What are the basic differences between human thinking and animal thinking?

Question

All living organisms take stock of their physical and other enviornments and evaluate in their typical way. What are the basics of this process? How did humans develop their complex thinking process?

Answer 1

simple like you can ask and animal can not!

Answer 2

Humans think in terms of right and wrong.  They make choices based on morality.  Babies do not do this - they rely on instinct.  

I believe at some point, humans are made aware of right and wrong and make choices accordingly.  This means to me that animals have a physical and psychological way of thinking, but that humans have an additional element - spiritual and emotional.

Answer 3

Human were lucky enough to have a thumb and forefinger that they could learn to use with great dexterity.

It is basically how we managed to master our thumb and forefinger that separated us from the great apes and lead to the development of the complex human mind.

Answer 4

the first person is right! animals have no sence of reason! humans can think before doing somthing! animals act on instinct!!

Answer 5

Humans have the ability to reason, while most other animals act on instinct

Answer 6

animal hinking is like a moron they never learn because thier brains were too small.

Answer 7

Although human thought is influenced by emotions, reason can take precedence. In animal thoughts, reason never takes precedence over their emotions. Theyre "thoughts" are essentially feelings

Answer 8

We both are the creation of nature (god) . We have almost similar features, Humans are more advanced than all other creatures. The nature wanted them to that way.

Answer 9

I know. Different languages.

Answer 10

Animal thinking is far more complex that just instinct and human thinking is far less complex than morality: animals have the ability to learn, to modify, to interact, to do many things we previously thought only humans could.

Animals can learn and teach how to make tools; monkeys have complex political societies and elephants can express themselves through art. Several species have shown the amazing trait of word creation (after learning some rudimentary English): after a gorilla who was taught sign language was given a bracelet, she called it an wrist-necklace. When a bird who had been taught different fruits was shown an apple for the first time, he called it a banana-cherry, since its texture was like that of a banana while its appearance like a cherry.

Actually, this month's National Geographic has a cover story about this very subject. In it they talk about misconceptions that people have about animal intelligence, that they rely on only instinct is one of them.

Answer 11

mental . . . images . . . in prefrontal cortex ,  are orchestrated :

awareness of spleen and other involuntary functions maybe

can be sensed through biofeedback though normally do not

participate in images (  or you might stop your heart )  but

most animals probably can not afford the energy to imagine

the . . . distant . . . future - assuming they will live long enough

to benefit from the foresight ;

Answer 12

humans are animals

Answer 13

My cat sleeps, plays, and gives me dirty looks if I don't have food in her bowl.  I not so sure who the smart one is because she has it made in the shade. I go along with Knight rider that it had to do with the ability to use our hands.  Lively zombie is right that animals are much more than we give credit.  My cat has figured out how to open doors by pushing and pulling.  If the door does not open doing this, she tries to reach for the k**b.  She has reasoned all of this.  

"It is important to note that the brains of all mammals have the same basic brain parts, cell groups, fiber tracts, and neural circuits. The same brain nuclei that can be identified in rats and mice can also be found in the brains of humans, horses and whales. Human brain atlases reveal additional nuclei not found in other animals. Every animal has brain nuclei that are differentially enlarged or diminished from similar nuclei found in other animals.

Study of the brain atlases of different mammals can reveal features that are unique or special to the different mammals, and thus can help us understand how differences in neuroanatomical construction of each mammal relate to functional expressions that are also unique or specialized in that mammal."

Answer 14

We think, and animals rely on instinct.