I have spent some time thinking about your question – “what is the difference between man and animal?”I have reached a surprising conclusion…we are not that remarkably different…except that we are better at manipulating our environment.
Some common stereotypes are:
Man is a social animal with elaborate communication capabilities – Research has shown that whales, dolphins, monkeys, lions etc. are social animals with elaborate hierarchies and communication tools.
Man kills for manipulation – Man mostly kills for the manipulation of resources like money, power etc.. Similarly animals have been known to kill for controlling what constitutes valuable resources in their immediate context. For example animals kill to steal food, for mating with the best females, for the position of alpha male in their respective groups etc.
Man has self cognizance- In other words only man can recognize his own reflection. This myth has been busted too. Animals of higher intelligence like dolphins, whales etc have been found to recognize themselves in mirrors.
Some clues to what is different lie in our evolution. Our evolution from our cavemen ancestors has been marked by the evolutionary adaptation of a larger brain. Over millions of years we have sacrificed physical superiority for a larger brain. In other words cavemen were larger, more muscular and better equipped to hunt and survive in an untamed environment. Our brain size has tripled since then and as a result we had to sacrifice the physical attributes of our ancestors. 20% of the fuel that we consume is spent in running our brain!!! The brain is an expensive evolutionary machine – A larger brain means more fuel required to run it. However a larger brain in a way pays for itself…because a large brain allows man to control and manipulate his environment. We don’t need to be muscular because a larger brain created new avenues for food gathering like farming or advanced hunting tools etc. A larger brain also meant that we were extricated from mundane tasks of food gathering and could concentrate on even higher pursuits to manipulate the environment. For example developing cars to reduce energy spent in transport, developing concrete buildings that insulate us from the whims of nature, the list can go on and on.
I want to address the arrogance of scientists who say that Earth is a rare place which is hospitable to life. This statement smacks of overemphasis of our own importance. Earth has energy and matter in a form that we have learnt to use to our advantage and flourish. Every portion of the universe has energy and matter…its just that we have not mastered how to use it for survival. In other words earth is not the only kind of hospitable environment that exists..There might be planets or stars out there that have Nitrogen in the air, water in solid state and still be able to sustain some kind of life.
My point being – As a species we are systematically eliminating chance (randomness) in our survival. By the investment in our oversized brains we are hoping that what we constitute as hospitable environment will extend to more than one place in the universe. Here lies the central difference between man and animal for when climate changes happen and the world is inundated with water some animals may adapt to the new environment (developing webbed feet or gills) but we will change the environment to adapt to our needs.
“The central goal of life stripped down to its last thread is its propagation…we are merely vehicles.”
Addendum: The key USP of man as a species is the brain which allows us to develop complex language and social structures. Language allows us to benefit from the work of others. Social structures for co-operation ensure that the we can harness the environment and shape it to our needs. It would be a herculean task for any other species to document and implement plans to create a city/car or a carving knife.