What Makes Us Human?

DR. ICHAK ADIZES deals with change in the corporate world every day. It is his raison d'étre! With a shift in focus, here he describes the interplay of dynamics between love and change at the personal level, how pain is a necessary accompaniment to love, and how we can allow both to coexist in a healthy way.

- DR. ICHAK ADIZES

I claim that everything has a life, even stones. There are old stones and new stones. There are young stars and old stars. And by the same token, there are new and old cars. What is the difference between, say, a stone and a tree and an animal? And what is the difference between us humans and animals?

Here is my insight: The difference between inanimate objects and animate objects is, among other things, that inanimate objects do not reproduce themselves. When a stone breaks into pieces for whatever reason, or a star explodes, it is not reproducing itself, it is just falling apart.