One word: Hubris.
There are a lot of things that make humans unique compared too other animals.
The ability to reason is one, which is why those who are unreasonable seem too act more akin too beasts than too human beings.
I guess you’ve never had a cat.
Or a camel. 
ive had many cats - While sometimes a little arrogant by human standards, their vanities and conceits pale in comparison with the average human’s. i wonder if cats actually have anything resembling an ego . . .
i don’t honestly know anthing about camels - are they prideful or just stubborn? are they smart?
Well, unreasonable always depends on who you ask. And other animals can reason in their own rudimentary, smaller-brained way.
But it’s weird you should say that, because the average philosopher’s worship of reason is precisely the sort of thing i had in mind when i did the OP …
Nor do we.
these are constructs sure, but human minds generally work in ways we can accurately describe using such metaphors
Now, I know other animals can do amazing things with their environment, but has any other species on earth utilized natural resources to the extent that human beings have? I mean look at our cities, for goodness sake. Is the scale of human production/technology at all similar in proportion to that of other animals? I’m guessing no.
Yes, we take a particular pride in acheiving the goals we set for ourselves and so we are constantly striving towards . . . something or other. But you seem to have a very human-centric opinion as to what constitutes productivity, and our unparalelled use of resources is as likely to imply wastefulness as it is productivity. i mean, in some ways insects are a more successful type of animal than humans. They certainly outnumber us and live far more efficient lives. Humans have an unsurprising affinity for the notion that we are the paragon of animals, but that’s just more hubris - witness our gradual destruction of the planet.
or were you being ironic? i’m not sure . . .
The only thing that separates us from animals is our classification within the animal kingdom.
We are homo sapiens not something else.
What separates us from other specie are some loosely agreed upon traits such as our thumbs.
We’re our own species and that’s it.
We certainly aren’t the only animal that can reason, we are just a little better at it because our cerebral cortex is bigger.
uglypeoplefucking,
Ok, yes, there is a lot of wastefulness, but we are conscious of much of it and we are trying to become more efficient and sustainable. Does any other species consciously plan for sustainability on the scale that we do?
Any living being has to utilize the environment to survive. I think it is remarkable that we are (or at least are becoming) self-aware of are relationship to “nature” and our environment.
Has any other animal traveled into space because of curiosity (and sure, because of pride)? Space truly does seem to be the final frontier and I don’t say that from a colonial or imperialist point of view at all. Space is fascinating. I think we will continue to explore the nature of the universe and that we will one day inhabit other planets/areas in space. I don’t think any other species that we know of on earth has done this. You can say whatever you want about hubris, but I’m just trying to point out some differences between humans and other animals – I never said these were reasons why human beings are better.
What about the human brain? Can any biologists here say something about the uniqueness of the human brain…?
I also agree with those who said that hubris can be found in other animals as well. My miniature schnauzer sometimes puffs out her chest and barks like she’s ready to go head to head with other dogs 3x her size, and then becomes timid and shies away once the bigger dog approaches and comes close. That seems like arrogance and overconfidence to me.
I’m not a biologist but I feel I can sum it up pretty well.
Basically what it all comes down to is the cerebral cortex (that wrinkly stuff on the top of the brain).
Every mammal has it. (reptiles and birds probably have it as well but i can’t say for sure)
The only reason ours is different is because we have more of it and can fit more into our large and hollowed out skulls.
For comparison, if we took the cerebral cortex of several animals and flattened them out the size would be about:
A postage stamp for a rat’s brain
A postcard for a small monkey’s brain
An 8.5x11 inch piece of paper for a chimpanzee’s brain
and 4 sheets of above mentioned paper for Humans.
Some memory brain structures also get bigger as the size of the animal increases and as they say, elephants never forget.
The only difference between us and our ape cousin’s is we have 4 times the thinking space and since our limbs/senses are about the same the rest of that space gets left to non-essential functions (like philosophy and thought).
Awesome, Khrone, thanks for the input.
So that’s kind of distinguishing, yeah?
No problem. The size of our cortex certainly distinguishes us as a separate species.
Yes, and I think it’s pretty safe to say it distinguishes us in other ways as a species as well, though I can’t say exactly how at the moment.
The size and complexity of our brains.
Alien DNA
From splicing in a Lab or from an extraterrestrial sexual deviant?
Fair enough, Fuse. I guess i was trying to get at the notion that humans as a species are special in a distinctive way that other species are not. Sure, every species is going to have numerous discerning traits and characteristics. Humans are unique animals; but so are lions, tigers, bears, and fruit flies. Rather, i think it’s the almost innate belief that humans are superior in some way to other animals tho that really seperates how we approach the world from how other animals do the same. Do you think other animals really have any notion that they are, as a species, superior to the planet’s other inhabitants? i ask that as a genuine question, honestly i don’t know what other animals “think”. . .