An Inquiry into the Nature of the Human Animal

There are, to my knowledge, a myriad of different religions, beliefs, systems, and methods used by humans to keep a fragile hold on what we consider 'reality'. I do not discount those beliefs, or attempt any overt disrespect to the concept of believing in something. After all, everyone has their own methods for dealing with the lot that life gives them. To feel a certain way is not, in itself, bad; though I do believe that people need to evaluate their systems every once in a while. I'd like to believe that I could write this commentary from an impartial standpoint; however, I would be foolish to think that my own experiences or lack of experience does not affect how I see the world. So be it. I am not perfect (and not necessarily more imperfect than anyone else either), though I do serve a mean omelet.

Onward to the human animal. This idea comes to me as the result of a long internal war that still rages, combined with an unfettered curiosity for 'the truth'. In my search, I have turned up some interesting observations. I'll attempt to set out these observations as best as I can and allow you to make your own conclusions for the most part. After questioning the existence of religion and being questioned about it, I began to break the question down to the innermost personal level.

Humans must be the only animals on the planet constantly struggling to be what we are not. We are entities that have tons of features in common with the other fauna of this planet in short. Yet there are those that fervently believe that humans are not and never can be an animal. Somehow, being an animal has become less popular (unless you're playing a sport, in which case being an animal is a compliment).

Take away the glitz and glamour, take away the houses and creature comforts (note the word creature, not human), and place people in the same situation as your average animal and see what happens. The animal nature within rapidly boils to the surface and takes over. The gift (or curse) of higher cognition makes us aware of ourselves and perhaps distinctly aware of the existence of others.

I know few people who would actively argue that they are not an animal on scientific grounds. We have a classification under the kingdom Animalia (at least science was wise enough to see that humans are not a separate group). We have many similar features. And perhaps most importantly we have similar drives as our animal counterparts do, which is what makes my theory work.
In essence, it is the animal drive inherent to the nature of the human animal that dictates the course of action an individual takes. Whether or not an individual acknowledges these animal drives results in what is commonly known as demeanor, despite a constant nature. Who among humans has never found themselves hungry? Tired? Hurt and fearful? Only those that have completely deluded themselves can deny such feelings (as the words translate to the average human being). I'd be hard pressed to find someone who would deny that animals have the same needs.

Let's follow your average human baby as it is born. It screams, it yowls, it is generally unhappy that it doesn't get a free ride anymore. In general birth is an unhappy experience. As this cold, wet creature begins to develop, the most striking time comes at the beginning. A fantastic spurt of learning takes place, allowing the assimilation of the world into which it has been thrust.

Enter newborn wolf pup. There is a period of noisemaking and disorientation at birth, not to mention the hard ground instead of soft insides (but no more unruly roommates, yay!). Similarly, a pup will develop in its individual world to assimilate that which will give it the edge in life. A baby at play is more like a little animal. Both explore their worlds, getting around as best they can, indulging their individual urges (hunger, digestion, play, affection, et. al.) as much as possible. The style of parenting is decidedly different (though sadly not for everyone). A baby may get a stern verbal statement whereas the average cub leans what it is to be smacked very quickly. Instead of complex symbols representing concepts for a baby, an animal learns which growls mean 'come eat' and which mean 'you're gonna get it'. Eventually, both species learn to communicate back in their own special way.

A long list of points can compare humans and animals. One of the major differences is the presence of a strong etiquette and morality that is (often) forced upon a human child. One of the most powerful motivating forces is that for food. When an animal (and I do include humans) reaches their limit for lack of food, everything turns toward the acquisition of sustenance.

Fortunately for us, we have the gift of specific language to let those others around us know we are hungry! However, removed from linguistic grace, a person would quickly learn that they have to do what it takes to get food, even at the cost of harsh rebuke from those around them.

The next major controller of behavior in the human animal is fear. Fear holds the human animal a prisoner in its own mind. For all the countries and challenges humanity has conquered, it is fear that has never backed down. I've heard speculation that at one time humanity was a prey animal. Some even go so far as to say that the pauses in our natural speech are throwbacks to the days when we had to constantly check our surroundings for predators! While this cannot be easily proven, certain things are more commonly seen. A cornered animal fights, presumably because of fear. Though we cannot verify the presence of 'fear' quantitatively, there are definite physiological things that accompany the experience. Heavy breathing, accelerated heartbeat, the primal presence of 'Fight or Flight' all signal to us that something is going to happen.

As humans, we have conveniently split the animal equivalent of fear into several nice categories for us to communication more clearly. Among these include anxiety, nervousness, frightened, terror, shocked, and so on and so forth. But, no word describes the sensation better than fear. A sudden urge from deep down within that instantaneously wrests control of the body as if to tell the mind that there has to be some motion or there could be trouble. Animals have been trained by their environment to follow this instinct. Humans have been trained to deny this instinct. But if you push someone too far, eventually they will fight back, or they will die. Just as in the non-human world.

There is one thing that seems to hold true amongst all the higher animals, and that is the bond between a mother and young. Shakespeare said that "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". He should have said a 'mother denied her child'. We speak of the 'maternal instinct' in positive and negative ways, but nothing jumps out as an element of the human animal that the willingness to do anything to keep offspring (and hence the future) alive. There is also a bond between offspring and parents that can be seen as a part of the human animal. I've met people that say strange things: "I don't like my mother, but I do love her". When pressed for answers, they say that they'd take a bullet for mom, but not clean the kitchen. Beyond the humor in this example, there is a definite animal instinct that playing itself out. To make a gross overgeneralization, animals tend to be more protective of mothers (joke about someone's father vs. their mother and see for yourself).

So what does this all mean?

It could mean everything, or it could mean nothing. Like I said, these are my observations. The human animal definitely exists, and in some alien encyclopedia, there is probably a nice little entry about us. It's funny how we manage to fit information about a species of animal onto a page or two and find that an adequate summary to peg them all with. Such would be the supreme humor, if some alien creatures had already done the same for us.

Some conclusions can come of this somewhat effusive ramble. Granted, I cannot (and would not want to) explain away emotion, psychology or any of the other things that we are so fervently working on. I do not deny the complexity of a human being, or attempt to belittle the evolutionary wonder that has become the creature that we are. But, I do firmly believe that no matter how advanced we get, we should not look down on those animals with which we have such a kindred spirit. They have their needs, as do we. There is much more to say about the human animal, especially in how it works in and through our decisions, our society, and very well our very selves; but, that discussion can be saved for another time.