The first attribute we will examine is the ability to communicate complex thoughts and concepts through speech and written languages. We can relate to others exactly what we think, feel, and believe about any subject. Through common languages (written or oral) we can express ideas, know things and places we have never actually seen before, and comprehend abstract concepts for which there are no physical representations or symbols, such as justice or honor. Through the vehicle of words, our minds can be transported to mythological realms and confounded by intricate puzzles. We can form creative analogies, metaphors and allegories. We can entertain ourselves with complex riddles, fables, jokes and poetry. In short, the capacity for symbolic communication is what makes many of the other attributes of human beings possible.

Next, let us take a look at the ability to make and use tools. While it is true that other animals utilize primitive tools (such as sticks and rocks) to obtain the necessities of life, food and water, humans can take these same natural objects and alter them in ways that will make them into more efficient tools. We are also the only creatures on this planet to domesticate fire and discover the principle of the wheel, both of which are significant achievements. A major revolution in tool use occurred early in the 19th century, when we began to make machines to create other machines. From that point onward, manufactured items became available to everyone, everywhere, and the quality of life was drastically changed forever. However, our snow-balling technology has also rendered us the most dangerous species on the face of Earth.

Which brings us to another attribute of humans, the capacity for cruelty. We are the only species that invents new, and more efficient, ways of killing and destroying our own kind. With the exception of a few species of insects, we are also the only creatures to wage all-out war on others of our own type. We are the only animals to kill for "sport." We are the only species that kidnaps, tortures, rapes, or commits suicide. Yet, we have the audacity to refer to the lower animals as "brutes."

But, humans are still the only animals to possess the ability to understand morality and ethics. Moral actions are those that are taken for the fulfillment of basic biological needs (food, water, clothing, shelter, or life itself) either for self or others. Immoral actions, therefore, are those that prevent or hinder the fulfillment of these basic biological human needs. Only actions can be right or wrong. We all experience irrational, negative emotions at one time or another. We do not, however, have to act upon these feelings. And, since morality requires a conscious choice between right and wrong actions, human beings are the only animals who can be either moral or immoral.

In order to make such critical choices, human beings must possess the capacity for conscious thought. We are, some of us anyway, members of an intelligent species. But, the capacity for conscious thought is much more than just intelligence. I will go into much more detail concerning the nature of human consciousness in a later section of this book. For now, though, let us define it as the ability for conceptual thinking, reflection, and self-awareness. We have an abstract idea of how certain objects are alike and how objects within a specific category are different from objects within another category. Thus, we know that aspens, oaks, cedars, and the larch are all types of trees, even though they may look quite different from each other, and all of them are different from antelopes, gazelles, and zebra. We carry uncountable such concepts around in our heads, so we do not need to actually see a tree to know what one is. We also have the capacity to ponder the meaning of such objects, reflecting upon our own relationship personal to them. And, it is this natural inclination to consider our relationship to out environment that marks us as unique. When the temperature drops outside, we not only grumble about how cold it is, but we also think, "I am cold." The lower animals do not have this same self-consciousness. They are only aware that it is no longer warm and that they must quickly find warmth, not that they themselves are cold. They feel the cold, but they do not posses an awareness that they are aware of being cold.

Our consciousness gives us the ability to comprehend time. The past is within us in the form of memories and recollections, and the future is visible to us in the shape of our hopes and dreams. The capacity to look back or plan ahead is uniquely human. Both hindsight and foresight play a determining role in all human behavior.

Our interest in our own past, as well as our concern for our own future, has caused us to develop the ability to create culture. We have concocted patterns of living, ways of looking at the world, and complex systems of values that we believe are superior to all others. And, we gather together with other humans of similar views to form societies. Not only do we belong to a particular culture, but it belongs to us. We will always feel at home within our own culture, and other cultures will always feel alien to us. We accept the customs, institutions, language, laws, religions, politics, music, art, literature, cooking, clothing, and architecture of the society into which we are born. The creation of such cultural factors gives us like-minded people with whom to relate as our compatriots, but it also divides human beings into social groups so vastly different from each other that understanding and compassion become nearly impossible.

No matter what our cultural differences, however, we seem to have an instinctive ability to appreciate esthetic values. Beauty is beauty, and there are few people who would argue that a colorful sunset did not move them, emotionally and intellectually. We all tend to surround ourselves with things that are pleasing to us. We clothe our bodies in fabric that feels good against our skin, we build and decorate structures that make us feel comfortable, and we create meals that are not only good to eat but are pleasing to look at, too. We also express our sense of esthetics by creating, acquiring, and appreciating such works of art as paintings, statues, and music. We are the only creatures to sing and dance just for the sheer pleasure of doing so, with no motives toward mating or conquest.

Appreciation of beauty has, naturally, led humankind to awaken its capacity for religious thought. Only we, as a species, can experience the sacred, worship the Divine, and seek a greater meaning for Life beyond our daily existence. We have a desperate need for faith and a belief in a Supreme Being. For some, religion provides answers unattainable through direct observation of the physical world or through the practice of science. For others, religion provides a sense of direction, a purpose for their life, and a reassurance that existence does not end with the death of the body. I will expound upon this subject more in a later section. But, for now, understand that religion is a natural condition of the human soul, one that helps us all to cope with the changes we must all go through.