What is the most essential difference between human beeings and animals?
None.
I am waiting for next clues cause personally I would never ever agree that it is any difference at all.
Anyway, what do you think about…sense of humour?
Do you have any ideas if animals can laugh?
I think animals can laugh… not sure though. Probably.
I think humans are just animals with a rather pimped out brain that allows us to build technologically developed societies.
So we are animals, just with more RAM, a better operating system, a faster processor, and some killer sofware applications (stereovision, language abilities, very fine motor control, etc).
I believe experiments were done on a baby Macaque and a baby Human. The difference in behavior were not apparent until the fourth month when the Human continued to manipulate the toys in different ways and the Macaque lost interest.
So humans like toys more?
Given that other primates (and dolphins) have a fairly well developed communication system and social structure – yeah, I do think that other animals can tell jokes.
When a lower ranking bonabo gets an erection, it covers its penis. That shows a sense of shame. How hard is it for another, higher ranking, monkey to point at him? That’s a joke. Is funny, yes?
I guess I’m not sure what you mean by animal vs. human, since I don’t seem them as distinct (humans are animals). Now, humans are different from apes, from ants, for tigers, ect. I’m not arguing that all animals are the same here.
Just that humans aren’t really that unique. As an earlier poster said, we’ve just got more RAM.
I guess one of the major differences between humans and other animals is that we don’t mature. We basically look like giant monkey foeti (foetuses?). Is that good enough?
our cognitive abilities.
since we are merely advanced animals, that advancement is brain power (aka RAM). each animal level below humans has decreasing cognitive skills. thus the next (positive) evolution of humans would be the ability to comprehend and imagine even more complex and abstract ideas than before, just like modern humans versus neanderthals. more people with einstein and hawkins-like brains would be the next higher human, in my opinion.
Culture.
We have nukes.
And we have religion.
You know I’ve just noticed- in any thread where I see human vs. animal questions I always see the same sort of reaction where there’s really no serious difference.
And then when I see threads that are somewhat animal or ecologically sympathetic, I see a slew of arguments saying that we may as well master nature, because our efforts earned it.
If the two suppositions are correct, then why don’t I go burn down your house and enslave you if my efforts have earned it?
My point is: All you who hate the “sappy hippy liberal feel sorry for the animal” views- well then damn it come in here and prove yourself by showing a difference between humans and others. Likewise- if we can’t find a good reason to separate humans from others, why should humanitarians and PETAs really disagree?
Oh shoot. Sorry, I forgot. Religion religion. Now I have the answer.
God created man to use animals for whatever he wants. It says so in the book of the word of God and for your questioning you go to hell. Case closed.
and god remains dead
-Imp
humans are not afraid of vacuum cleaners.
Vacuum cleaner!?!? Where!?!?!
stolen from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,1851900,00.html
this is an article appearing today, 17 august. looks to me like it supports the RAM argument for what seperates us.
… and that’s 3x’s larger than the chimps which in turn have much larger brains than other mammals.
I heard an interesting quote somewhere (not in the bible) that goes -
“Of all God’s creatures, only man prays.
Or has need to”…
What is the most essential difference between human beeings and animals?
Do animals have conscience?
Luxury of survival, which gave birth to emotions such as Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride, which in turn gave birth to a new obstacle to be overcome. That is ourselves. Before, the only thing man needed to outevolve was other animals preying on them. Now, we try to outdo (technologically) other people who prey on us.