What do you think separates humans from other animals?

[CulixCupric]

I think the only thing that separates humans from all other animals is the ability to communicate using a complex language. While many other animals have methods of communicating with others, some even being able to communicate effectively with other animals. However, the shape of our voice box allows for a greater range of nuisanced noises. Combine this with our intelligence (which is not something only inherent in humans) and we have been able to create languages that are able to communicate deeper ideas. If it weren't for the ability to communicate in the way we do, then great ideas would have never been established or even create civilization as we know it today.

dolphin's have language much more complex than ours. we can't even figure it out.

Yes, it separates other animals from each other too, but that hardly makes it LESS of a separating barrier between us and them, does it?

ok, you are right about that. that is a good point.

It was the monoliths causing superior beings to evolve and develop tools, watch the first part of 2001.

i haven't seen this movie. should i have? is it a classic? what is it? what year was it made?

The DNA that makes us us?

eh, sort of, but you might want to read up on junk DNA, also known as inactive DNA, or evolutionary DNA. it's our dna that is from all other species that just isn't in use, so we have their dna, we just aren't using most of it. they also have it, but aren't using ours. they have the dna of all species as do we, which is why splicing is possible. like the spider goats. or the sheep spliced with human dna.

 

[conflictofinterests]

As a linguist and a bilingual, far, FAR too many. That said, I don't see how rules of communication come under self-restraint - for most people they're implicit, not explicit (we do them because they work, not because we consciously decide not to do otherwise).

Likewise, I don't necessarily view finding a better way forward as being the same as stopping a bad thing. Cultural and technological advancement can be wonderful things, but look at the last 50 years. We figured out a long time ago that we needed to stop dumping our trash and chemicals in the ocean. Have we? No. Have we even slowed down? Not really - we've just found methods of dumping ten times as much instead of 100 times as much.

Overpopulation is nothing new, and yet it still crops up everywhere.

Speaking of which, we're not going to find a way to save the largest number of people - we're going to find a way to save the elite, and then sometime later someone will find a way to make a lot of money selling an inferior version to everyone else. Maybe you won't be living in a domed city, but at least you can buy these disposable air filters! Great prices, no refunds.

That's not how it's going to be, that's how it's always been.
(domed cities notwithstanding)

So you're complaining culture isn't changing fast enough for you. Well, you're in luck, with technology as fast-paced as it is, culture is changing more and more rapidly. There is an end in site to extreme poverty at this point, and it won't take much effort to reach it (though time is a different matter)

Aside from that, air filters for the masses instead of domed cities for the elite will still save a whole lot of people, and this extreme of a gap in wealth has never before existed in human history, so I can't say how long it's going to last. A lot of the disenfranchised are getting pretty pissed, and you get enough people together enough pissed off there's bound to be change.

Overpopulation is only a problem without the right technology. With proper city planning, waste collection and efficient farming techniques, no one has to live uncomfortably (and, in fact, individuals who live in large cities leave smaller carbon footprints than those who live in rural areas, since everything they get already comes to the central hub of the city and doesn't have to travel out to the countryside)

Finally, I wouldn't disregard the rules of language as far as self-restraint goes. In the animal kingdom most restraint is implicit (at least after several run-ins with the alpha of whatever species of your choice). It's hard to discount the internalization and NATURALIZATION of so many artificial and ARBITRARY rules as occurs in human speech, and at some point in our lives EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE RULES we consciously learned as we learned the language. For the most part we don't remember these events because they happened so early in our life cycle, because our brains were in such an early stage of development. How many other animals can take that sheer amount of rules information and then abide by it the rest of their lives? How many rules and regulations is a pack of wolves going to have, and how many rules and regulations is an interaction between two strangers in our society going to have?

 

[TheVioletBandit]

Shame, animals don't feel any shame. Though I guess the same could be said for a few humans as well.

 

[omicron1]

Honestly, this is like asking what separates an iPhone from a PDP-12. I mean, aside from the change in storage unit size, different hardware, wireless/ng technologies, and being much smaller, they work from the same basic concepts, right?

So no, if you're looking for an absolute game-changing difference, you aren't going to find one. (physically, at least) But the sum difference between us and everything else ever is such that the accomplishments of our species outweigh those of every other species combined, and such that any given single human is more intelligent than an entire genus of lesser creatures, if not the sum of all creatures everywhere!

 

[hawkinsssable]

Man you guys are a smug, self-satisfied bunch of humans.

Drop a one-year-old in the jungle, see what becomes of it. Assume it survives - it's not going to survive as a human as we know it. It's not going to have imagination, a 'soul', self-awareness, intelligence, shame, or even language that's in any meaningful way distinguishable from other animals. It probably won't even have invented any tools that are that much more sophisticated from those other animals already use. And when it dies, it's going to have all the impact of the death of a monkey.

It's also worth noting that human societies have been, and are, deeply, HUGELY diverse. A lot of these 'human' qualities we cherish so much just don't apply in the context of some fully functional cannibal society. A lot of the most cherished 'human' qualities also simply don't apply for psychopaths - and roughly 1 in 100 people have an amygdala that dysfunctions in just that way.

