While our species is fond of emphasizing the distinctions between humans and animal life, this focus on the intellect can also be a distraction. While the intellect gives us an advantage over other species, it is only an advantage when we are able to deal adequately with what we have in common with other forms of life—in particular, the instinctual side of ourselves as manifest in the anxiety (reactivity) that automatically responds to change and the tension in any community between self and togetherness.
