We humans tend to consider ourselves apart from other species.
But we’re not really so different. So what makes us unique? I’d
say it’s language, though not everyone would agree. We walk on
two legs? Yes, of course, but the feathered species do that too.
Some are insistent that our individuality as a species rests on
the fact we can use tools, but many diverse vertebrate species
are tool-users, including primates, elephants and birds. Even
the veined octopus and certain ants and wasps have been observed
using tools. The answer, then, is … language. We uniquely have
the ability to communicate complex and abstract ideas. At first
it was spoken language. Then, independently, several human
cultures developed the written word – the means to communicate
with others over thousands of miles or years. Through language
we have built civilisations, developed science and medicine,
literature and philosophy. We do not have to learn everything
from personal experience, because through language we can learn
from the experie