Is Reflection A Gift From God?

R“QUITE the philosopher, aint’cha?” The stranger coming out of Boots as I was going in smiled at me in a friendly enough way.

- Richard & Judy

“What?”

“That stuff you were saying just now on the radio. Jeremy Vine. You should write it down somewhere. My wife and I would like to read it.”

I’d just delivered a sort of Thought for the Day on Radio 2’s What Makes Us Human lunchtime slot. The producers told me they had a huge response from listeners, and my conversation outside the chemist’s was the first of many. So okay; here is it is. What DOES make us human? This is what I said.

“I believe that it’s self-awareness that defines us. We’re the only species that goes through life fully aware that one day, we’ll die.