Under the watchful eyes of the public, the lady and the gentleman

Author: Zhang Lehua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Just as the distinction between humans and animals was coming to an end, Lan Hua, covered in dust, rushed to the unfamiliar northeastern United States to begin her journey as a medical doctor. Before she could even appreciate the beautiful city with its long coastline, she immersed herself in the challenging world of medical studies alongside hundreds of other students who had traveled far. Lan Hua’s lectures took place in a bright and spacious lecture hall. The doors of the lecture hall were gently opened and closed repeatedly as young people of various skin colors entered, found their seats, and waited quietly for the professor’s arrival.
Once again, the door was gently opened. An elderly professor in a white lab coat, holding a stack of files, stood before the podium with a radiant expression. He glanced around at the students and greeted them politely.
"What is a human?" The professor’s opening line, after a moment of silence, was unexpectedly surprising. Before the students could even react, he followed up with, "What is the difference between humans and animals?" A murmuring buzz filled the room as everyone quickly thought, trying to answer this primal yet classic question with a concise remark—a question so important yet difficult to summarize in a few words.
"Humans use tools."
"Many animals do too."
"Humans walk upright."
"Many animals do too."
"Humans use language."
"Many animals can communicate with their unique languages."
"Humans have emotions."
"Many animals do too."
"Humans can actively change their environment."
"Why do humans actively change their environment? What is the driving force?"
"One person shouted, 'I think there’s no difference between humans and animals!' The room burst into laughter.
The kind and humorous professor then began to show slides. The images continuously presented on the slides revealed the great and miraculous signs of life to Lan Hua. In Lan Hua’s view, life was truly extraordinary. From single-celled plants to mammals, the Earth had evolved over billions of years to form the diverse and wondrous world we see today. The last slide was a chart of species evolution. It arranged representative species in the order of their evolutionary level, forming a tree with humans at the very top. Humans held the highest position in the biological kingdom.
"Yes, humans are animals, but they are advanced animals. Can you tell me what humans and animals have in common?"
"Humans and animals both undergo metabolism, birth, aging, and death."
"Humans and animals both forage, eat, drink, defecate, urinate, sleep, burp, pass gas, cough up phlegm, have sex, fight, steal, bully the weak, and travel in groups." Another burst of laughter filled the room.
"Professor, although humans and animals are both animals and share their own physiological instincts to ensure their survival and the continuation of their species, I believe the fundamental difference between humans and animals lies in human dignity. Humans consciously conceal certain physiological behaviors to uphold their dignity. In normal circumstances, a person would never display certain physiological instincts in front of others. For example, people don’t urinate or defecate in front of others, cough up phlegm, have sex, or show other such behaviors. Self-respect is the most important characteristic of humans as advanced animals. Beyond a strong desire to survive, humans also have a strong desire to maintain their dignity. It is this desire to uphold dignity that drives humans to continuously progress and improve—our pursuit of the unknown, our innovation in civilization, our exploration and pursuit of reasonable social relationships, and so on. This drives humans to independently transform nature and the social environment we depend on. This is also the driving force behind the relentless self-improvement of individuals. The essence of all our efforts is to gain respect from ourselves and others, to realize our self-worth and social value.
Although humans are part of the advanced animal kingdom, they hope to distance themselves from certain animal traits, becoming a composite of spirit and thought, and distinguishing their behavior from that of animals. This is the definition of advanced animals."
A student spoke with conviction, though not perfectly concise, but his words were deeply inspiring, earning him a long and round of applause.
This kind of debate continued until the end of the class, leaving Lan Hua feeling deeply satisfied. This inspirational and interactive teaching style was incredibly beneficial, but what left the deepest impression on Lan Hua was the medical student’s statement about the main difference between humans and animals being human dignity. It profoundly influenced her thoughts and actions for the next twenty-two years.
Indeed, isn’t it precisely this strong sense of self-respect that drives the initiative and creativity of individuals, thereby advancing and developing human society as a whole? It’s hard to imagine how a person without self-respect or a nation without a sense of pride could stand in a world full of competition or showcase their superiority.
This was the first lesson Lan Hua had ever had about "human elegance." The student’s words were undoubtedly an enlightenment, and Lan Hua realized a brand-new pursuit: as a human, one should fully display the beauty of humanity while kindly concealing certain animalistic traits within ourselves, striving to be a cultured and civilized person.
Later, in life, Lan Hua came to understand that going beyond animalistic physiological phenomena was not enough. Humans must also continuously transcend their basic survival conditions and pursue higher spiritual realms.
P12-14