They say that all living things that surround you are all living beings. And man is one of many forms of life on Earth, but it is unique, since only man can make conscious choices and shape his own destiny. Other life forms are in an unconscious state. But if we think that only a person is capable of experiencing emotions and sensual pleasures to the fullest, then this is wrong, because all living beings receive sensual pleasures, and often much better and of higher quality than a person can do.
Examples of how animals enjoy better than humans:
- Only a bear can see the sweetest and longest dreams,
- no man has sight better than that of birds;
- sense of smell: many animals have an amazing sense of smell, for example, a dog who, simply by sniffing your bag, immediately recognizes what was in it;
Examples of animal sensual pleasures:
- not a single person is able to eat as much as a cow eats: a cow produces saliva alone from 40 to 150 liters a day (for comparison, a person produces from 0.5 to 2.0 liters of saliva per day);
- the most pumped up are horses, and for this they do not need to constantly go to the gym;
- Monkeys and pigeons can have sex the best and for the longest time: they can do this up to several dozen times a day without any special consequences for their body, which cannot be said about humans;
- Only a few sports cars can compete with the running speed of a cheetah.
And this is not a complete list...
Difference between man and animal
And the ancient scriptures speak about all this: animals enjoy sensory life much better and of higher quality than humans, and without making any effort. They receive such mercy from the Lord from birth.
The only difference between a person and an animal is the presence of consciousness, i.e. capacity for self-awareness and God. And if a person does not use this unique gift, then already in this life he will show characteristic signs of animal life:
- desire to sleep longer,
- eat more often and more,
- compete and suppress others, forgetting about a more effective way of communication - cooperation and mutual assistance,
- consciousness is filled with instincts, with a huge predominance of the instinct of reproduction and procreation.
This is due to the fact that leading a conscious life, i.e. a life filled with the desire to help others and give happiness is much more difficult and requires a lot of effort, while animal desires are easier, more comfortable and faster to achieve. But this destroys the foundations of human life...
Video of the difference between humans and animals
EAT. Chaitanya Chandra Charan
(28.2 MB, AVI container, Div format X 4)
Thus, if a person does not use the uniqueness of human life for its intended purpose, he will be constantly disappointed and suffering. This is precisely the reason why a person wants:
- sleep more, i.e. to be in an unconscious state, otherwise he suffers, but in a dream it is warm, pleasant and comfortable;
- desire to suppress and compete, because he considers everyone an enemy who prevents him from enjoying,
- eat more and have sex: these are physiological actions that automatically bring pleasure, while getting happiness from communicating with other people is much more difficult.
But a person who begins to live by the desires of an animal begins to suffer even more, since the desires of animals are better and easier to achieve in the body of an animal. In the human body you can’t sleep much, you can’t eat much, you won’t get much sexual pleasure... And desires will keep accumulating and accumulating, since desires by their nature are limitless. And boundless desires without the ability to realize them bring simply unbearable torment... This is what pushes a person to even greater nonsense:
- drunkenness;
- drugs;
- perversions;
- sadomasochism and much more...
A person simply begins to mock his body, which cannot give him what he wants. But all this is to no avail, since the human body is capable of realizing human desires and a few animal desires. It's the same as asking a passenger car to do the work of a tractor...
Continuation in the article “Man and feelings”, or about what you should do with your feelings from the point of view of the Vedas
The question of what is the difference between humanity and the animal world has bothered people almost ever since they realized themselves as a separate biological unit.
Despite the fact that in the system of natural classification man is a separate species of animal, it is obvious that in his development he has moved as far as possible from the standard path of existence of living organisms. Not only biologists, anthropologists and physicians deal with the issues of basic differences; these problems are also solved by sociologists, psychologists, philosophers and representatives of other sciences.
Social and moral-ethical aspects in human life are very important, but for skeptics they are not suitable as evidence of difference from the animal world. Therefore, first of all, we are interested in obvious and indisputable facts concerning the structure of organs and their systems of the human body, as well as physiological characteristics.
Chromosome set
Man is a product of evolution, whose closest relatives are the large primates pongidae and chilobatidae. Despite the fact that we are very similar to our relatives, there is one important detail that defines us as a separate species - our chromosome set.
The human genome is the same size as some primates, but the number of chromosomes in our cells is 46, arranged in pairs on two helical strands of DNA. There are 23 such pairs in total, and it is they who determine what our species looks like and according to what program each individual organism develops throughout its life. This individual program is inherent only to Homo sapiens and cannot be reproduced by any other animal.
During the formation of the species, one unique event occurred: people chose upright walking as a convenient method of movement. This had a huge impact on the further formation and development of humanity.
