowhere does it figure in that of animals. An explanation to this contradiction lies in a comparative study of man and animals. The study shows that the concept of tomorrow—an exceptional one—is entertained exclusively by man. If it is man’s nature to want to extend his today into tomorrow, it is because he hopes that what he failed to find today, he will find tomorrow. The case of animals is quite different. The study of animals shows that they have no concept of tomorrow. They live only in their today and also die in their today. A number of animal activities which seem to be based on a certain consciousness of tomorrow, for instance, the gathering of food by ants for the future, are governed by an innately perceived threat of extinction rather than by any consciousness of tomorrow or the future. When we ponder upon this unique quality of foresight in man, we find Fulfillment is the deepest aspiration of the human being. But seldom does anyone attain this objective before death overcomes him.