Socrates: Well, while I know of no animal that will trade its goods with another, I do know that there are several animals that work within an economic system. The ants work together to find food and they all feed each other, which in itself is a form of communism. And the wolves take down prey as a group, but the strongest feed first and the weakest last, which in itself is a form of capitalism, is it not? So we see that some animals have an economy.
Ephedrine: It is Socrates, but I don’t understand how economy relates to this. We said that what it may mean to be human is to trade and barter.
Socrates: Let me explain it this way. All the rooms inside make up a house, do they not?
Ephedrine: They do.
Socrates: And all the streets in a town make up that city?
Ephedrine: Certainly.
Socrates: And if I said that the town was overtaken by the Spartans would that include each street?
Ephedrine: Indeed.
Socrates: And if I say that a house has burned to the ground, would that include all the rooms too?
Ephedrine: It would.
Socrates: Then I say to you that bartering and trade are a simple form of economy. And since we have decided that some animals do have an economy, then that forces us to reject trading for an exclusively human quality.
Ephedrine: I guess it would.
Socrates: So let us then press on. We cannot say construction or building is uniquely human since the bees build hives and the beavers dams.
Ephedrine: Correct.
Socrates: And we cannot say that decorating or art are this answer since we can see the finch chooses which brightly colored thread or scrap of paper to create its nest.
Ephedrine: Indeed.
Socrates: Also the using of tools to accomplish goals in not unique to humans as monkeys and otters can use simple tools to accomplish their goals.
Ephedrine: I agree.
Socrates: And we must not say that learning is only available to humans, as we can see that many animals are trainable. We must also reject the idea that communication is only ours, since we know that there are several species of animals with their own forms of communicating.
Ephedrine: What you say is true.
Socrates: So the only thing that comes to mind is that humans can do what we are doing right now, which is a capacity that animals do not have. We spend some of our time doing all the things that the animals do, namely searching for a mate, eating, drinking, sleeping, seeking shelter, and all other necessities of life. However, some of our time is spent contemplating, and engaging in theoretical conversations. What the animal does not have is the ability to ask what you have asked, “what does it mean…?” So I say to you that is what it means to be human is that we have the ability to question the nature of things and engage in philosophy. This is what makes us unique among the animals.
