If you type this into Google you’ll go down a rabbit hole of philosophical debate which I have no intention of delving into here. I think we can all agree, however, that despite the fact that humans are mammals we are fundamentally different from all other animals.

Physiologically, we do everything other animals do. We drink, eat, expel waste, sleep, mate, reproduce and rear young. While humans have more complex language than other mammals that does not mean other animals don’t have sophisticated forms of communication – Whales spring to mind, as do Starling murmurations. Some philosophers say that humans are creative while animals are not, but that is not the case. Bowerbirds create elaborate and beautiful bowers to attract mates and Starlings use complex problem solving skills when they’re trying to break in to my bird seed feeders! I’ve watched my dog dream while sleeping in the same way us humans do, his little legs twitching and the occasional woof escaping. On so many levels we really aren’t all that different.

Looking at the question from a different angle, what do we mean when we say someone has acted in an inhumane way? The Cambridge dictionary definition of being inhumane is: “to be cruel to people or animals in not caring about their suffering”. In other words, to be inhumane is to lack empathy for the effects of our behaviour towards another.

However, that’s not the full picture. Empathy is not confined solely to human beings and has been observed in other mammals. Dogs, for example, can respond to the emotional and physical distress of their owners with their physical presence and exhibit soothing behaviour such as licking and nuzzling. So there’s more to being inhumane than a mere lack of empathy.

In order to be inhumane we must also lack remorse and conscience.

My dog knew right from wrong. I remember a friend visiting one day and he brought with him 6 fresh cream cakes. I placed them on the coffee table while we made a brew and when we came back my dog was sat, head down avoiding eye contact, very sheepish and with huge dollops of cream hanging from his muzzle. He’d eaten the lot, knowing it was wrong, but without remorse or conscience for depriving us humans of food.

Human Beings obviously also know right from wrong. Individual societies may differ in what is considered permissible behaviour (eg speed limits or where to park a car) but most societies agree that killing and causing either physical harm or emotional distress to others is fundamentally wrong. Our empathy allows us to place ourselves in someone else’s shoes, and we know how we would feel if a loved one were killed, or we experienced violence to our person, or someone emotionally hurt us. Our empathy, therefore, prevents us from doing that to another human being and if we inadvertently hurt someone our conscience makes us feel so badly about it that we make amends and try to never do it again.

However, not all humans have empathy or even conscience. There are people with personality disorders, such as Antisocial Personality Disorder, Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Psychopathy, who either have little empathy or no empathy and who are also lacking in conscience. They have no regard for how their actions impact other people and as such they are exploitative, manipulating, controlling, self serving and can hurt, even kill, without remorse or conscience. Although they possess the physical shell of a person they lack the foundations of what makes us fully human.

How does our humanity affect us spiritually? If we believe that our purpose for this human life is Soul growth, our thoughts, words and actions either contribute to, or detract from, this purpose. Should we act in ways which inhibit Soul growth, and for which we show a lack of accountability and remorse (in other words we don’t acknowledge our actions are detrimental or make amends), then we are destined to address this either later on in this life or in our next life. I have no idea how this plays out, but I can imagine that if God (for want of a better term, ie whatever your perception is of Divine energy) has dropped a pebble in your pond which creates ripples you’ve ignored then the Divine will go on to drop a stone and then a boulder. And if this all remains ignored you’re likely to get a brick thrown at your head. At some stage you will have to experience the pain you have caused others in order to take the next step in your Soul’s development, without which your Soul remains stagnant, re-incarnating in an endless loop or maybe getting trapped in one life unable to progress to the next (ie as a ghost).

This forms the basis of Karma, which isn’t at all what most people think it is. It is not endless and needless suffering for the sake of it, or a bolt of lightning in retribution if we do something wrong, but a roadmap to spiritual growth which we are all walking, whether we are conscious of the fact or not. When we become aware of this it becomes so much more important to live life with intention. To think about the consequences of our actions, both on our own Soul and the Souls of others. Choose your thoughts, words and deeds wisely.