What is it that makes us human and sets us apart from animals?

Question

it's an easy question so I am expecting a variety of answers

Answer 1

There are many differences.

They derive from the fact that God created man in 'his image'.

This is reflected in our ability to love, our ability to communicate with speech, intelligence, art, music, etc.

Answer 2

Pizza and wine evenings in bed with a DVD at the weekend. My wife and I feel somewhat elevated from the position of being animals to be able to do this. lol

Answer 3

It's because homosapiens or humans, has the highest logic in all the other mammals.or which means, we're the smartest things built by god in the entire kingdom. And we arent very in the territory. What m saying is animals are so territory than humans. For example, a dog made a certain mark at a certain area. Now for animals that mark represent your territory. So when a cat or other animal, comes in that area, the dog wo left that mark immidietly attacks or gives a warning to that cat or other animal.

Answer 4

communication with the mind body and soul.. Ability to reason and not just instinct.

Answer 5

We are all animals of a sort; the only difference is that even our dumbest examples are capable of more acute thinking and reason.

Answer 6

Humans are animals so nothing sets us apart from animals.

Answer 7

Hmmm from Reading your question and some of the other posts tool use and s*x for pleasure can be ruled out.  Some chimps, sea otters etc use tools and dolphins etc have s*x for a variety of reasons.   The only thing i can think of off the top of my head that is exclusive to humans versus animal kingdom is a written language.

Answer 8

we are created in the image of God, read the Bible in  Genesis 1:26...it is very clear that we are created, in the image of God and not in the image of any of the animals... that what sets us apart from animals...

Answer 9

The ability to use chapstick:

http://www.bofads.com/stories/monkey.htm

Answer 10

Personally for some of us i dont think you can tell us apart. Well other than that we eat with knives and forks. (some of us dont even do that) People can be such filthy creatures. Maybe its an insult to animals that we call some people animals.

Answer 11

The ability to kill each other.

Answer 12

its more a matter of combination of traits rather than specific traits that only we have, for instance we arn't the only creatures to use tools(though we are the only ones to make advanced/complex tools)

i am assumeing you mean what makes us different from other animals, and not implying that we are not animals.

Answer 13

Nothing, really.

Other primates have also used tools for fighting/hunting/eating, and other primates have also proven themselves to be moral animals, for example.

The setup was; two reheus (spelling?) monkeys were put into a room.

One was attached to electrodes, the other was given a lever, which when pulled, would give treats to that monkey, but also shock the other monkey.

The monkey with the lever would starve himself for days, knowing that it would harm the other monkey if he ate.

Humans are merely the first animal to have all the features (high intelligence, manual dexterity) to build civilizations and the like, therefore, we think we are above animals because we have something they do not.

Answer 14

The real answer is Education, thats all. If there was no education from birth from our parents we would be just like animals. The only reason we dont kill rape, rob, simply because we are told its not right and we know we go to jail if so. We are all capable of anything.Laws,schools,military,churches where put there to keep us governed in society and brain wash us to stay in our place and if you dont good night nurse. If you step out of line they give you a name, a label. Who are they, the rich, and the further away from the rich you are you feel more of the animal within you because you have to survive, especially if you have babies. The rich they wouldnt know what its like to feel the animal in them, they have only been told and educated to know the difference. The poor they live withit everyday, thats why Mike Tyson is so tough. Its the same answer for the people who are close to the law, family and friends of the law. They feel less deviant than people who dont know anybody in the law. But we are all the same.

Answer 15

If you dont mind having your brain twisted like a pretzel, you need to read author Dolores Cannon's research into past life regression at the somnombulistic level, people all over the world reveal the same thing time over time, many past lives, some experiences even as animals, talk about strange, but interesting none the less.

all this comes from a creativity standpoint that man has yet to understand, and religions distort as dogma.

every animal has its purpose to exist in this world and utilizes its unique instincts, and we at the human level try to find purpose for our existance, only too find ourselves emulating one another, rather than utilizing our hidden potentials and creating our own individual experience.

animals know how to hunt for food, us humans apply for welfare........

Answer 16

Our ability to overcomplicate things.

Answer 17

Being uncivilised and thinking we are more superior.& having the ability to think in the abstract. Oh,and one last thing. Our sophistication in wine making I'd like to see a monkey make a fine wine!

Answer 18

our infinite thinking (brain), come up with new stuff everyday (inventions).

Answer 19

The frontal lobe is what really sets us apart from animals, which controls one important aspect of humans:  Self awareness.  The thinking in terms of "I am."  Animals don't do that.  (although they DO have s*x for pleasure.  Dolphins do, in fact, and some species of female monkeys will "pimp" themselves out for oranges and other fruit.)

EDIT: as a side note, there are animals who will kill for fun--Have you ever seen a cat play with a mouse for hours, and then walk away when it is dead and not even eat the thing?

Answer 20

Opposable thumbs and flush toilets.

Answer 21

Compassion  , passion ,love , commitment , these are our good qualities , but if you listen to the news and read papers , are we really any different when kids are killing kids with knives on a daily basis , is to proove (prove ?) that they are tough or "topdog" is it a way to survive ? , I think not.

I think the world is getting out of control and there needs to be a fundemental change in our values before its too late .

I think the human race is losing all sense of morals (not sure if that's  spelt right)

Answer 22

We are animals...but I know what you mean!

It's the ability to reason.

Answer 23

A politics textbook says: the use of tools for productive purposes.

The earliest human time is called the Stone Age, right? Why? Because humans learned to use stones as tools for hunting and weaving. That's just what sets us apart from animals.

Answer 24

Our ability to invent , manufacture , change the land , cut forests , destroy.

Our inability to use the earth to feed and shelter ourselves and our families - - - then leave it just as we found it , for the use of thousands of generations to come .

Answer 25

Our huge brains, and some of the sturctures within them, especially the language-processing parts, and their intrconnections, and connections with other parts of the brain. This is behind all the other stuff, like the fact that we're the only animals communicating with others by typing on a device, sending meaning over wires.

That's the biggie.

It's an EASY question?

Answer 26

humans have s*x for plaesure animals dont

Answer 27

I have searched for one powerful concept in all the answers although many people have mentioned/listed what sets as apart from animals. As an anthropologist it is very simple. Culture. The ability to have complex and changing cultures. Think of anything it comes under CULTURE

Answer 28

You could easily say nothing but i dunno.. i think this: animals are good.. respectful things on this earth but i dont think its possible to say that we are equal because just think.. there IS so much more for us and that we can do. I mean.. we care for them.. they cant care for us!

Answer 29

2 % of the genetic code - that is all we have different from our nearest "animal"  kin - explains a lot doen't it?

Answer 30

Being self aware of ourselves,other people and animals and the ability to use the environment to our best advantage.This is usually bad for the environment but were learning to recycle and slow down these effects.

Answer 31

Ability to get credit cards  , no wait that is wrong my dog got mail the other day saying he was pre-approved for a Master Card with up to a $10,000.00 credit limit :))