The one thing I'd say we have over animals is extelligence - intelligence outside of ourselves. Written language, and the ability to communicate knowledge across generations. And maybe opposable thumbs.

 

[Hap2]

Form, complex language, capability to recognize perspective (but not always is it exercised).

 

[lacktheknack]

The difference is pants.

Nothing else wears pants.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lihwsmnBxf1qedptlo1_500.jpg

This elephant is wearing pants.

Your argument is invalid.

 

[Substitute Troll]

What do you think separates humans from other animals?

The fact that you can ask this question is what separates us from animals. Take from that what you will. Be it technology, philosophical thinking etc...

I think that the only thing separating humans from animals is technology and religion.

Well... Then you went ahead and wrote:

So, what's your opinion?

There's another thing. Opinions. Animals have smaller opinions, but not larger ones. One cat might enjoy being scratched under his chin more than another cat. But opinions about, say, killing one another, that's not something they have.

 

[Vegan_Doodler]

Well many things, we live in houses, we have overs cultivate our food, probably most importantly we stopped the individual ultimate survivor, jack of all triads kind of animal and banded together, each bringing our unique talents to the table, but then there is my personal favourite arrogance.

Language

face it, individually, a lot of us aren't that much smarter than the average gorilla. The big difference between us and them is that we are able to share ideas and record them. An invention from one person can be used and improved by people over thousands of years, where any innovation another ape comes up with will be lost once they die.

this, very much this.

 

[Dwarfman]

What do you think separates humans from other animals?

Thumbs. Seriously people the opposable appendage is what gave us the edge. Name me one animal that isn't a sapient that has thumbs - well okay bats have thumbs but they're attached to wings.

 

[Electrogecko]

I've often thought that the difference between humans and other intelligent mammals isn't as great as we think it is.

This is nothing more than my own thought process. I don't conclude anything scientifically from it.

Humans have the ability to communicate with each other in a sophisticated manner, a skill that wouldn't have been possible to develop without the proper evolutionary tools and a very large amount of time. This skill has given us the ability to pass on and compound our knowledge base over many millenniums. Because of this, most humans that are born today are born into a complex society which has values and needs that are far different from those of the natural world. Even in non developed areas that are facing food shortages, it's not as simple as going out and gathering food like your average ape.

If you were born into a prehistoric earth with none of the knowledge that you've picked up in this life, what would you do? You can even have a group of ignorant homo-sapiens along with you. It's impossible to even begin to guess how one might act or try to communicate without all the simple products of long term society that we take for granted. Just imagine trying to communicate if you didn't know about the head nod/shake, or the ability to indicate with the point of a finger. My guess is that you would act much like the average wild chimp. You would spend all day looking for food and water, and sometimes you wouldn't even be successful. You would be constantly on edge and weary of predators, you would sleep on whatever pile of leaves or tree branch you fancy, and you would be dumbfounded by occurrences such as disease and natural disasters. While it's impossible to tell for sure, I don't think you would immediately come up with the idea of building a shelter, sharpening a stick to use as a weapon, or scientific theory.

Basically, my point is that humans made it past the singularity while other mammals haven't. Who knows whether dolphins would be speaking to each other if they had developed vocal chords. Humans have the advantage of easily being able to gain the knowledge of infinite past lives, and it's impossible to know what other species could do with that ability.

 

[Electrogecko]

What do you think separates humans from other animals?

First of all i don't think we're just animals. Most things we do, the way we live, things we value is far from natural flow of life and that is both the proof that we're not animals and answer to your question i guess.

For example : we're persistently trying to invent some drugs instead of using natural medicines.

Forget trying to invent cures, we go out of our way to create drugs that our own body tries to tell us are bad for us!

Seriously, put some vodka under your pet's nose and see how they react, but we drink it because the knowledge that it will improve our day by making us dumber and slowing down our nervous systems overpowers our evolutionarily gained common sense.

 

[JesterRaiin]

Seriously, put some vodka under your pet's nose and see how they react

Not exactly best argument.

In reality, some animals drink alcohol (vodka is no exception).
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=animals+drinking+vodka

Moreover, some animals use "drugs".
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cat+valerianae

 

[SD-Fiend]

Man you guys are a smug, self-satisfied bunch of humans.

Drop a one-year-old in the jungle, see what becomes of it. Assume it survives - it's not going to survive as a human as we know it. It's not going to have imagination, a 'soul', self-awareness, intelligence, shame, or even language that's in any meaningful way distinguishable from other animals. It probably won't even have invented any tools that are that much more sophisticated from those other animals already use. And when it dies, it's going to have all the impact of the death of a monkey.

It's also worth noting that human societies have been, and are, deeply, HUGELY diverse. A lot of these 'human' qualities we cherish so much just don't apply in the context of some fully functional cannibal society. A lot of the most cherished 'human' qualities also simply don't apply for psychopaths - and roughly 1 in 100 people have an amygdala that dysfunctions in just that way.

