What characteristics distinguish humans from the rest of the animal kingdom?

Question

and are they reinforced or undermined at school?

Answer 1

I think it is simply the ability to reason, and our creativity.  I guess that has to do with intelligence but it is slightly different.

Answer 2

As far as I can tell its nothing more than that humans eat with cutlery, sometimes have s*x for recreation not just for procreation, and they're not afraid of vacuum cleaners.

Answer 3

Most of the comments above have, together, listed many differences between us humans and animals, and there are many, many more, but one very important one you've all missed is that we wear clothes!

And the thing is, "WHY" do we wear clothes? Some say it's because we've got no body hair to protect us from the cold.  People who live in hot countries still wear clothes, skimpy as they might be.  AND, if we are as "natural" as the other Earth's creatures, why didn't we get the same protective hair or feathers as the rest of them?

Something doesn't fit the information we're being 'fed' by the scientists???!!!

Answer 4

We don't 'eat' our young !!!

Answer 5

constantly waging war against our own species sets us quite apart.

Answer 6

Very few. Other species make and use tools, have language, take recreational drugs and use medicine, have s*x face to face and not for procreation. They even have cultural (learned)differences in behaviour in their family groups.

The only really unique factors are higher technologies, like making fire and clothes.

Answer 7

That we can talk and aren't we the most intelligent?

Answer 8

At the moment it seems there is no essential difference which separates humans from animals.

I will use the apes as an example. Humans and apes, both have rational faculties, they have the faculty of language, they have creative impulses, they have a sense of humour, they also have s*x as recreation.

It is a very good question, i made a list, and i couldn't come up with concrete differences.

Answer 9

The brain the mind the imagination

Answer 10

I think the most important one is the consciousness of ourselves.

We can learn methods, we can interpretate, we can image, we can represent...

We can invent art, music, religion!

I admit we have a lot in common with other animals, but our brain consents us all these things that other animals can't do.

To say it with Karl Marx: we can have some sovrastructures.

Answer 11

I tend to agree with Ed.  What distinguishes humans from other animals most is that we make the catagories and since we make up the rules, we arbitrarily set ourselves as distinct and superior.  Although we learned of our superiority in school, we are only superior in our particular niche

Answer 12

It seems that there are none to speak of after watching a program last night about Elephants. Even Elephant have the equivalent of an opposable thumb on the end of it's trunk.  All animals can communicate, and with each other. Not so us Humans. Animals live quite happily with what the earth provides for them, in a cave or in a tree, or a hole in the ground. We are the only animal on earth that is not required as we are not in the food chain. We are the problem, not the earth, not the weather, earthquake or volcanic eruption, we are the parasites of the land and the seas, taking all and giving nothing in return. We will deserve all that is coming to us in time to come.

Answer 13

Spite?

Answer 14

There is a lot in common between human and the rest of the animal kingdom, after all things are either animal, vegetal or mineral.

What differentiates people from animals is the ability to know that they know (sapiens sapiens) although when you look at G.W Bush, you tend to wonder ;)

Also, humans create things like said below Things that do not necessarily have a use, that's art. Or things with a pattern that's intended.

Answer 15

Monkeys war against each other constantly so dont listen to people like nature 'boy' mo.

Humans were created as humans and monkeys as monkeys.  And were not p**p flingers.

Answer 16

The use of fire and opposing thumbs.....try doing pretty much anything without them.

Answer 17

We as a human race can differentiate from right and wrong and should be aware enough of this to choose our own actions, these should be taught to us by our parents and school, basicly society as a whole. This comes into question when people start claiming to be unaware that there actions are bad or wrong, I think you have started a debate!

Answer 18

We can talk!

Answer 19

Humans laugh and cry.  It is something that may be discussed in literature or philosophy classes.

Answer 20

I've often heard the ability to plan for the future, but due to observing coyotes, wolves, lions, dolphins & other predators execute a planned hunt, I have to toss that one out.  Chimps have been observed to make & use tools (some groups hunt with spears they've made), so tool making is out. Whales & dolphins have developed differing languages for communicating & pods from different locations use a different language for communicating, so that too is out. Chimps, bonobos, & dolphins are self aware & recognize their own reflections in a mirror, so I have to scratch that one.

I still suspect the human language is more descriptive that that of other animals, but that too needs further investigation. We have observed what "may" be a religion among some groups of chimps, so I will have to pick belief in an afterlife as the main difference between humans & other animals. However, the chimp "thunder dance" may be an attempt to influence some God.

I have to pick the use of fire as the single thing that obviously separates homo sapien from the rest of the Earth's animals.

I don't think they teach you to make fire in school? So I suppose we undermine that aspect of our heritage.

Answer 21

we can talk and invent things