Humans in general act like (herd) animals, simply because n…

Humans in general act like (herd) animals, simply because not acting like one requires effort and sacrifice.
And not the kind of sacrifice herd animals (collectivists) like, which is sacrificing others and their rights to somehow benefit the group.
Collectivism is essentially human sacrifice.
But in order to be more than an animal, self-sacrifice is necessary, not other-sacrifice. It requires self-evaluation, not other-evaluation.
All kinds of advantages that could be gained by unethical means must be sacrificed in favor of a clean conscience.
The difference between animals and humans acting like animals is that humans feel a need to create a narrative that makes their unethical behavior (other-sacrifice) seem alright.
Animals don't care about that at all, but humans for some reason care a lot about having a story that redefines their evil as good, necessary and justified.
Every form of collectivism is based on a story that redefines evil as good. Every criminal, with the rare exception of true psychopaths, is convinced that his deeds are justified because of what others/society has done to them. And he has a story that makes that conviction plausible, at least as long as nobody questions the very basis of the story.
This story, of course, is provided by our mind.
Far from being a purely ethical or rational entity, the mind readily supplies us with stories that allow us to do all kinds of evil that the animal inside you us considers necessary for survival -- or merely convenient and advantageous.
The mind is so incredibly powerful that it allows us to do the most terrible things while being completely convinced that we are the "good guys".
Partly responsible for this situation is the body/mind dichotomy that is the basis for a lot of our ideas.
Traditionally, the body (flesh) is considered problematic (animal-like, driven by selfishness) while the mind is considered the ethical and rational counterpart.
But this couldn't be further from the truth. Like most dichotomies, it hides something else.
If the mind readily acts as an apologist of the body (animal), justifying its evil with made-up stories, then there must be a third part that is indeed willing to engage in self-sacrifice and to act based on love and ethics instead of fear and selfishness.
This third part is the soul.