As a result of this method of movement, the spine and other parts of the skeleton have changed:
- The pelvis is located lower and becomes wider, as it bears a greater load compared to the pelvic spine of other animals. The bones of the human pelvis have changed their structure, becoming thicker and stronger.
- The anatomical structure of the feet, which are the main mechanism for walking, has changed. The number of bones and joints in this section is very large to provide a sufficient degree of freedom during the step.
- Due to upright walking, the length of the bones of the lower extremities has changed. They lengthened, which made it possible to walk faster by increasing the stride.
- The spinal column acquired new curves for the animal world (lordosis and kyphosis), which made it possible to correctly distribute the load along the spine.
For the possibility of walking upright, humanity pays with periodic pain in the back and lower back, which experience much greater pressure than the same parts of the spine in representatives of the animal world that use movement on four legs.
Fine motor skills
After people began to walk on two legs, the palm ceased to be a support when moving. The function of the hands has changed, which is reflected in its anatomy.
The structure of the human thumb is unique in the animal kingdom. No other representative of the animal kingdom can handle small objects as deftly as humans can.
Language
Living organisms of a higher order are characterized by the first signaling system, based on the transmission of reflexes. Humans have developed and successfully use a second signaling system—speech. Scientists admit that this method of communication is possible not only among us: the same dolphins can talk and even give their children names. But the special anatomical structure of the human larynx makes it possible to use a wide range of sounds.
Another feature is that any representatives of the animal world understand each other the same way, no matter what habitat they are from. And only humans have different languages that are not understandable to those who live in a different language environment. This phenomenon is unique and inherent only to humanity.
CNS
The human brain is not the largest, either in fact or proportionally. But anatomically it has a number of differences from animals. Thanks to the presence of large and developed frontal lobes, we are able to remember, plan, dream, notice what is common and highlight what is different. The limits of human thinking are pushed very far, which is due to the functional capabilities of his brain.
Environmental differences
In their way of life, distribution, methods of developing new spaces for living, people also have unique features that distinguish them from animals.
Distribution of the species
Many species of wildlife occupy all continents, which was preceded by a long chain of evolution, which was able to provide them with mechanisms for survival in these conditions. Man was able to settle in those territories that were not suitable for him to live in, since his existence in certain places was not limited by environmental conditions.
For the same purpose, humanity invented clothing - a unique phenomenon that is not observed in nature in any other species. Thanks to such high adaptability, people were able to live in places with cold climates that do not meet the requirements of human physiology. That is, the spread of people around the globe is not dictated by natural conditions.
Sharing resources
The lack of resources cannot prevent the spread of man, since we have learned to exchange food supplies, minerals and other material values necessary for life. This contributed to the further development of territories that could not be inhabited by other species of animals due to a lack of food supply.
Using tools
Some animals can use certain objects for their needs. An exceptional feature of humanity is that we have learned to create such devices ourselves, to invent, design and manufacture them, which has significantly expanded the list of possibilities.
Due to the fact that progress continues, people do not stop creating other devices, which often predetermine the further development of civilization.
Application of fire
Biologists, historians, anthropologists and other scientists unanimously believe that people made a huge leap in their development thanks to the use of fire. This ability influenced not only the possibility of relocation to cold regions, but also marked the beginning of the era of thermal processing of food. This innovation gradually changed the anatomy of the stomach and intestines and affected the dentition and jawbone. Therefore, human canines do not protrude beyond the line of other teeth, as happens in animals.
Impact on the planet
No species of living nature has such a huge impact on the Earth as humans. We are changing landscapes, waterways, changing the climate in certain areas and throughout the planet. In addition, human activities actively affect the species diversity of nature.
Social and spiritual differences
Most people believe that animals do not have souls, while humans do. But such a broad concept, which has been debated for many centuries, is difficult to grasp.
There are several moral and social factors that sharply distinguish us from the animal world.
Thinking
The consciousness and thinking of people is different from our smaller brothers. In this direction, people were far ahead of them.
Our thinking consists of the following elements:
- collection of information;
- analysis;
- comparison;
- abstraction;
- generalization;
- specification.
Based on these mental operations, we can reason, judge something and draw our own conclusions. For animals such a high level of mental activity is unattainable.
Stages of life
Of course, in terms of life expectancy, an individual person cannot compete with many other animals. But the proportions of different periods in the biological development of people are unique. The animal’s body degrades very quickly after the completion of the sexual program, therefore, after the cessation of childbearing, animals do not live long.
A completely different picture is observed in people: the period of old age and decline in us differs from other representatives of living nature and is the longest.
Morals and ethics
The animal world exists according to laws dictated by natural selection. Man is increasingly moving away from this state of affairs, therefore, with the progress of thinking, a new set of rules or specific laws of life and the interaction of society has appeared - morality and ethics.
