Why aren't human beings generally considered animals?

Question

Most people do not believe human beings are animals. Aside from "reason", I'm curious as to what the belief is behind that.

Thank you for your time.

I drew my opening statement from, "We must teach our children that humans are not animals." I know that we are animals and I personally do not see us as any different. I'm interested in seeing the other side because I frankly do not understand it.

Answer 1

isn't that a hoot..? ..i think folks don't associate themselves with animals because if they did, they would have to adjust there image of there 'god' radically....HE is not an animal, so WE aren't ether...pretty freekie, if ya ask me...

Indians believe all life...every living thing ...borrows it's spirit from a Great Spirit, and will someday return it...that makes us a kinship...a relation...a cousin...a brother to other living things...i like being related to living things... i think its far more comforting , than feeling like i am alien to everything else living here.

Answer 2

It's a question of semantics.

Humans are unique in that they are self-aware: a trait that hasn't been proven in any other species, although some researchers (usually those with a financial interest in the question) have claimed that they've observed self-aware behavior in certain other species (specifically gorillas and bottlenose dolphins).

To be self-aware means that humans are the only animal species that can consciously choose their reaction to a certain stimulus. All other animals simply react instinctively. That is, they react the same exact way each time to the same stimulus (though they can be trained through conditioning to adopt a different reaction to a stimulus, or they can become habituated to the stimulus and begin to ignore it).

Humans' capacity for complex reasoning, teaching others, and controlling their so-called "animal emotions" sets them apart from the other animal species.

The vast majority of the time, when someone attempts to lump humans in with other animals, it's done in order to try to score cheap points in a debate. So, although most people acknowlege that we can be considered animals, it's usually counter-productive to actually assert that we are nothing more than animals. There are some very real differences between humans and every other animal species, and to try to lessen the significance of those differences doesn't really work to anyone's benefit.

Answer 3

Most people would be wrong if they do not recognize that we are animals. Most people consider the meaning of the word animal to mean other than human. Clearly we are animals that reason but other animals reason to a certain extent. Humans like to try and put themselves at the top of evolution but in truth all animals have reached a similar pinicle in that they survived to present. Humans, for example, did not evovled from Chimps. Chimps and humans evolved from a common ancestor. A human could not compete with a chimp in its niche. They are far stronger and much better at climbing than humans are. On the other hand, a chimp wouldn't do to well trying to cope in our society, either. We are very similar animals, but different, with both having superiority in their own niches.

Answer 4

Once we developed religion, from animism, and invented creation myths to explain our origins, we invoked the higher powers, saying that we had been put here by a deity, or deities, and had been given dominion over the animals, and only we had the divine gift of reason. Most people also believe in god, and there was a time when everyone knew that the world was flat. Believing something does not make it so.

Answer 5

I'm surprised by your opening statement. Virtually everyone who has any kind of formal schooling knows that we humans are a class of "animals". It just happens to be that our class is called Human or Homo Sapien.

As "Homo Sapien", we also belong to a sub-group of animals called mammals. The major characteristic of mammals (with very rare exceptions) are that mammals give birth to live young (vs eggs) and the female suckles the young with teats. So, we belong to the same sub-group of mammals as your pet dog or cat and the Wildebeest that roams Africa but not the lizard (in the reptile group) or your pet Canary (in the avian or bird group).

Within this mammal group of animals, we are in a special class called bipedal, meaning that we walk upright on two legs. So, this means that we are different from our dogs, cats, etc. because they walk on all fours. However, we are in the same class as Gorillas, Apes, and Chimpanzees. These are our closest relatives within the animal world.

So, scientifically speaking, even though we are the most intelligent, can reason options, can dream of a future, can show emotion, and can communicate with ourselves via voice and written word, we are still "animals".

Answer 6

Probably a subtle but perverse way of justifying some superiority in the natural scheme of of our world.
If we are deemed to be better than....... It could be seen/felt justifiable to manipulate, dominate, and deteriorate our planet at the cost of all other "animals". Got to wonder if we are truly of all that superior intellect ????

Answer 7

We are animals. Supposedly, we are the most highly developed form of animal because we walk upright and reason and talk. But I don't think we are the nicest animals on earth. And we are the ones who put ourselves at the top. I

Answer 8

We are considered animals. We do consider ourselves different creatures than the other animals, but then again, all kinds of different animals have unique traits. Birds fly, fish swim, humans are creative, cognitive, and industrious.

Answer 9

Human is a social animal. Why they called social you can understand otherwise they behave like animals.

Answer 10

Some humans act like animals. I am just glad animals don't act like humans.