What makes humans unique?

Recently I read Frans de Waal's book 'The Age of Empathy' and it really brought it home to me how many characteristics, which we often think of as uniquely human, are exhibited by many other animals, especially other primates, dolphins and some birds. However, De Waal does give us one characteristic that HE thinks is uniquely human: I offer this idea of his in this video, though you may not like his conclusion...... give me your thoughts :)

In the video I say i will link up a number of videos on primate behaviours that we usually only associate with ourselves. Here are those links:

Monkey cooperation and fairness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAFQ5kUHPkY

Chimpanzee Problem Solving
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySMh1mBi3cI

Amazing Apes: Self-awareness (1/2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-pc_M2qI74

Amazing Apes: Self-awareness (2/2)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2kY6QS8BBZE

Chimpanzee Problem Solving by Imitation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhG-_KsDYTA

Chimpanzee Problem Solving by Cooperation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOrgOW9LnT4

Chimpanzee Cooperation: Limitations (1/2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mv8rfJmCPk

..and this one follows on:
Bonobo Cooperation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjLRgosNf_Q

Kanzi and Novel Sentences
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dhc2zePJFE

Bonobos: Language Recognition, Play
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_opEeCllL1w

Category:

Education

Tags:

• ape
• bonobo
• chimpanzee
• gorilla
• capuchin
• language
• cooperation
• fairness
• empathy
• frans
• de
• waal

[TechTubeMedia]

I guess that's a point, but let's look at it like this:

I would say we have the POTENTIAL to torture our own species.

Take for example a brain-dead hospital patient, or a toddler/new-born. They don't torture their own species because they just can't. Does that make them not human? However, as humans, we do have the potential to torture our own.

Just as we have the potential to understand the depth of our love and the depth of the consequences of our actions.

Am I making sense?

[noelplum99]

@TechTubeMedia

"Am I making sense?"

You are but I don't really think it is necessary to make these qualifiers in this kind of conversation. Were we talking about any other species or clade I don't think we would feel it necessary to keep pointing these things out; we say elephants have a trunk but we don't bother adding that an elephant who has undergone trunk amuptation surgery is still an elephant.

Of course in other contexts these issues are relevant (ethical discussions primarily)

[emitremmus]

Exceptional, definitive physical characteristics? What about bipedalism?

[noelplum99]

@emitremmus

Birds

[XenogeneGray]

I have seen two Indian Myna birds peck both eyes out of a third Indian Myna bird, then peck at it and harass it before eventually leaving it to die. That counts as torture in my opinion.

[noelplum99]

@XenogeneGray

At least they were all Indian myna birds so there can be no suspicion of racism as a motive!!!

[kobidobidog]

We are human because we accepted the unthinkable to give us a David Copperfield type of illuton that we are a god above animals,. Ecclesiastes; 3-;18-20, KJV We breath, eat, drink, poop, urinate, eukaryote cells, have sex, physiologically, biologically, scientifically, chemically, microscopically, instinctually, fight or flight, territorial instincts of an animal putting up fences no trespassing signs. Humans are beasts too. Sodomistic oppression should not be given to the zoosexual or anyone.

[TechTubeMedia]

@noelplum99 I'm sorry if I come off as arrogant. I honestly don't mean too, but with the 500 character limit youtube gives, I can only express so much :S

This is a topic that really interests me, but I feel limited via comments.

Please let me know what you think in regards to my earlier comment!

Thanks :).

[TechTubeMedia]

@noelplum99 I see where you're coming from. I was answering the question of "What makes humans, well, human?"

In this case, there's a bunch more answers we can give, can't we?

Humans can put belief into something

Humans have the capacity to understand the depth of their relationships and the consequences of their actions

Humans can think of something, and then invent it

Humans can communicate intelligently

Humans can study other species (monkeys can't study us)

[TechTubeMedia]

In regards to the defining physical characteristics (the hands and the brain):

Studying the statement further suggests that one way that you can identify a species as human is through the subject's hands.

What if the subject is a man (or woman) with an amputated arm/hand? Are they no longer considered human?

In the example of the brain, what if we consider a person who's suffered a terrible injury and is considered brain-dead? Are they human?

[ThePeaceableKingdom]

@Censeo "Would a teenager sheltered from all forms of display of sex or sex education since his birth not be able to have sex with another teenager in the same situation"

interestingly, this is pretty much the plot of Daphnis and Chloe, an ancient novel by Longus. They lie together, but are uncertain of what to do...

Of course, it's just fiction...

[ThePeaceableKingdom]

One thing makes humans unique. We have sex for pleasure.

Not just at oestrus, nor simply to ease social structures, like the bonobo; but at anytime, just because we like it....

It's proven to be a very succesful evolutionary innovation. Our species, like Sherwin-Williams, covers the globe...

[hanyuo]

I always thought that being able to mate while standing was what defined us... I stand corrected.

[emitremmus]

itsjustameme, you've gotta love Cynicism.