Creation
The need for creativity is a trait inherent only to humans. The need to change the space around us, to create, to embody our emotions in certain types of creativity has become familiar and even mandatory for us.
For those who do not succeed in creating creative projects, there is a need to consume this product in the form of music, films, paintings, literary works, etc. In the animal environment, this phenomenon is completely absent.
Duration of growing up
Childhood for each species lasts a certain amount of time. During this period, the animal manages to master all the knowledge and skills that it needs after starting an independent life separately from its parents.
In humans, this period is the longest, since the pace of its development and maturation is quite moderate, and sexual maturity occurs later than in other species. Due to the complex structure of the central nervous system, the time required for its full maturation and formation becomes longer than in animals.
Showing emotions
The external manifestation of joy, anger, pleasure, grief and other emotions in animals is not as developed as in humans. Smiling, laughing, blushing from embarrassment - all this is a specific ability of humanity. We are not always able to control such manifestations on our faces.
Scientists believe that this feature arose in people due to close social ties. Since ancient times, emotions have facilitated non-verbal methods of communication and have become entrenched over time.
Growing needs
Any species of our smaller brothers has a limit of comfort and good living conditions, which limits further progress. In this regard, humanity has taken a different path - along the path of continuous growth of needs. It is in human nature not to stop there, therefore new desires arise thanks to progress and inventions that humanity itself produces.
This feature has become the basis for the development of people and the reason that this process does not stop.
From all of the above, we can conclude: despite the fact that man is a part of nature, he has many unique, unique features that make it possible to distinguish him into a separate group, sharply different from others.
Man is a rational being who is capable of thinking, consciously working and influencing the world around him. Are animals capable of doing everything that humans do today? In this article we will try to understand in detail how a person differs from an animal.
Differences between humans and animals
Man has a mind that is very different from the mind of animals. In people it can not only develop, but also improve in the learning process.
The main differences between humans and animals:
1. A person has speech and thinking.
2. Humans are upright walking creatures. Such walking greatly changed the structure of the skeleton.
3. A person is capable of conscious creativity.
4. A person can foresee the long-term consequences of his actions, but animals cannot; they obey their instincts, and their actions are programmed.
5. People can create various structures, tools, etc.
6. Animals satisfy only biological needs. People, in turn, satisfy social, spiritual and biological needs.
7. Humans have more developed hands. He can touch his thumb to his little finger and ring finger. This allows us to use limbs to create tools and other objects.
8. If you compare a person with an animal, it turns out that we are practically naked. Animals have a lot of hair on their bodies, although the human body has the same number of hair follicles as, for example, a chimpanzee.
- This is interesting -
Man is the pinnacle of the universe. Man is a special biological species, which has no equal in nature. A person is the one thanks to whom the overall picture of the world is constantly changing and progressing.
And how, strictly speaking, do people differ from representatives of the animal world? What features make a person a perfect and unique being?
The main signs that indicate the uniqueness of a person are as follows:
- Speech
The larynx in the throat part of the human body is located lower than in chimpanzees. It is this feature that gives a person the ability to speak, i.e. speech ability. According to historians, our ancestors received this trait as a gift about 350 thousand years ago.
By the way, the formation of the hyoid bone in humans occurred at the same time. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is not connected to any of the other bones of the body. The result of such non-fixation is the ability to articulately pronounce words.
- Upright posture
The ability to walk vertically allows a person to freely use his other limbs - his hands. True, there are also disadvantages here. First, the lumbar curve in the lower back, which allows people to maintain balance while walking, makes this area vulnerable to various types of pain, sprains and other ailments. Second, changes in the structure of the pelvis, which are necessary for walking on legs, and the relatively large brains of babies, make human childbirth more dangerous compared to the same process in the animal kingdom. Until medicine became more advanced, childbirth was considered perhaps the main cause of female mortality.
- Lack of wool
On a square centimeter of skin on the human body there are the same number of hair follicles as in primates. However, unlike their smaller brothers, representatives of the human world have lighter, shorter and thinner hair.
- Hands
The common belief that only humans have an opposable thumb is wrong. Most primates have the same feature. True, humans only have such fingers on their hands, while apes also have them on their feet.
The uniqueness of this sign of the human body is that people can connect their thumb with the little finger and ring finger, and can touch the base of the thumb with the above fingers. The consequence of this skill is that a person has exceptional dexterity and a strong grip.
- Special brain
As a percentage of the body, the human brain is 2.5%. Despite the fact that in many representatives of the animal world this organ is significantly larger, the human “gray matter” is one of a kind. It gives a person the ability to reason, create, and make scientific discoveries.
- Cloth
People, at least the vast majority of them, cover their bodies with clothing. As you know, animals do not enjoy this privilege. With the exception of pets and circus animals, which are dressed up against their will by their owners and trainers.
