Humans - are we animals, or something entirely different?

Question

Me and my uncle were recently having a discussion on whether humans are indeed animals, or an entity all their own. I'd like to have your opinions. Please be able to back up your answer.

Answer 1

Human are animals, mammals actually. And yes, I am able to back up my answer.

I hope your "uncle" will give you a good grade for that answer.

Answer 2

Biology recognizes three domains: Archaea, Eubacteria and Eukaryota.

Archaea and Eubacteria are single cell organism, and Eukariotes can be multi-celled organism; that domain breaks down into 7 kingdoms, one of those is animals. The other 6 kingdoms are plants, mushrooms, amoebae (usually single celled); essentially even less flattering classification to put humans in.

So yes, we are animals.

Answer 3

We can be considered animals but personally, we are too smart to be so. We developed things through science and experimentation while other animals are continually doing what they always do.

Answer 4

Humans are animals, yes, as are any living breathing creatures on the planet.

We are animals because, although plants are alive too, and breathing, they don't have the survival skills we have, and they can't think.

We are just a more intelligent, advanced animal in the animal chain! But we are animals, as we do carry the animalistic characteristics, even if we can control them for the most part :)

Answer 5

In every way, we are animals.  The only thing that makes us somewhat different from other animals is that we have certain brain functions, though recent evidence shows that many other mammals have emotions, logical thought, and problem-solving skills.  The fact is that an animal is defined as:

living things including many-celled organisms and often many of the single-celled ones (as protozoans) that typically differ from plants in having cells without cellulose walls, in lacking chlorophyll and the capacity for photosynthesis, in requiring more complex food materials (as proteins), in being organized to a greater degree of complexity, and in having the capacity for spontaneous movement and rapid motor responses to stimulation

and humans definitely fit into that pretty well.

Answer 6

In the definition of animals, yes we are classified as such. Because we are so much smarter than other being on Earth doesn't matter much from a biological prospective. We have a common ancestor with apes and gorillas and chimps. Also, look at pictures of the human, pig, chicken and lizard fetuses. They are like 99% identical.

Answer 7

Based on the definition of an animal, we're animals.

Answer 8

We are animals, according to Lynn Margulis´s clasification of alive beings. Aur phylum is Chordata and our class Mammalia.