Human exceptionalism vs. Environmental reality: are we the only species destroying our own home?

In the pre-dawn waters of Massachusetts Bay, a North Atlantic right whale glides through shallow waters with her three-month-old calf swimming close behind in her wake. The young whale, roughly the size of a pickup truck, is still mastering the essential rhythm of survival: surface, breathe through twin blowholes that create distinctive V-shaped vapor plumes, then dive back down following its mother’s protective path. This ancient dance between parent and offspring represents something universal among mammals—the instinctual drive to seek food and safety.

This poignant scene serves as the backdrop for a deeper philosophical question about humanity’s relationship with the natural world. While many argue for human exceptionalism—the belief that humans possess unique moral status that sets us apart from other animals—environmental writer Megan Mayhew Bergman challenges this perspective with a sobering observation: we may be the only species actively destroying the very planet we depend on for survival.

The contrast is stark. While the right whale mother teaches her calf time-tested survival strategies that have sustained their species for millennia, human activities continue to threaten their existence through ship strikes, fishing gear entanglements, and climate change. These magnificent creatures, among the world’s most endangered large whales with fewer than 350 individuals remaining, exemplify how our perceived exceptionalism may actually represent our greatest failing.

Bergman’s essay explores what she calls “the last frontier of empathy”—our ongoing struggle to recognize our fundamental connection to the animal kingdom and accept our role as just one species among many sharing this planet.