That said, the human species possesses superior powers to adapt to a wider range of environments than any other multicellular organism; superior powers to harness overwhelming reserves of energy; superior powers to create a mind-boggling array of complex technologies, unmatched by any other animal on the planet.

Those statements are not anthropocentric opinions; they are objective material facts. The list goes on, incidentally.

That doesn't mean that humans are superior to every other animal in every respect, an obviously nonsensical claim. But the powers I listed are unique to humans, and they do mean that the human species presently holds the balance of material power on the planet.

The question of whether or not the human species possesses sufficient conscious wisdom- the ability to be responsible stewards of such an earth-shaking array of powers- is of a different order. The historical record is erratic, to say the least, and the outcome is presently unclear.

But denying that human beings possess a unique array of formidable abilities superior to other animals on this planet isn't humility- it's a cop-out, an abrogation of responsibility.

Consider this: Humans possess the power to drive other animal species to extinction. So do cats. But you'll never find a conclave of cats discussing how to modify their predatory behaviors so that they only target non-endangered bird species.

Human beings currently have the potential brute power to drive more animal species to extinction than any other multicellular organism, simply as a result of drives for food and habitat- drives that they share in common with the rest of the animal kingdom.

But they also possess the unique power to make the necessary choices in order to refrain from doing so. And humans have also been known to wield the power to actively nurture endangered animal species back from the brink of extinction.

Those are unique human capabilities.

Think about it.

It's indisputable that part of the uniqueness of the human species is an unsurpassable capability to commit acts of cruelty. That's a corollary to the points I made about the unique power held by the human species.

The examples that you bring up actually contradict the idea that humans are simply governed by their drives. Your selectively picking and choosing examples demonstrates how much human behavior partakes of options, rather than one-track instinctual behaviors- to a degree that stands in stark contrast with any other species.

To refer to one of your examples: undeniably, many humans nowadays choose to derive some of their food supplies from animal sources that are raised in conditions that are terribly miserable, confining, and painful.

But other humans have chosen to decline to purchase or consume food from those sources. Some have gone further, and decline to eat meat at all- or they adhere to vegan food consumption constraints, an even more rigorous path.

Those choices indicate more than merely animal drives with a veneer of intelligence- they're personal ethical choices, the result of a capacity for free will.

When did you ever hear of a dog or cat declining to eat meat- or, for that matter, a lion who decided to go for the jugular vein of a gazelle in order to let it expire from blood loss before eating it, rather than disembowelling it and eating it alive, guts first?

It's arguably not even cruel for a lion to act like that, since there's no evidence that it has the capacity to conceive of a more "humane" alternative method of slaughtering its prey.

Humans are unique. They aren't hard-wired for nearly as many one-track behaviors as other animals.

And yes, I've owned a dog. I've experienced benevolent communication with non-human creatures. But I know better than to consult a dog on how to save the oceans, or to manipulate the square root of one, or to begin to imagine the possible implications of infinity. It no compute.