The one thing I'd say we have over animals is extelligence - intelligence outside of ourselves. Written language, and the ability to communicate knowledge across generations. And maybe opposable thumbs.

sorry but the first part about the baby doesn't really help anything if you drop anything at the same developmental stage as a baby into the jungle it most likely wont know how to catch it's own food or any other techniques to survive.
the rest of your post I have no problem with

 

[CulixCupric]

What do you think separates humans from other animals?

Thumbs. Seriously people the opposable appendage is what gave us the edge. Name me one animal that isn't a sapient that has thumbs - well okay bats have thumbs but they're attached to wings.

pandas have thumbs.

 

[jacilon]

This is crap, animals such as dogs and elephants have painted pictures which have sold for tens of thousands of dollars.

Want to know why those paintings sold for so much?


They fetched those prices not because of artistic merit or vision, not because the author wanted to send a message, but solely because they weren't painted by machine or human. That's it. They paintings are fucking awful and, if painted by a person, would be spurned left right and center. But, because they were painted by animals, people spend thousands on them.


All your mention of these paintings proves is that some humans are just fuckin' stupid with their money.

So where does this leave human creativity?

find me a dog or elephant that has built a rocket capable of launching them into space, letting them visit another orbital body entirely, build their own goddamn orbital body, probe the stars and assert how everything works.


Go on. I'm waiting. Tell ya what, I'll widen the criteria to anything that isn't human. Find me another species that is capable of building a spacecraft capable of travelling to the moon, retreiving samples, leaving a flag and safely returning.



Can't do it? Thought so.


Humans are the only species creative enough to build such things. Animals do not posess the creativity to design such things. Nor do they really care. When an animal looks up in the night sky the most it will think is "Ooh, dark...don't see any predators...I'm horny, where's something to hump?", whereas mankind looked up at that same night sky and said "I wonder what's up there...".


Fact of the matter is mankind has been to space, mankind has walked on a body other than the Earth, mankind has built a home in space, while the best the animal kingdom can come up with is a beaver dam. Thus, mankind is infintiely more creative than nature, and on top of that posesses the drive to actually put that creativity to use.

Unlike humans who just destroy everything and fuck shit up, how do you call wasting natural resources and spilling toxins everywhere rational thought?

Have you seen what animals do to areas they frequent? You're naive as hell if you think they don't trash the environment too.

I bet if you let a dog evolve enough it can do those things. We just made better use of our time bro.

 

[Whoatemysupper]

Two words: opposable thumbs.

 

[Torrasque]

1. Our ability to cooperate with each other for the greater good of the species. This isn't seen all the time, yes people are dicks, but it is still a factor. The fact that we live in societies and groups is a testament of this. I didn't say they work, but they are still there.

2. Rational thought. No other species on earth ponders it's existence, or puts it's potential mate through such rigorous critique.

3. Our incredible ability to have the intelligence and experiences of one person to contribute and join with the greater mass of intelligence and experiences that drives the modern world. Laymans terms: one guy figures out how to make bread, tells his friends, and everyone can make bread now.

Pretty sure everything else is just a sub-category of one of those three.
I have at least 4 different books by 4 people that have the exact definition written down, but I am too lazy to go looking for it. Besides, I think it is important for a person to be able to say what makes them different from animals. It doesn't matter what it is you think makes you different from animals, just that you have it

 

[Giftfromme]

1. Our ability to cooperate with each other for the greater good of the species. This isn't seen all the time, yes people are dicks, but it is still a factor. The fact that we live in societies and groups is a testament of this. I didn't say they work, but they are still there.

2. Rational thought. No other species on earth ponders it's existence, or puts it's potential mate through such rigorous critique.

3. Our incredible ability to have the intelligence and experiences of one person to contribute and join with the greater mass of intelligence and experiences that drives the modern world. Laymans terms: one guy figures out how to make bread, tells his friends, and everyone can make bread now.

Pretty sure everything else is just a sub-category of one of those three.
I have at least 4 different books by 4 people that have the exact definition written down, but I am too lazy to go looking for it. Besides, I think it is important for a person to be able to say what makes them different from animals. It doesn't matter what it is you think makes you different from animals, just that you have it

Animals do cooperate with each other. Almost every species on Earth does. This is not unique to humans.

The intelligence and rational thought are a product of the language we developed (but off course we needed some intelligence to help develop language so which came first?) and the very definitions we developed helped us develop more words, definitions etc. How is a person intellilgent? Because we say so.

Off course you have to go back and ask how we developed intelligence, language etc in the first place where no other species did. It could be that our ability to imagine what uses a particular item could have before trying it out. For example, it's possible that a human could look at a stick and imagine doing something else with it; maybe prop it against a tree? Well not particularly useful. What about using it as a weapon? Better. What about getting a few of them and putting them together for shelter? Not bad at all. It's possible that an animal cannot see a stick beyond immediately what is there. It cannot imagine having other uses for the stick.

Also, it is theorised that our intelligence, brain size gew as a result of competition before other humans. We needed more creative ways to lie, cheat, steal etc off others, to get our way, especially in the realm of relationships.

 

[CounterReproductive]

What seperates humans from animals ? We do, because humans designed the system of classification that we use today. Smart ass answer delivered, have a very merry Christmas or holiday of your choice