- Fire
When a person managed to “bridle” the fire element, he gained the ability to navigate in the dark, managed to bring nighttime closer to daytime, and learned to protect himself from predators with the help of fire. In addition, the heat emitted by fire allowed a person to warm up in cold weather, and subsequently made it possible to conquer and develop colder territories. And most importantly, it gave me such a valuable skill as cooking. According to experts in the scientific world, this skill had a significant impact on human evolution. Heat-treated food is easier to chew and better digested. Most likely, it was this circumstance that contributed to the reduction in the size of the teeth and human digestive tract.
- Blush
Humans are the only species that exhibits a blush on their face. Charles Darwin called this property "the strangest and most human of all expressions." The reasons why people blush and thereby reveal their deepest emotions against their will still remain a mystery. By the way, the most common version is that blush helps people to be honest, and this has a very positive effect on relationships in society.
- Long period of childhood
Human parents care for their offspring much longer than primate parents. What is the reason for this duration? From an evolutionary point of view, the greatest benefit for humans would be the ability to grow up quickly and reproduce as many of their own kind as possible, i.e. descendants. However, in reality everything is different. It is possible that the culprit is a person's large brain, which takes longer to learn and grow.
- Life after children
As you know, animals reproduce until they die. People can continue to live even after their ability to reproduce has ceased. The reason for this lies in the social connections inherent in people. For example, in a large family, the families of their own children can be helped by their parents, i.e. Grandmothers and grandfathers. In animals this is a very rare exception.
HUMAN
Man as a product of biological, social and cultural evolution
Human existence
Human needs and abilities
Human activity, its main types
Activities and creativity
Communication as an activity
The purpose and meaning of human life
Personality
Human inner world
Conscious and unconscious
Man as a product of biological, social and cultural evolution
Human- this is the highest level of living organisms on Earth, a subject of socio-historical activity and culture.
Man, like all other creatures, is part of nature and a product of natural, biological evolution. Anthropologists have traced biological evolution from the great apes to modern humans. This process is called ANTHROPOGENESIS (from the words “anthropos” - man and “genesis” - origin).
The most distant ancestor of man is Dryopithecus, who lived 14-20 million years ago. Next come Ramapithecus (10-14 million years ago). Ramapithecus gave rise to two evolutionary lines: one - the ancestors of humans, the other - the ancestors of modern apes. Somewhere 2.5-3 million years ago, ape-like people appeared who made primitive stone tools. Scientists called this creature Homo habilis (Homo habilis - a skilled person). Modern science considers the date of its appearance to be the beginning of anthropogenesis and the formation of human society.
Next in the evolutionary series are Pithecanthropus, Neanderthals, and Cro-Magnons. Cro-Magnons are the pinnacle of anthropogenesis, a person of a modern physical type. It appeared approximately 30-40 thousand years ago and received the scientific name Homo sapiens (Homo sapiens - reasonable man). Homo sapiens belongs to primates, one of the orders of mammals.
Like any living creature, it breathes, consumes various natural products, exists as a biological body, is born, grows, matures, ages and dies. He, like an animal, is characterized by instincts, vital needs, and biologically programmed patterns of behavior.
But at the same time, a person is different from any animal (see diagram).
Differences between humans and animals
| Human | Animal |
| 1. Produces its own environment (home, clothing, tools), changing and transforming nature. 2. Changes the world around him not only according to his physical needs, but also according to the laws of knowledge of the world, morality and beauty, and spiritual needs. 3. The creature is universal and is capable of acting and producing “by the standards of any species.” 4. People's needs are constantly changing and growing. 5. Develops according to two programs: biological (instincts) and socio-cultural. 6. Makes his life activity an object, i.e. treats it meaningfully, purposefully changes, plans, and has consciousness. | 1. Uses what is available in the environment, adapts to nature. 2. Changes the world according to the needs of its species, focusing exclusively on satisfying physical needs (hunger, instinct of procreation, etc.). 3. Cannot overcome its species limitations. 4. Needs remain virtually unchanged. 5. The existence of animals is guided only by instincts. 6. An animal is identical to its life activity and does not distinguish it from itself. |
There are different points of view on the question of what factor had a decisive influence on human evolution and the formation of such striking differences between humans and animals.
This is an activity approach (i.e. the role of activity, labor), socializing (i.e. the role of play, communication), culturological (the role of the formation and development of language, consciousness, morality), etc. An integrated approach takes into account all these factors and assumes that human biological evolution occurred together with social and cultural evolution (see diagram).
The relationship between biological, social and cultural evolution of humans
(according to Leroy Gouran)
Thus, as a result of long-term biological, social and cultural evolution, man appeared as a biosocial being, possessing articulate speech, consciousness, higher mental functions, capable of creating tools and using them in the process of social labor that transforms nature.