What Makes Us Human?

Empathy

The issue of the distinction between humans and animals is being discussed constantly. Once people find a trait that distinguishes them from other creatures thus making human beings special, they become convinced of otherwise. What makes us human? The ability to empathize, to understand others’ feelings and react to them, has long been attributed to both animals and humans. However, it is not entirely true. Although some animals can express simple emotions, only humans are capable of empathy.

Throughout the years there were multiple attempts to detect signs of animals’ feeling of empathy. In 1959 the American psychologist Russell Church conducted an experiment with rats. One animal stopped pressing the bar to get food when another rat in the neighbouring cage was given electric shocks. That experiment showed that the rat felt anxiety for the other one. The scientist saw a sign of possible empathy in the animal’s action. In 1962 Priscilla Gainer and George Rice observed rats’ efforts to save other rats. One of the test subjects was hoisted above the ground. The free rat helped the other animal by lowering a harness in which the other one was put in. Those two not quite humane experiments demonstrated that behaviour of the rats was rather similar to empathy and altruism.

Do the tests really prove the animals’ ability to sympathize and help others in a difficult situation or are they just contrived scientists’ explanations for the test subjects’ behaviour? Many people love animals and therefore try to find traits in these creatures that would make them closer to humans. The neurobiologist Peggy Mason, who continued studying rats’ behaviour, was convinced that they felt empathy as the animals rescued each other. However, the scientist’s conclusion was widely criticized. The neurobiologist was said to project human feelings onto rats’ actions.

The problem with all the experiments is in the practical impossibility of finding a real motivation behind animals’ behaviour and actions. “There are so many possible interpretations of [empathetic] behaviour that all need to be eliminated if you’re going to say they’re responding because of the emotions of another animal”, James Burkett says. (https://bit.ly/36cwHE8) Thus it cannot be determined whether an animal is actually showing empathy or not so, technically, empathy should be considered to be a human characteristic only, at least for now.

To sum it up, the animals in the experiments made choices in favour of the other animals that were in trouble and showed their potential ability to feel and empathize. However, it is not yet possible to know a motivation that makes them behave in a certain way. For this reason, humans now have at least one unique trait which distinguishes them from animals. Its name is empathy.